A founder rebuilt his life and businesses three times in 30 years. He uses a lion-and-antelope metaphor to explain how entrepreneurs face constant threats: COVID caught him unprepared, but the real lesson is that another danger is always coming. Stay vigilant and build safeguards before the next crisis hits.
I have rebuilt my life and my businesses 3 times in the last 30 years. And you might say, well, I wonder where that comes from. Is that because you're incompetent? Not at all. I always say this, running a business is like being an antelope in the wilderness or an antelope out in the safari park. When there's a lion, you smell that lion, you run like hell and you just hope you're not the slowest antelope. Well, guess what? That stuff happens in business as well. The sad part is sometimes we don't respond quick enough or we don't realize that that lion catches up to us really quickly. And sometimes we come, well, away a little bit scarred. Sometimes we don't get away. Sometimes we completely decimated by it. But I'm going to tell you this, in business, there's always another lion around the corner. Even if you run away quick enough and you get to where you want to get to, away from that lion, just around the next corner, there's another pride of lions looking to hunt and eat your ass. And I want you to think about this. I've had to rebuild 3 times in 30 years because I wasn't aware of what was around the corner. I didn't set myself up for those things. Some of those things I couldn't set myself up for, one of them being COVID. But I'm gonna say this to you, are set up for that lion around that corner. Because if your business is really easy right now and you're comfortable, it's only a matter of time before a lion chases you and tries to take over and eat your ass.
