About 20+ Years ago I was evicted from where I was living for not paying rent.
I had to sell everything I owned just to pay a tiny portion of my bills of almost $200K.
My 3rd business had just gone bust and I was stressed out feeling helpless, frustrated and I was experiencing anxiety like I had never felt before.
There were times I thought I was having panic attacks as I would find myself bordering on hyperventilation when the phone rang as people chased me for money constantly.
I would not, upon reflection, say I was suicidal but I certainly thought about “making it all go away” on more than one occasion.
The day of the eviction was a Wednesday afternoon and I was watching Oprah, sitting on a milk crate (I had sold all my furniture by this point) with a piece of cardboard across the top so as not to get the crisscross pattern embedded into my butt cheeks.
As I sat there feeling rejected by the world I kept saying to myself “there has to be a better way” and kept asking “is this all there is?”. Have you ever asked yourself that?
Then there was a knock at the door.
It was a young girl who couldn’t have been more than 10, she was selling lollies from one of those red shopping baskets that you find in Coles.
My heart sank as I thought about the excuse I was going to have to make up to let her down gently as I couldn’t afford to be buying what she was selling as I had ONLY $5.50 to my name.
My total net worth was sitting on the floor beside my milk crate in the form of a $5 note and a 50c piece. This fortune was earmarked for my next acquisition – dinner (home brand pasta and sauce).
She introduced herself but I don’t remember her name. My mind was too busy racing ahead trying to think of a good reason why a grown man didn’t have enough money to buy lollies.
She told me she was raising money, I remember that clearly as it made me feel worse. Then she went through and listed the five or six different types of lollies she was carrying in her basket.
She then hit me with something I didn’t see coming.
After finishing her product demo she asked me, “Out of all the lollies here what are your two favorites?”
I said, “That’s easy, nothing beats raspberries and licorice bullets” momentarily forgetting my situation and the fact I was being evicted that day and had to be out within hours.
She says, “Great, so which one will it be, raspberries or bullets?”
By reflex, without a second thought, I said, “Raspberries please”
Then I froze as she reached in pulled out the raspberries and went to hand them to me, and said, “That’ll be $3.50 please”.
As I turned around to walk inside and get the money I was dying inside.
I just got sold to by a 10-year-old Peter Drucker (old school biz guru). I got closed and there was no way I could escape her tractor beam without looking like even more of a loser than I felt.
I handed her my net worth of $5.50 and she handed me $2 coin in change and was on her way to the next unsuspecting neighbour while I walked back inside, numb.
When I walked inside I sat down on my crate and I cried. It was more like a sob and howl thing.
Not because I was now closer to broke than I was 4 minutes and 38 seconds ago before Miss Muffet showed up and closed me like a doll house door.
It took me seeing a 10-year-old with a fire in her belly for me to look at myself and realise I’d given up and the worst part was she had not.
She was hungry and fearless and wasn’t letting anything stand in her way.
You see the business I had that had just imploded was a Door to Door sales business. And what this 10-year-old kid had just shown me was if she could do it I had no excuse.
Not only did I get closed effortlessly and effectively by this munchkin, I also got schooled.
She taught me that if a 10-year-old girl could do it, I had NO EXCUSE!
Fast forward 3 years later I had made over $5M in sales. My life has changed and it has continued to be a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs, wins and losses, good days and bad.
But since that day I have been different.
Since that day I went on a mission to uncover what it was I had to do to build successful businesses.
Success is not something most are born with in business, it isn’t some natural talent. It really does come through sweat and tears, frustrations and foolish decisions and it takes time.
Give yourself time (10 to 15 years) to achieve your success and you will find the journey far more rewarding and your mistakes far less disheartening.
Business is painful, suffering is optional.
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Hi, I am putting my toe in the water regarding business. This seems like a good place to start.
Cheers, Mike
Hey Mike, Waters great jump in! Let me know if you have any specific questions. Kerwin
Great story Kerwin it is really amazing sometimes what kids can teach us. I have 4 sons, and the three older ones come off with statements sometimes, that make them sound like the three wise men rolled into one. 🙂
It is moments like these that can totally transform one’s life.
she got you when she asked which was your fave – as soon as you were emotionally invested she’d closed.
Any advise for 45 yr old very smart but calls him self always at wrong place at wrong time. Bankrupted due trusting partner and unemployed since.. Couldnt find a way or self esteem to start another chapter.. Totaly lost
Regards
Tamm
Boom! Right into my face.
How did you manage to focus in that moment? Opportinities are there, ice is thin.
Best Wishes
So Kerwin I have a tricky question for you. In your situation, you didn’t need the lollies. As a sales person how do you still sell to someone when you know they shouldn’t be purchasing your product. Let’s say I’m a car sales rep. and a young guy comes in looking for a new sports car and is really wanting to buy it. In order to afford it he has to sign a 15yr loan. How can you still pitch that car to him knowing that it’s a really bad idea?
God you hit the nail on the head time and time again with me. I’ve had a couple of businesses before me starting my coaching business (which is now in start up). One massive success, one a massive failure. Declared bankruptcy. Changed religions. Changed identity. Still comes back to who I am in all of this. So getting up, showing up is the only thing that I know is going to work and my success is evolving as we speak. Thanks for you Kerwin. Thanks for everything you are.
Great story Kerwin.
I’ve sank to a very low point too but you are correct, as long as the passion and fire is there, things will change.
Hey Kerwin, I have enjoyed learning from your experiences. I am a professional photographer ( been in the industry for 16 years) I reswntly had to take a year and half off due to a injury sustained from a car accident. I am back building my business up and have found that this market is saturated with low priced, inexperienced photographers that are charging 150.00 for what I charge 600 + for. I have reached out to several of them in hopes to educate value and how it impacts the local industry with no success. So how can I continue to do what I love and have trained to do when now I am faced with the local clients not willing to pay for my service and settling on cheap, poor quality goods from other photographers who don’t value thier product or service.
Thank you for sharing your story, Kerwin. I have been following your videos on Facebook for a few months now and I enjoy each one. I would enjoy hearing you share more about when you were at your lowest and what steps you took to start over again. Wishing you continued success!
I love that your words are tools for a challenging build we call life.