As if I thought that a few overdue invoices were a problem yesterday, I received an email today from one of my entrepreneurial friends. Seems as though that when she sold her business, her attorney was about as sloppy as they come. And he didn’t make sure that she wouldn’t be held liable for the new owner’s mistakes.
So what “mistakes” did the new owner make?! They haven’t paid rent for over a year. The shop is closed down and my friend is likely facing a $60K bill for back rent, which will force her out of her own home or into bankruptcy (or both).
So Where is the Inspirational Entrepreneurial Lesson in All of This?
Indeed, it’s not inspiring to hear about the financial mishaps that business owners make. But I hope this is one of those things that can inspire via a little “warning”. Hindsight being 20-20, here’s what I can say about what has happened with both my friend and I:
For the client who didn’t pay, I didn’t listen to that little intuitive voice that said “Don’t do the work until he has some cash”. I thought that by giving him some free coaching, he would be able to get himself back on his feet and turn around and pay me in a reasonable amount of time. Logically, it was a good move. But intuitively, something said that the situation didn’t feel right.
Lesson Learned :: LISTEN to your intuition, even when it is only a whisper and barely heard. It doesn’t mean that you have to do everything your intuition says, but it is criteria that is just as important as logic.
For my friend who is about to lose her home, I have to say that EVERY professional advisor she had when she first started her business told her NOT to do it. Her first lawyer said no, her accountant screamed no, and even her friends (myself included) expressed reservations about the deal. By the time it came for her to sell the business, she had lost a ton of money already. But at least we thought she was done with it.
I know my friend would say that it was a wonderful spiritual journey that led her to her current career, and I would have to agree with her. But I do wonder if she could have found a different path to her current career without the financial devastation she has experienced along the way.
Lesson Learned :: DON’T make business decisions solely on what feels good at the time. And if you are going to hire advisers to guide your business, for God’s sake listen to the people you are paying to help you.
One thing I know for sure, both my friend and I are not the first nor last entrepreneurs who are facing big obstacles on the way to success. When I think of what Donald Trump has overcome in the last few decades, these problems are tiny specks.
The only way these experiences can actually hurt us is with our permission.
And it’s times like these that I find great strength in little sentences:
For every mountain there is a miracle. ~ Robert H. Schuller
There is no failure, only feedback. ~ Author Unknown
If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. ~ Frank Clark
It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities. ~ Eric Hoffer
And my favorite of all, reminding us to live and be the person we were born to be, no matter what happens around us:
Obstacles will look large or small to you according to whether you are large or small. ~ Orison Swett Marden
Here’s to being bigger than we thought we could be, to living our dreams instead of living in fear, and to transforming our challenges into capital of the entrepreneurial spirit!
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