EP 01: The Exact Moment That I Became The Boss Of My Business

<p dir="ltr">It was 2014, and I had been hustling trying to build <a href="https://worstofalldesign.com/">my branding agency</a> for 3 years. From the outside, I looked like I was succeeding. I had a super cool office in Brooklyn, NY, two full-time employees, and the last project I was invited to pitch for was a 20,000 square foot restaurant in Times Square that wanted that cool Brooklyn vibe. </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">I had all the glitz of a successful owner, but behind the scenes, things looked very different.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">I was networking every day, hoofing it around NYC to meet with whomever would have coffee with me, I was pitching project after project and either not hearing back or just losing them. And my overhead was high. By March 2014, we had maxed out all of our credit cards, were overdrawn on our bank accounts, and had no idea how we were going to make payroll in two weeks.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">I was desperately trying to figure out how to bring money in. Not only did we need money to live, but we needed to pay back this $40,000 we now owed. Tell the prospects with proposals that we would bargain with them? Network… MORE? Just cry in the corner with my fingers crossed that one of these proposals would close in the next week and pay a deposit? And if none those things worked, I assumed the only option left would be to give up, admit that I FAILED to all my friends and family, and get a regular job. </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">I was working SO hard to get clients and busting my butt 24/7 to be at the beck and call the few clients we had, so why couldn’t my business at least support itself? </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">I had the best intentions, I had done my homework, read every book, studied other success stories, pounded the pavement networking, took courses, and was willing to work round the clock on my business while giving my all to deliver for my clients… I was doing everything that every expert, guru, mentor, and collea