3. Decide What Kind of Company You Are Building

Not every business is a startup. That is not an insult. A profitable local company can be a much better business than a venture-backed startup that burns millions of dollars and disappears.

You might be building:

• A local business serving Lake Wales and Polk County.
• A regional company serving Central Florida.
• A professional service business selling throughout Florida or nationally.
• An internet business headquartered in Lake Wales but selling worldwide.
• A scalable startup designed around a product or model that can grow far beyond the founder.

A restaurant might become one exceptional restaurant, or ten locations. A software company might serve twenty customers, or twenty million. Know which game you are playing. You do not need venture capital to be ambitious.