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Business Rule #10:
Never Despair
November 11, 2004
(PAGE 4 of 4)
It was the hardest Christmas that I ever spent.
My mistake, and it was a huge one, was that I counted my chickens before they hatched. I was so sure that I was going to close the deals that I forgot one of the biggest rules in deal-making: the deal isn’t done until the ink is dry.
I went on a hiring frenzy without consulting my finance team and finding out what the real numbers were that we had to work with. I was making the same mistake that probably every entrepreneur makes when experiencing rapid growth: I wanted to grow faster than I was actually growing.
Unlike Chris Russo, who gave up before really trying, I pledged myself to keeping my word. I worked harder than ever, utilizing new strategies and trying out new businesses to increase the bottom line. I created a stronger and more earnest company. And by the following autumn, I had hired back every single person whom I had laid off. One person I even had to offer a higher salary, because he was making bank at
another company.
I learned a valuable lesson and will never ever place someone else’s bottom line at risk again because of failing to plan ahead and knowing for certain whether I could afford them or not. I took it on the chin and am a stronger leader for it.
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I never gave up in that crisis, and Trump didn’t give up when he was billions of dollars in debt. It seemed like all hope was gone, yet we triumphed. You can too! Keep following your aspirations. The road may be long and hard, but you’ll get there if you never give up. When you make it to the top, do one thing for me: give me a call and tell me how the view is from the top.
It’s beautiful from up here.
Until next time,
LaVelle Ward
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I was making the same mistake that probably every entrepreneur makes when experiencing rapid growth: I wanted to grow faster than I was actually
