Knowing how to change course is one of the most vital skills
any student of entrepreneurship can have. One should never make changes for the
sake of making changes. After careful consideration, evaluation, and
contemplation, pulling the trigger is the next most important thing. I remember
my first start up. I had flaws in my business model making custom computer
systems. I called my humble little shop Valkyrie Computing Systems.
With a budget of a $10,000 credit card line and my IT
skills, I went about building machines to order. If you wanted to do gaming,
video editing, media storage, or just check your email and send pictures to the
grand kids, I could get you everything you needed and nothing you didn’t for the
best price, guaranteed. If only I could have gotten my customers to pay for the
machines.
I learned very quickly that people shop with their lion
hearts but pay with alligator arms. I changed my method of collections, but to
no avail. I eventually had to close down for lack of funds. It was a $10,000
hard knocks business school course/workshop. I regret nothing. It taught me
about sales, customer service, and most of all, when to cut bait.
I learned to never develop emotional attachments to things
which only exist to fulfill a mathematical need. If the math says it goes, it
goes. And that ability to change gears has made my life an easier cruise around
the block.
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