Location: SeaTac Airport Parking Garage
Date: March 21, 2002
Problem to Solve: It's challenging and lonely at the top.
Key Benefit: Accountability and training transform your business.
I was returning from a trip watching the Mariners at Spring Training and getting into my friend’s Lexus when my knees turned to rubber as I heard the news via cell phone from my partner “Reflex Communications filed for bankruptcy”. 5 words that rocked me. Ever been kicked in the stomach? I was stunned. Numb. My mind was racing. I was 35 years old - with a wife and young son at home. Reflex Communications was far and away our biggest customer, and they owed us $125,000+. Within an 85 day span, they went from paying like clockwork within terms to being out of business. Their next round of funding had fallen through, My partner and I were not in a position to absorb that kind of loss.
As I have replayed that situation through the years, I would’ve benefitted from a few trusted advisors who understood my business and could ask the simple question “What happens if your biggest customer goes out of business?” Or simply “do you have too many eggs in one basket?” The answer, of course, was “yes”.
That incident shaped my thinking moving forward in the areas of distribution of client revenue, industry focus, and the role of gross margin and profit while pursuing various business market segments. In my lifetime, it seems like every 8-10 years that we encounter a major economic event like Covid, Dot Bomb, Stock Market Dip, the Savings and Loan Crisis, or a Great Recession. I wasn’t prepared in 1999 - I thought I was, but I wasn’t. I needed some sort of advisory board who could see the threats and opportunities for the business.
Enter: Sound Roundtable Peer Advisory Group
It’s lonely at the top!
What is the cost of NOT working on your business for 4.5 Hours per month?
What is the cost of NOT hearing experienced business people weigh in on various issues within your operation?
- Consider the business liquidity and value advances of your business over time.
- Consider the impact on your personal earnings.
- Consider the businesses impact on your life and contrast your business operating smoothly as opposed to the business representing a roller coaster ride.
- Ever get the feeling that you might be kissing away 1000’s of dollars within your operation?
Leaders who qualify and pursue a Sound Roundtable Membership embark on a 12 month journey that prioritizes WORKING ON their business (instead of being a worker IN their business). The net impact on the business value and advances in your personal life may represent a turning point that impacts one’s life for decades.