In the early 2000's, I was a successful Internet consultant. I had a thriving consultancy, and I was making pretty good money. But it wasn't meant to last... the dot-com bomb destroyed the cashflow of most of my clients...

Which in turn destroyed my business.

So with nothing to lose, living on a home equity line of credit, I moved to Southern California to make my mark on the world.

I spent several months looking, every day, for a new job. But SoCal was going through the same thing, with thousands of resourceful techies flooding the market - and they were willing to work for less money...

I finally found an entrepreneurial opportunity that I could live with. It involved a very low guaranteed salary, but the promise of a huge bonus if I could turn around the fortunes of a small direct marketing division of a strange little operation in a Century City high rise.

The overall business was run by two Israelis, who were combative, secretive, and hard-to-understand. This was my first (but not last) business deal with folks from the middle-east - and I learned that they do things a little differently than we did in the Mid-West.

In the area where I grew up, we made an agreement and shook hands on it. Done deal.

With these guys, the handshake was just the start of negotiation. (Nothing really wrong with that way of doing business in-and-of-itself, but if you don't know going in... you won't come away with a pleasant experience.)

So I slaved away, day and night, taking the company from $0to $80K/mo in only 6 months. I killed myself to get that big bonus... literally going into debt financially, emotionally, and in my relationship.

But all the pieces were in place, and with solutions of technology, human engineering, and creativity, I did it.

And then my boss told me that plans changed.

The company was throwing all resources into another project,and I had to help them launch an Internet business to get my bonus. 

So I was off to the races again. Working even crazier hours to reach their never-ending series of deadlines and modifications. I was working myself crazy, and ruining my relationship.

Three months later came the low-point of my professional career.

I found myself in the office - a high rise in Century City - at 3AM in the morning. I had been at work for 19 hours. A plane was leaving in 5 hours - and my fiancee' and I were supposed to be on that plane - on our way to get married.

My "boss" held a check in his hands that meant financial life-or-death to me. But he would not hand it over until I finished his special little project. I was a hostage to him for that check...

At one point, after countless requests were fulfilled, tasks accomplished, and minutae completed, I blew up. I found myself in a face-to-face screaming contest with my boss. I was at my wits end. He was screaming at me. I was screaming at him.

I turned to the side and threw my pen at the wall. He thundered, "NOBODY throws things in MY office! How DARE you disrespect me?"

I glared at him, with my bravest face on, and said "Well, I just did. What are you going to do about it?"

His defeated reply: "Nothing..."

Although it was never said, we both knew I would never be back.

Finally at 5AM, the project was completed. He made me sign a non-disclosure, a non-compete, and a privacy statement. Then he handed over my life-blood - the check.

I made the plane (barely) and got married as planned.

I learned a lot of valuable lessons from that experience, but none more important than these:

• I vowed on that day NEVER to allow ANYONE to hold me hostage for money again. My wife made a pact with me that she would never fault me for taking self-respect over cash. (Funny how that actually makes you more cash in the long run…)
• I vowed that I would NEVER treat people the way I was. A handshake is what I work on to this day. (In fact, if a client insists on signing a contract prior to an engagement, or if I get a funny feeling, I won't work for them. Trust is now my main currency...)
• I learned that I need to make my own fortune - financially and otherwise - and I dedicated my life to that task.

My Business Victory Club is the culmination of that life objective. I have created a repeatable process that gives me the surest shot to start with _nothing_, and turn it into a profitable business.

In just the second lesson, you’ll learn how to start making some immediate money. Soon afterward, you learn the most reliable way that I know of to prove if a market is profitable.

You’ll learn everything that I have learned over the years. 

http://www.smallbusinessvictory.com/club/

I hope you're paying attention... life's lessons can be forgotten. Life can be hard sometimes - but it can also be sweet. You only need to pay attention, and apply the lessons you learn in a dedicated way.

When viewed from this frame - Failure is Success. The more you fail - and learn from your failures - and apply it to your life - the more likely you are to achieve your version of success.

Leave with this quote in your mind:

"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heart-breaking obstacles before they truimphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats." - B.C.Forbes 

Sincerely,

Travis

PS. Does it seem like the story of your entrepreneurial career has been: fail, fail, fail, fail?? If so, you might be interested in weaving a new story for yourself:

http://www.smallbusinessvictory.com/club/