Overcoming An Obstacle

Everyone goes through roadblocks. Personally, I can recall a roadblock I faced back in the early 1990s.

Sales for our business were very strong, but we were carrying inventory in about 20 countries. We were using all of the profits from day-to-day business success to fund our international inventory requirements. So, it's safe to say we were stretched financially and had very tight cash flow. Then, all of a sudden, the Gulf War hit and everyone on a global basis stopped buying things they saw on TV. 

Our sales plummeted about 30 to 40 percent in the first few weeks. We thought it was going to be temporary, but it held for months, and it was a devastating hit to our entire company. We no longer had profits to fuel the growth. Instead, we were covering losses, and this put us in a tailspin of tremendous financial distress.

We had to get a very quick game plan in order. We created a team of advisors — legal and financial — from Europe, Latin America and the United States. Knowing the war would eventually end, we put together a 60-day plan to cover losses, stretch terms with key suppliers and bring on investors.

Whether your roadblocks last days, weeks or months, you have to create a plan to maneuver around them. Without a plan, you will be driving with blinders on.

Our mantra, as we were digging a hole on a week-to-week basis without the capital reserves to cover losses, was that we needed to solve this problem with the same aggressiveness, speed and tenacity we used to build the business. 

Instead of just sitting around and weathering the storm, we used our aggressive plan to hit it head-on with a massive amount of teamwork, effort, people, financing and experts. Eventually, we pulled through in good shape as a result of spending the time to put a plan together, and we faced our challenges directly with determination and force.

What does my story prove? A couple of things. First and foremost, everyone faces obstacles, and that is especially the case if you are trying to achieve something great, such as starting your own business. Secondly, setbacks are only temporary. With that said, you shouldn't just wait for the storm to pass. You should try to create a plan that will get you past your roadblocks.

That is how you overcome an obstacle.

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