In the early 1900s, my ancestors opened the first mattress factory in our community. Additionally, some of my other ancestors had successful businesses. They were merchants, ranchers, ceramic shop owners, and restauranteurs. Nearly 80 years later, my father developed a love for entrepreneurship. He was desperate to find a way to take care of our family after having a terrible injury at work. This left him on disability and our family plummeted into poverty. After doing lots of thinking and planning, he decided to try to open a small business. He saved up for almost a year to purchase a small wood lathe. In high school, he enjoyed working on a lathe and thought that he would be able to overcome his disability by working just a couple of hours in the garage. Fast forward a year, he created a product that he was happy with and decided to try to mass produce them. We loaded up our family van with 200 little wood vases and headed out to the flea market. The first weekend we were there a buyer for a local visitor center discovered the product. They bought every piece he had made and requested that he bring another order 60 days later. This was in the late 1990s and Garden of the Gods Visitor Center is still one of our best clients. As you are starting to understand, his vision to create a business was a success. Over time, he got more and more orders for his vases. He expanded and started making a couple more products like wood bowls and candle holders. In addition, he perfected the finishing process which resulted in a very high-quality result. Today, the Aspen Wood turnings are distributed to more than 100 stores throughout the U.S. They have been featured in the Smithsonian Gift Shop and many other quality art galleries. Luckily, when I was 18 I decided to join my father in the wood shop. I worked as his apprentice for a few years and mastered woodturning. Later, we employed my little brother and taught him the family trade. Today I am training my 14-year-old son and teaching him all the tricks of the trade. I am also studying Project management with a goal of a Ph.D. in executive leadership. I have a dream of taking this successful family business and creating a factory. I recognize that woodturning is a talent that not many people possess. Even more important, only 2% of these people are female. It is my goal to teach all people that they can create beautiful things with their hands. Being an entrepreneur gives a certain sense of accomplishment. It provides a person with pride and esteem. Ultimately, entrepreneurs can single-handedly change the world. As you read, I come from a long line of business owners. I have watched people create a successful business with something as simple as an idea. They have created opportunities for others and provided services and goods to society. If you ask me who inspired me to pursue this path, I can say initially it was my father. I have watched him overcome adversity and change the future of his children. All of us can become an entrepreneur, it requires drive and commitment.