Hey all Struggledorks, Bill the Blogger here, coming to you for the next instalment of Struggledork thinking.
This week we approach an evaluation of the last eleven weeks; look at what it takes to get you out of the hole of extreme debt; and experience Johns Experience in the early stages of his Business education.
When I was a young man I had a real knack for getting myself in trouble. I remember every time I was caught doing something wrong someone would always say without fail “Stop digging the hole mate, its only getting deeper.” This taught me a valuable lesson (albeit a lesson that took me a while to learn). The lesson was once I’ve done something wrong it’s time to throw away the shovel and move towards resolving the wrong I’ve done. I remember thinking “At least it’s my hole to fill in and resolve.”
But what if it was MY hole but someone else had gone in and started digging? What if I didn’t just have one person digging, I had a group of people digging. People I trusted to build the structure in my space; but instead decided it would be nice to do the complete opposite and start digging up space which had MY name on it. And even a scarier thought; what if wasn’t just me who had the problem; but it was the entire world who had the same problem of an ever growing hole in their space? What if the dirt required to fill the hole was becoming scarce due to everyone having to fix up their own holes?
For me this is how poor John and Judy must have felt when they re-focused on to their Business. They had left a soaring structure; strong and ready for expansion. They come back to find their administration had their hand in John and Judys back pocket; some of their partners had deserted them; their financial institutions had them by the throat; the global economy had just felt the tremor of spending on a mass level causing huge debts; and to top it off their customers had to cut their expenses to an absolute minimum to nullify the massive debt problem; which in turn reduced the available cashflow to save John and Judys Business. I feel slack-jawed just writing it.
So where to start? There are a million things that NEEDED to be done. Suppliers on the phone “Where’s my money John, Where’s my money Judy?, you owed it to me 120 days ago.” Positions vacant need to find new employees. The work needs to be done. Cashflow still needs to be generated. Bank wants to know why the payments aren’t rolling in like usual. Debt is aging; debt is expanding. What do we do; where do we start?
“Do one thing, do it right, get it done.”
And what a quote reference from Judy:
I strive for……
……….the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Amended from a prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr
I suppose when John and Judy saw the mess that their beloved Business had become it must have looked like the unsurmountable enemy on the battlefield slowing marching to finish John and Judy off for good. Judys first reaction? A final stand; rush the enemy; cast the die. For me I think that would have been my first reaction to.
At this point I think John came into his element; a wartime general who knew how to play the time game. Just keep breathing we can make it. And raid after raid; utilizing Judys management skills and Johns get the job done mentality; they defeated the once insurmountable enemy. 1% after 1%; they climbed out of the $3,000,000.00 hole and back into their Money Cycles.
The real lesson for me? Do everything in my power to never get into that position; but if I'm ever there, pace myself and work out what is REALLY is required to fix my Business. Take it day to day; slowly climb from the hole.
For John and Judy it took 25 years to gain enough skill and experience to win that battle. So John after 11 weeks John has set the context of Struggledork with his Lessons. To recap:
Lesson 1:
We started with our Agreements and Exchange
Lesson 2:
The Skill of Entrepreneurship
Lesson 3:
The Skill of Business Ownership
Lesson 4:
The Character of Entrepreneurship
Lesson 5:
What it takes to be a Real Business Owner
Lesson 6:
The Dance Between Entrepreneur and Business Owner
Lesson 7:
The Golden Rules of Business and Money Cycles
Lesson 8:
The Difference between what we NEED and what we Desire
Lesson 9:
The Business Formula Part 1 (Words as Leading Calibrators; Numbers as Lagging Calibrators)
Lesson 10:
The Business Formula Part 2 (Symbols hold Space and Multiply Opportunities; Focus is our Driver)
Lesson 11:
Feedback and Correction
For me this has been a learning experience; through Johns experience. Hopefully I make my own mistakes; and not his.
And as John says this is what Struggledork is and does; “Experience of Experience” the ability to take someone else’s Experience and apply it to your Business.
Nonetheless; The Space is now built; John how will you fill it?
Until next week, Bill the Blogger
Comments