Let Them Eat Cake!

My version of "Let them eat cake!"
Current mood: focused
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

So if you are comfortable with the idea of putting all of your eggs into one basket and you have taken the plunge to start a business; congratulations! Now you may come to a point in time where you want to take your business to a whole new level, when you make that decision, you may find that you need more capital. If you have arrived at that place, don't panic. In fact, you should be congratulated for taking the leap and understanding that you are going to give up some of your equity to make your vision a reality.

So, you begin taking money from investors and wouldn't you know it? the market changes! and it changes big! Now, the business plan that you had is completely out of whack because it has dried up overnight. What do you do? First of all, you re-read page 24 of Suck it up, Buttercup! then you take a deep breath.

Let's say that your business plan was to bake the perfect cake. Things were going along fine, then all of a sudden..BAM! Cakes are out and vegetables are in! What do you do? Well, like it or not, your investors have a right to recieve a return on their investment into your company. The last thing that they want to hear is that the market has changed, or that conditions are not right or that you couldn't get supplemental financing or better terms with vendors. They don't care...trust me on this one. They invested in an idea, and more importantly, they invested in YOU. Don't ever forget that ideas are great, but ideas don't make money, people do...more specfically, leaders do. So, if the market changes, you better make sure that you aren't drinking your own kool-aid, because if you are you are going down the tubes in a hurry.

Be open and brutally honest with yourself. Don't cut yourself any slack and don't give yourself any excuses for failure. If you need to change course, then analyze the facts, do your best to understand the influencing factors and make a command decision. Make it as subtle or as radical as you need it to be depending on the circumstances, but make a decision and then act on it.

So, if your investors wanted cake, let them eat cake, but in the mean time, get into a business that is profitable and that allows you to give them a return on their investment.

Rob

8:53 AM