Recently, I had a member come to me seeking advice because one of his techs left for a competitor and took with him half of his managed clients along with his entire client list. He’s sought legal counsel to get a cease and desist enacted, but such things can take weeks or even months to be settled in court, if they’re agreed upon at all. Of course most of the damage is done at this point, and even if he gets a cease and desist, my guess is those clients aren’t coming back.
As if that’s not bad enough, he’s going through a divorce. I would imagine his employees are freaked out, likely looking to jump ship before it goes down. All of these events are causing him to have massive anxiety to the point that he thought he was having a heart attack. Fortunately, it was merely stress (and I say that tongue in cheek).
Personally, I’ve had some really bad days when everything seems to go wrong. At one point, I had 5 out of 6 employees turn over in a 6-month period, 3 who I had to fire, one caught stealing and the fifth quitting with no notice after collecting her Christmas bonus check. One that I fired took our client list on the way out and gave it to a competitor where they attempted to take our clients. This turned into a nasty, mud-flinging lawsuit costing me legal fees, not to mention the aggravation of being distracted from far more productive activities. During that same period I found out I had melanoma – three months later discovering that I had become pregnant for the first time, only to find out it was a failed pregnancy, no heartbeat. Devastating disappointment, all piled on.
I could go on.
Point is, we ALL will go through periods of time in business when multiple major things go very, very wrong all at once. It’s horrible and intensely stressful. But if you’re going to grow a business, you gotta know it’s part of the territory. So, what do you do WHEN it happens?
For starters, try to avoid sailing directly into a shitstorm.
As the saying goes, life is hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid. Nearly all the major problems I’ve had in business were 100% my own fault. I hired poorly, didn’t manage well and failed to fire the above mentioned employees. 100% my fault. In other situations, hubris, ignoring warning signs, attempting to take shortcuts, failing to do due diligence, and ridiculous, unfounded optimism and misplaced trust was at the heart of the problem. ALL of this is my fault.
If the member who called me was being honest, he would likely admit to neglecting his responsibilities as the owner, failing to develop a good relationship with his clients, monitoring more closely what this tech was doing and acting faster in throwing him out before it got to the point he was able to take half his clients. That doesn’t justify what his tech did – but it could have been nipped in the bud much, much sooner with a lot less damage done.
Second, you need a support group of good coaches or successful peers to lean on.
My friend Dr. Ned Hallowell, a bestselling author on brain health, a psychologist and the founder of the ADHD Centers, has always coached his patients to “never worry alone.” But those of us running businesses have a special kind of isolation. Our problems are not understood by most of the people in our lives, and talking to them about our issue might only make things worse.
Entrepreneurs need answers and strategies, not just a shoulder to cry on.
Many can’t talk to their spouse or significant other because it only stresses them out, creating another problem to pile on top of everything else. You can’t tell your employees about major problems because you’ll freak them out, possibly causing them to leave – and sometimes they ARE the problem. Friends might not be able to help because they don’t understand your business, and not all peers can provide helpful advice (note to self: don’t listen to the advice of anyone who’s not where you want to be). That’s why you need someone you can seek advice from who is a straight shooter and will tell you exactly what to do, encouraging you, not with “rah-rah” motivational B.S., but with a PLAN of attack to get out of the ditch you’re in AND give you confidence to act.
Let me add one final mantra that has helped me: Most events, situations or problems are never as good OR as bad as they initially seem. When I got fired from both my jobs, it was devastating and stressful, but both led me to where I am today and shaped who I’ve become – and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
The bad hires taught me how to spot and appreciate the good ones. The horrible bosses I suffered under taught me how to be compassionate toward my employees. The bad relationships taught me the red flags to look for and helped me find the awesome husband I have. The horrible clients showed me who to avoid getting entangled with, how to set up good contracts and who to fire early.
Every failure and setback has taught me that there aren’t any business problems you can’t come back from, and the collective number of problems I’ve faced and overcome has given me the confidence that I can get through a LOT of shite and come out smelling like a rose. Remember, you can and will too.
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