One principle that I live by: With any significant event in life, there's a before and after. How things were before and how things are after. The after is determined by how you react to the event and the mindset that you have during event.
The most recent event: The coronavirus. As of now, it's screwing over most of us and sending us into panic mode. But does it have to? Is there a silver lining? If so, what is it for you?
I'll start with my silver lining...
To turn this event into a positive, we'll be pushing new prospects a lot harder. Our main value proposition has been our supply chain - cost savings for the same commodities that these B2B guys are getting elsewhere. The prospect can't increase the volume of the work they're getting, but they can optimize their costs. We're a solution to their bottom line. Also, our problem has never been adding on customers, but having enough supply and growing consistently. We've always hesitated to add on too many customers in fear of running out of stock and sacrificing service. Assuming that the market declines 50%, we'll have the opportunity to 2x our customer list. 80%? Ok. 5x The customer list. Then as the market bounces back, our business will grow naturally without having to add on more customers. Customers that were buying $20k worth will be buying $100k. However much the market drops is an operational opportunity to grow.
For my new location in Texas, we had a virtual meeting this morning. We're launching this month (the absolute worst time to do it). The goal isn't profit maximization right now - it's covering the costs and moving on to set up a new location. If we can get enough customers in that cover overhead, then organic growth will follow. Time to hustle.
The most recent event: The coronavirus. As of now, it's screwing over most of us and sending us into panic mode. But does it have to? Is there a silver lining? If so, what is it for you?
I'll start with my silver lining...
To turn this event into a positive, we'll be pushing new prospects a lot harder. Our main value proposition has been our supply chain - cost savings for the same commodities that these B2B guys are getting elsewhere. The prospect can't increase the volume of the work they're getting, but they can optimize their costs. We're a solution to their bottom line. Also, our problem has never been adding on customers, but having enough supply and growing consistently. We've always hesitated to add on too many customers in fear of running out of stock and sacrificing service. Assuming that the market declines 50%, we'll have the opportunity to 2x our customer list. 80%? Ok. 5x The customer list. Then as the market bounces back, our business will grow naturally without having to add on more customers. Customers that were buying $20k worth will be buying $100k. However much the market drops is an operational opportunity to grow.
For my new location in Texas, we had a virtual meeting this morning. We're launching this month (the absolute worst time to do it). The goal isn't profit maximization right now - it's covering the costs and moving on to set up a new location. If we can get enough customers in that cover overhead, then organic growth will follow. Time to hustle.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
