Early 2007, at 27 years of age, I was the VP of 3 family owned construction companies doing over $8 million per year.
And by all accounts we were, but we were also ‘over…extended’.
Little did I know what the next 24 months had in store for me…
Saw the 3 best days of my life happen with getting married, and the birth of my two nutso children.
Shortly after the birth of my daughter in March of 2009, I was sitting in my attorney’s office going over my ‘options’, after my 3 businesses slid to just over $1 million per year in the past 18 months.
It was clear from that discussion the only ‘real’ option was a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for me.
Somehow I managed to have the 3 highest of highs in my life and the lowest of low in less than 24 months.
Failure, loser, not my fault, it’s the economy, what am I gonna do now and the like was the commentary rolling through my head every second of the day.
After the brutal mourning period, I was left with 1 reality. I had a new wife, 2 new kids, and had to figure out what to do to support them.
So I started looking at my options:
- go back to college (fuck no, still owe those bastards money from the first time around)
- get a ‘real’ job working for someone else
- find something else I was extremely passionate about and go for it, no matter what
For me (not so much my wife), the choice was obvious. I’d been in business for myself in some form or fashion since I was 12 years old so that was the path.
The thing the bankruptcy made me do was look at the things I liked about having my own business, the things I didn’t like, and the areas in my skillset that were weak and needed some extreme upgrading.
Freedom, Financial potential, Ability to do something I loved instead of hate
Employees (at over 60 employees I felt like a glorified babysitter), Heavy reliance on debt
Systematizing all aspects of a business, Marketing and Salesmanship
Marketing and Salesmanship, ultimately was my Achilles heel in those construction businesses.
I relied to heavily on other people to sell my goods and services and wasn’t a master at it myself (not even an apprentice honestly).
Frankly, I got complacent and quit honing my skills, learning, and reading the things that would continually help me advance.
So that’s my journey, mastering marketing and salesmanship.
Am I infinitely more skilled than I used to be?
The rebirth of the entrepreneurial spirit
But what it forced my to do was to get brutally honest with myself if being an entrepreneur was really for me or not.
The answer is a resounding…Yes!
I know what it takes to be successful in business, but also realize that I can’t ever get complacent.
Also need to have enough foresight to be able to predict trends and be properly positioned to weather or take advantage them when applicable.
So if you’re in that position, or one that you don’t want to be in, realize that the only thing keeping you from where you want to be is ‘YOU’!
Acquire the skill sets needed to get where you want to be, and you’ll get there!
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