Colin Sprake's skincare company lost $3 million when he missed the 2008 downturn by 18 months. He was so focused on perfecting formulas and removing parabens that he ignored inflation, retail trends, and consumer spending. The product was great. The market had vanished.
A massive shift happened in my industry and I missed it by 18 months. And I want to tell you what happened. Here I was in my beautiful skincare company, I had a fantastic skincare company. I was busy building the product line, getting the product line to the next level, making it super uber, getting rid of parabens and all the different preservatives. But one thing I didn't keep my finger on the pulse of was understanding what was happening in the economy. And guess what? 2008 happened and it completely tanked my skincare company. In fact, I watched $3 million vaporize in a week and I will never ever forget that. I I had not set myself up for success around the company, and I was so busy building my product, getting my product to the next level, but not keeping my finger on the pulse of what was truly happening in the retail market. The rug got ripped out from under my feet. It wasn't only a few months later that I decided to take that company and shut it down and move away from what I was doing. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but at the same time, I learned a lot that day. I'll never ever forget it. I spend the time now keeping my finger on the pulse as much as I can, figuring out what's happening with inflation, what's happening in the retail market, in the industry, in the countries that you are in. Because if you don't and you're so busy focusing on the product, you might forget about the market. The whole market gets ripped out from under your feet. All you're left with is a great product and no one to sell it to because you have no money. Be aware of this. It is very important to keep your eye on the prize, but at the same time, keep your eye on the factors around it that could dramatically impact the end result.
