With nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States, chances are that you have a personal connection to a small business owner. My connection is with my father. As a serial entrepreneur, he rarely has met a business opportunity he didn’t like.

Over the years as I’ve watched him start one business after another and have been a part of each and every one, I’ve been inspired and come to understand the risks and the hard work – as well as the big rewards. Maybe that’s part of why I do what I do now in UPS’s Small Business Marketing group. My job is to help small businesses by understanding their needs, and keeping those needs in the forefront of UPS’s product development and marketing activities.

Elbow grease and a vision

My dad’s first foray into entrepreneurship started in the “glamorous” world of farming in South Texas. From the time I was 10, we drove an hour each way every weekend to plant, fertilize, check the irrigation and otherwise grow peaches. We knew summer was coming soon when we were juggling schedules between baseball games and opening the orchard to the public for peach picking. Despite our best efforts, though, the peach orchard never turned out to be a big money winner and my dad had to give up on this dream.

He hardly missed a step, as the next entrepreneurial opportunity was a soap vending business in apartment laundromats. I played a key role as the only labor overhead. I had just received my driver’s license and could legally drive on my own to collect deposited money from the soap box dispensing machines.

About the time of my senior year in high school, he began the business he still runs today – Royal Window Fashions. As my dad built the business from the ground up, I unloaded trailers of miniblinds, cut vertical blinds to order and organized the warehouse. The business that started out with as many employees as family members now employs about 16 workers. Royal Window Fashions made it through the tough times of the recession and has survived to this day largely through my father’s will to succeed. I suspect that those of you with small businesses would tell a similar story.

A way of life

Through all the companies and jobs that I performed, I learned the value of hard work, importance of customer service and need for thrift. My father’s drive and ability to accept risk helped keep the company afloat, despite all the obstacles that a small business faces every day. I also learned that family labor wasn’t necessarily cheaper than hiring out (sorry about the ceiling I put a hole in, Dad).

This week (May 16–20, 2011) is National Small Business Week. Enjoy the week that celebrates you and your dream.