So, found out this Monday morning that my main client (read: only client!) terminated my contract. Short version is I screwed up, made a mistake, and he reacted. I do believe he over-reacted for sure, but I have taken some time to see his point of view, and can totally get where he was coming from.
And so that's it. From high 6-figures to zero. Zippo. Nada. In one swift moment. BOOM!
This came at a time when I was almost - not quite, but almost - out of debt. I had incurred some massive debts prior to finding this client, and took my sweet time paying them off because, well, I had this client! I still have about £40k to go... And now no income to pay it...
Monday was a blur - I was suffering from some serious shell-shock, and my mind was on terminal overdrive. Monday night I barely slept. Nodded off a couple of times due to sheer exhaustion, but mostly lying in bed, my thoughts going a million miles per second, the chatter non-stop. Beating myself up, feeling scared, wondering WTF I do now, etc...
Tuesday morning was more of the same, but I took some time to meditate, ACCEPTED the situation for what it was, read a few inspirational pages from my favourite books, then picked up the phone and started calling.
Spoke to my writer - my book is coming along nicely.
spoke to my publisher - he shared words of wisdom about what steps to take from his own experience of losing everything and rebuilding from nothing.
Spoke to the host of the retreat I am attending in Vietnam - she got me clear on WHY going to Vietnam was so important for me.
Spoke to an old friend who is now in Panama - some potential work for me to pick up there.
Spoke to a friend in India who runs his own software outsourcing company - struck a deal to whitelabel his staff as my own.
And finally had a call with my business coach - she reminded me that EVERY time I've faced a major breakdown, I've ultimately come back BETTER and STRONGER than before...
Went to bed early as was shattered, and slept like a baby...
Today, made more calls.
Spoke to the owner of the DBA team I use in India - put together a deal to create a Facebook funnel, etc for them, they will fund facebook ads, we'll joint sell the clients, and I make a recurring commission on every deal closed.
AND he has agreed to provide me the contact info for all of his US/UK based clients who he knows outsource the development of custom software for me to reach out to!
Then got my finances in order so bills would be paid at least till I got back. Made sure the wife had plenty of money for food, diesel for the car, etc. Took stock of what I have, and what I need. Short story there - I can survive for just two months on my available cash... Breathe... Focus... Two months is plenty of time to close some deals...
Spent the rest of the day planning my trip to Vietnam, downloading audiobooks, etc, and getting packed. Spending this evening with the kids in a FAR better mood than I was on Monday!
Friday night in Vietnam I have organized a meetup with some of the top software outsourcing companies in Ho Chi Minh City, and will have a professional photographer on-hand. Great content for press releases upon my return, which will segue nicely into my book. Also while out there, will be shooting sales videos, etc, as well as planning my own sales funnels for the few deals I've struck up in the last couple of days.
I have to run so cutting this short with a final sign-off before I need to get kids to bed, grab my bags, and grab my cab to Heathrow...
I could have chosen to wallow in the mire, stick my head in the sand, feel sorry for myself, cancel the trip to Vietnam, and do everything else the Sidewalk or Slowlane would have you do.
But other than a brief interlude into panic, I am choosing to stay in the FASTLANE and will turn this temporary setback into a launchpad for BIGGER things! No more exclusive client gigs for me, no matter how much they pay! Security is in diversificatoin for sure, and I will be implementing that (as well as a few other ideas I have picked up from @MJ DeMarco from his book!)
As I said in my introduction:
You can't savor the flavor of success if you ain't gorged on a banquet of failure.
Well, I have gorged on my banquet of failure for sure! Wishing you all the very best of success while I am away, and will check-in upon my return!
And so that's it. From high 6-figures to zero. Zippo. Nada. In one swift moment. BOOM!
This came at a time when I was almost - not quite, but almost - out of debt. I had incurred some massive debts prior to finding this client, and took my sweet time paying them off because, well, I had this client! I still have about £40k to go... And now no income to pay it...
Monday was a blur - I was suffering from some serious shell-shock, and my mind was on terminal overdrive. Monday night I barely slept. Nodded off a couple of times due to sheer exhaustion, but mostly lying in bed, my thoughts going a million miles per second, the chatter non-stop. Beating myself up, feeling scared, wondering WTF I do now, etc...
Tuesday morning was more of the same, but I took some time to meditate, ACCEPTED the situation for what it was, read a few inspirational pages from my favourite books, then picked up the phone and started calling.
Spoke to my writer - my book is coming along nicely.
spoke to my publisher - he shared words of wisdom about what steps to take from his own experience of losing everything and rebuilding from nothing.
Spoke to the host of the retreat I am attending in Vietnam - she got me clear on WHY going to Vietnam was so important for me.
Spoke to an old friend who is now in Panama - some potential work for me to pick up there.
Spoke to a friend in India who runs his own software outsourcing company - struck a deal to whitelabel his staff as my own.
And finally had a call with my business coach - she reminded me that EVERY time I've faced a major breakdown, I've ultimately come back BETTER and STRONGER than before...
Went to bed early as was shattered, and slept like a baby...
Today, made more calls.
Spoke to the owner of the DBA team I use in India - put together a deal to create a Facebook funnel, etc for them, they will fund facebook ads, we'll joint sell the clients, and I make a recurring commission on every deal closed.
AND he has agreed to provide me the contact info for all of his US/UK based clients who he knows outsource the development of custom software for me to reach out to!
Then got my finances in order so bills would be paid at least till I got back. Made sure the wife had plenty of money for food, diesel for the car, etc. Took stock of what I have, and what I need. Short story there - I can survive for just two months on my available cash... Breathe... Focus... Two months is plenty of time to close some deals...
Spent the rest of the day planning my trip to Vietnam, downloading audiobooks, etc, and getting packed. Spending this evening with the kids in a FAR better mood than I was on Monday!
Friday night in Vietnam I have organized a meetup with some of the top software outsourcing companies in Ho Chi Minh City, and will have a professional photographer on-hand. Great content for press releases upon my return, which will segue nicely into my book. Also while out there, will be shooting sales videos, etc, as well as planning my own sales funnels for the few deals I've struck up in the last couple of days.
I have to run so cutting this short with a final sign-off before I need to get kids to bed, grab my bags, and grab my cab to Heathrow...
I could have chosen to wallow in the mire, stick my head in the sand, feel sorry for myself, cancel the trip to Vietnam, and do everything else the Sidewalk or Slowlane would have you do.
But other than a brief interlude into panic, I am choosing to stay in the FASTLANE and will turn this temporary setback into a launchpad for BIGGER things! No more exclusive client gigs for me, no matter how much they pay! Security is in diversificatoin for sure, and I will be implementing that (as well as a few other ideas I have picked up from @MJ DeMarco from his book!)
As I said in my introduction:
You can't savor the flavor of success if you ain't gorged on a banquet of failure.
Well, I have gorged on my banquet of failure for sure! Wishing you all the very best of success while I am away, and will check-in upon my return!
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