I think I used the phrase “as usual” to describe my former partner’s ongoing need for cash flow to tweak this or that on the software I was trying to license. I meant that because software creation is an ongoing battle, or at least in my one experience it was, and also because this was a very common topic of conversation between us. At this point he was spending tens of thousands per month on the team of programmers.
When I was most gung ho about getting this thing off the ground, I was willing to do whatever it took, not realizing exactly what that entailed. A few months in, with just one release left to go live, my partner complained that he needed X amount of money for the software to be done. [software is never done, I have learned]. The team of programmers had been disbanded because that amount of work wasn’t needed anymore, so everything going forward would be paid for on a task basis.
X amount was basically my life’s savings. Considering I had already put that much into this business, which was stalled waiting for this software, I figured that doubling down would rescue my initial investment by getting this thing to go. More on whether that in itself is a stupid thought process below.
I had a meeting with my partner and clarified what would happen if this last task was paid for. He raved, cheered, etc. and I was.. not convinced entirely.. but satisfied with the explanation. So I offered the cash.
He refused! Let me just say that this is not a person who refuses cash. I was very surprised.
But he explained. And this is absolutely one of the best lessons about money I have ever learned in my life, and I have used it multiple times since.
He asked in a roundabout way what this investment would cost me, not in dollars of course because he knew that, but in time to recoup it if it was lost, in relation to my future, etc.
We toured the office and saw his employees hanging out (to him, it was slacking; to me, as I mentioned before, it was fear-induced paralysis, but anyway). We looked at a joint to do list that did not have any check marks. We reviewed a list of compliance questions that were as yet unanswered.
And then he pointed out the obvious. We weren’t even doing what we were supposed to do, so why would we think that the problem was the software being incomplete? Why would we choose the problem we could throw money at, rather than fixing everything we needed to be in the damned business in the first place, all of which items could be solved for free?
Maybe that doesn’t sound as profound as it did to me that day, but as I stood there it was like a gong went off. How many times had I fixed problems by buying stuff, paying for stuff to be fixed, reading one more book that I had overnighted because it was so ”critical,” when really I should have been checking my behavior to make sure I was doing absolutely everything to fix the situation or move it foward? Note the word *doing.* Not thinking about it, not talking to people, not spending money.
He was right, and thank goodness, because that software was about 5 or 6 times the amount I offered away from being “done.” I would have spent everything, and still ended up with essentially nothing, because no one involved was doing what they were supposed to be doing whether the software was ready or not.
I refer back to this moment quite often. For example:
Little things: Maybe I should pay for yoga at my favorite instructor’s studio because it is so much better there than the classes at the gym. Response: I don’t even go consistently to the classes she offers at the gym, so why would I pay over $100 per month for classes at the studio? Regardless of where I take the classes, or how much I am paying for them (or not paying for them), I have to go consistently. If I’m not going consistently, the gym or the studio- the money question- is irrelevant.
Big things: Maybe I should apply for and go to business school so I can turn some of my ideas into successes? Response: How about I write the fricking business plans, build the models, launch, and get some financing if it starts to grow. If that doesn’t work, then maybe spending $70k a year on school would make sense. Regardless of having ”MBA” after my name, I would still have to do these things. I hadn’t. Money for school was not the problem.
So here I am, not doing yoga, but writing a business plan. The nice thing about doing is that it shows me what I really care about most at this time, rather than looking repeatedly at my long list of things I plan to do “someday.” Plus, action is a really inexpensive way to get in the game so to speak.
Have you ever tried to fix a problem with money rather than action?
I remember one time you mentioned that my brain works differently than most peoples (or something to that effect). This post touches on one of those things that I tend to just instinctively do different than other.
I feel like the common knee-jerk reaction to being faced with a problem is to begin looking for a solution. That’s what you do with problems, right? You solve them. But a lot of the time you really end up just redirecting the effect rather than addressing the cause. Instead, the way I generally try to approach things (and this isn’t just limited to business problems, it can be applied in some way to most things in life) is to take a step back and spend a bit of time trying to understand what the root issue at hand is. A great (and absurdly simple technique) to start with is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys. Once you’re able to properly recognize both the root and the full spectrum of the problem then you can properly begin to think about how to solve it
It is so true that you think differently, and this is a perfect example.
Then there’s me. I have to fall into every hole and make every mistake before the obvious becomes blatantly so.