Title - Copy for website - callumbirch.com Tags - website callumstory
When you have no money, no time and no energy - and debt collectors are knocking on your door - how do you keep cool and create the business and life you want?
This interests me because it describes my circumstances over the last 2 years and the essence of what it’s like to be stuck in a business that’s draining all of your resources (is this the majority of small businesses?)
It reminds me of John Carlton’s “gun to the head copywriting”.
When he first became a freelancer, he succeeded because he was broke - and didn’t want to be an employee - so he felt like he didn’t have a choice but to succeed. He had a figurative gun to his head. He found that the gun to the head attitude he used in those days was useful for writing copy in any circumstance. You don’t mess about. You do what works and forget everything else.
Another parallel is Jay Abraham’s book, Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You’ve Got. The idea behind the book - and much of Jay’s work - is to get the maximum results from the minimum investment of resources. Jay, like John Carlton, discovered this mindset when he was broke, working on a performance basis, and had to get results to put food on the table.
I have a similar story because MAria and I have both been absorbed in Sneak-A-Peek Ultrasound, working to put food on the table, with the added pressure of having nearly £100,000 or debt to pay back in the first 5 years.
What’s the big idea here?
It’s that, when there’s a gun to your head - in this case, to keep up with debt repayments and put food on the table - you are forced to adapt or give up.
The things you learn in these circumstances can be applied by anyone in better or worse circumstances to achieve their goals - in business or otherwise.
When your resources are extremely limited…
- You must test the performance of your investments so you can stop those that don’t pay off and only continue the profitable ones.
- You have to find creative ways to access resources that you can’t afford to pay for with cash - customer’s, expertise, facilities, etc.
- You need mental frameworks so you don’t waste all of your energy worrying about what might happen - and instead invest it in creating a better future.
- You have to learn to say “no” so that your resources aren’t invested in things that won’t create the business and future that you want.
- You have to be ruthless at minimising your overheads so you can survive slow months and maximise profit.
- You have to document everything that you will do more than once so it can be repeated, outsourced and optimised.
- You must stick to direct marketing and direct response advertising only.
- Focus on your goal and current reality simultaneously.
- Keep half and eye on your goal and current reality but spend 90% of your time focussed on the process.
- Learn to live in day-tight compartments.
- Move forward, make mistakes, correct course.
- Choose methods that give you maximum results from minimum investment.
- Seek maximum profit from all of your assets.
- Deep breathing.
- Sell and sell again.
- Stay in the world of your customers.
- Deliver kick-ass services.