Struggles? Now what?

 After reading all the study material for this week, I couldn't help but think of past experiences. I had just purchased my second company in an industry that I didn't really understand.  It was a disaster cleanup company that fixed flooded homes etc. We were struggling to get consistent work, so I devised a plan to send out a letter to all licensed plumbers in our service area offering them a referral bonus if they notified us of flooded homes when they were on jobs fixing pipes.  

To my surprise, the largest plumbing company in the valley called to set up a meeting for me to meet the owner at their facility.  I was beyond excited for this opportunity to work something out between the two of us.  The meeting day came and I was totally prepared to pitch my plan.  I was escorted into the owners' office.  He greeted me and introduced me to his 5 managers that were sitting in the room.  He politely asked me to introduce myself.  After my introduction, he began to rip me apart in front of his managers.  He explained he knew that I had sent a letter to all his employees offering them money to refer me.  He said that if any of his employees ever sent me a referral he would fire them on the spot. He then angrily told me to get out of his office.

I was hurt! I had gotten my hopes up and was so excited and now I was embarrassed. Luckily I have an awesome wife that built me back up. I took the lesson I learned and the frustration I had received and channeled it into more successful ventures.  It is hard to deal with failure but it makes us better entrepreneurs in the end.

The real question for anyone that wants to be a business owner is, do I have the mental fortitude to overcome challenges?  Can I take a hit and get back up with a smile?  Do I have the support around me to build you up when I need it the most?

If you don't know, then do something that will be extremely difficult to accomplish.  Something that will give you a high chance of failure the first time and then observe how you react. What can you do to increase your fortitude?


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