Desperately need a change? Put your money where your mouth is!
I love working with startup clients. These guys are bursting with energy. That's not a surprise, they have to if they're to achieve their goals. On the other side, there's one huge disadvantage. We're working on a tight budget is one of the most common excuses you're going to hear when negotiating a price. Yet, despite this disadvantage having a startup as a client is usually a positive experience. You can really learn a lot.
I had to sign an NDA with a particular client I want to mention in this post. So, I sure hope that leaving out the names of companies won't spoil it. I'm talking about a small family company that hit a jackpot with one super popular and powerful multinational companies. We are talking about one of the most popular brands you can possibly imagine in the corporate world. Now you get it, why I had to sign an NDA. It's really hard to believe that you can hit a client such as this from your living room. But, that's not the only amazing thing about the guys I used to work with. Here's how they were able to achieve a truly fascinating thing.
They come up with some kind of a solution, an app, which was a time killer for this multinational corporate client. So, I had no other choice than to say my hat off to you. A father and son team wasn't impressed at all. I guess that is because they have had enough of these tap to shoulder admirers. Yet, I just knew there has to be something more than this, so I decided to dig a little bit deeper. I was right. Obviously, there's no such a thing as an accidental success. So, these guys, this family had risked it all. Literally. They took an insanely huge credit line. Everything and anything they own and what three generations have built and earned. I'm talking about a house, insurance, every single bank account, savings, etc. They invested all of it in their startup.
It was a huge gamble, which paid itself off more than they could possibly hope for. I was talking with the father for whom this was an extremely personal and stressful experience, which is something I can totally understand. He wanted for his son to be his own boss. That's why he didn't allow for investors to jump in. Now, they don't have to look for a single new client for as long as they want. This corporate golden goose is all they need. The father said that there are hundreds if not thousands of promising startups out there. Yet, it is easy and totally free to dream wonderful dreams, but it is a completely different thing to put your money where your mouth is. That's why he thinks that they deserved their success and I totally agree with him.
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of visionaries and promissing startups who are trapped in this loop of self-deception and false hopes that someone or something will make their dreams happen. We all want changes, but not all of us are ready to support them with our money. This doesn't have to necessarily apply only to startups. My friends and former colleagues like to say that is great to live an independent life as I do. Yet, it was my decision to leave a relatively safe 9-5 office job to try something new. That was my walk on a wire with so safety net. It hasn't paid off, yet, but I sure hope it will at one point. I didn't have money to put where my mouth is. However, I invested the only thing I had and that was my full-time job. I trade it for a promise that I will do better as an independent and self-employed.
What's your story? Do you put your money where your mouth is? Do you know some risk takers you admire or excuse finders you are trying to understand?
I had to sign an NDA with a particular client I want to mention in this post. So, I sure hope that leaving out the names of companies won't spoil it. I'm talking about a small family company that hit a jackpot with one super popular and powerful multinational companies. We are talking about one of the most popular brands you can possibly imagine in the corporate world. Now you get it, why I had to sign an NDA. It's really hard to believe that you can hit a client such as this from your living room. But, that's not the only amazing thing about the guys I used to work with. Here's how they were able to achieve a truly fascinating thing.
They come up with some kind of a solution, an app, which was a time killer for this multinational corporate client. So, I had no other choice than to say my hat off to you. A father and son team wasn't impressed at all. I guess that is because they have had enough of these tap to shoulder admirers. Yet, I just knew there has to be something more than this, so I decided to dig a little bit deeper. I was right. Obviously, there's no such a thing as an accidental success. So, these guys, this family had risked it all. Literally. They took an insanely huge credit line. Everything and anything they own and what three generations have built and earned. I'm talking about a house, insurance, every single bank account, savings, etc. They invested all of it in their startup.
It was a huge gamble, which paid itself off more than they could possibly hope for. I was talking with the father for whom this was an extremely personal and stressful experience, which is something I can totally understand. He wanted for his son to be his own boss. That's why he didn't allow for investors to jump in. Now, they don't have to look for a single new client for as long as they want. This corporate golden goose is all they need. The father said that there are hundreds if not thousands of promising startups out there. Yet, it is easy and totally free to dream wonderful dreams, but it is a completely different thing to put your money where your mouth is. That's why he thinks that they deserved their success and I totally agree with him.
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of visionaries and promissing startups who are trapped in this loop of self-deception and false hopes that someone or something will make their dreams happen. We all want changes, but not all of us are ready to support them with our money. This doesn't have to necessarily apply only to startups. My friends and former colleagues like to say that is great to live an independent life as I do. Yet, it was my decision to leave a relatively safe 9-5 office job to try something new. That was my walk on a wire with so safety net. It hasn't paid off, yet, but I sure hope it will at one point. I didn't have money to put where my mouth is. However, I invested the only thing I had and that was my full-time job. I trade it for a promise that I will do better as an independent and self-employed.
What's your story? Do you put your money where your mouth is? Do you know some risk takers you admire or excuse finders you are trying to understand?