Growth Opportunities At Times of Uncertainty
Approximately eleven years ago my sister was working at a small bar in Texas, done anything from bar tendering to sweeping the floors. The salary range was anywhere from 30$ during weekdays to 100$ on weekends. Not a lot but nevertheless, it was something. She liked the place and the owner and most of the crowd seem to like her. Because of that, it was a surprise that one evening she came back home crying telling me she was let go due to “complaints”. What were the complaints about? Well, she was Jewish and some of the crowd did not like that very much. Her boss wanted to avoid potential trouble so this was his way of doing so.
While I can probably write a lot more about the above this isn’t even our story yet. It is what leads to our story. Read on..
That night my sister came home crying as if the world had completely collapsed on her shoulders, as if there was no hope, none whatsoever. She had no paperwork, driving an iCe Cream truck wasn’t an attractive option anymore (what she did prior to bar tendering), and she had no idea where to go from here, how to pay the bills, not to mention how to build a better future.
As for myself, I was mainly home playing chess on the computer, I had no job either. However, I was more optimistic than her. I said as I always do, “Everything happens for a GOOD reason”, things will work out just fine if not better very soon. I still remember the look on her face, it was saying something on the lines of “Easy for you to say!!”, or maybe it was more like a “Yea.. right!!”. Either way, it wasn’t promising and whatever I said made little sense to her.
During her Ice Cream days (she used to drive an Ice Cream truck in TX) my sister made friends with a number of business owners, one of those also had a local bar in the same area. Unlike the first bar where she was let go, this place had a live karaoke, pool tables, a much better location, and overall was extremely busy. We decided, since she wasn’t working now, to drop by and pay a visit to her old friend. Not sure how long after our arrival she had a quick chat with her friend and a new job working at this place. Within a couple of days we found out the new place was indeed the better choice. Better place, better crowd, and money wise, at least 500% if not more better.
While the story above may sounds like the exception, over the years I’ve seen it happening many times, in the life of friends and in my own life as well.
Some years ago one of our previous partners in the domain space decided to break an agreement due to internal financial issues. We were on a long term contract and now were moved into a revenue sharing program. This move dropped our income overnight by more than 25%, It came as a complete surprise, especially given the credibility and our relations with this particular partner. Soon afterwards our domain portfolio started to gain momentum, we went from losing more than 25% to doubling our income within the next twelve months. If that partner did not act as they have this would have never happened.
I’m not sure how or why it works that way. Maybe it is because at uncertain times we try harder? or maybe it is because that at safe times we don’t explore, we are blinded to opportunities that may have always been there for us? Whatever the reason may be, for me, things always turn out for the better, I still say and truly believe that everything that happens happens for a GOOD reason, and that any downfall has the potential for a greater success.
Source: Posted on TheConceptualist by Sahar Sarid -- Reprinted with permission -- June 29, 2008
While I can probably write a lot more about the above this isn’t even our story yet. It is what leads to our story. Read on..That night my sister came home crying as if the world had completely collapsed on her shoulders, as if there was no hope, none whatsoever. She had no paperwork, driving an iCe Cream truck wasn’t an attractive option anymore (what she did prior to bar tendering), and she had no idea where to go from here, how to pay the bills, not to mention how to build a better future.
As for myself, I was mainly home playing chess on the computer, I had no job either. However, I was more optimistic than her. I said as I always do, “Everything happens for a GOOD reason”, things will work out just fine if not better very soon. I still remember the look on her face, it was saying something on the lines of “Easy for you to say!!”, or maybe it was more like a “Yea.. right!!”. Either way, it wasn’t promising and whatever I said made little sense to her.
During her Ice Cream days (she used to drive an Ice Cream truck in TX) my sister made friends with a number of business owners, one of those also had a local bar in the same area. Unlike the first bar where she was let go, this place had a live karaoke, pool tables, a much better location, and overall was extremely busy. We decided, since she wasn’t working now, to drop by and pay a visit to her old friend. Not sure how long after our arrival she had a quick chat with her friend and a new job working at this place. Within a couple of days we found out the new place was indeed the better choice. Better place, better crowd, and money wise, at least 500% if not more better.
While the story above may sounds like the exception, over the years I’ve seen it happening many times, in the life of friends and in my own life as well.
Some years ago one of our previous partners in the domain space decided to break an agreement due to internal financial issues. We were on a long term contract and now were moved into a revenue sharing program. This move dropped our income overnight by more than 25%, It came as a complete surprise, especially given the credibility and our relations with this particular partner. Soon afterwards our domain portfolio started to gain momentum, we went from losing more than 25% to doubling our income within the next twelve months. If that partner did not act as they have this would have never happened.
I’m not sure how or why it works that way. Maybe it is because at uncertain times we try harder? or maybe it is because that at safe times we don’t explore, we are blinded to opportunities that may have always been there for us? Whatever the reason may be, for me, things always turn out for the better, I still say and truly believe that everything that happens happens for a GOOD reason, and that any downfall has the potential for a greater success.
Source: Posted on TheConceptualist by Sahar Sarid -- Reprinted with permission -- June 29, 2008