MBA2313 Q&A Wednesday: How did you get through your lowest moments in business?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The $100 MBA Show – Episode MBA2313 Q&A Wednesday: How Did You Get Through Your Lowest Moments in Business?

Introduction

In Episode MBA2313 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom addresses a poignant question from a listener named David: “I'm going through a tough time in my life and business. It's really hard. My question to you is, how did you get through your lowest moments in business?” Released on May 24, 2023, this episode delves deep into the challenges entrepreneurs face during their darkest times and provides actionable strategies to overcome them. Drawing from his two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Omar shares personal stories, insightful advice, and motivational tips to help listeners navigate their own struggles.

Acknowledging Shared Struggles

Omar begins by affirming to David and other listeners that experiencing hardship is a common path among successful individuals. He emphasizes that feeling overwhelmed and facing tough times are integral parts of the entrepreneurial journey:

“Anybody who's done anything significant has gone through hardship. You're in good company. This is what I want to encourage you... This is how it's supposed to be.”
— Omar Zenhom [02:30]

This foundational reassurance sets a compassionate tone, making listeners feel understood and less isolated in their struggles.

Personal Stories of Adversity

Omar recounts a particularly challenging period before founding his software company, Webinar Ninja. During this time, he and his partner Nicole faced severe financial difficulties, even resorting to borrowing money from family to pay rent. This experience was both humbling and testing:

“I felt really embarrassed and ashamed. I was a grown adult who couldn't pay his bills.”
— Omar Zenhom [04:15]

Such candid admissions underscore the reality that even seasoned entrepreneurs encounter significant setbacks.

Strategies for Overcoming Low Moments

Omar shares several strategies that helped him persevere through his lowest points:

1. Reading Biographies for Inspiration

   Delving into the lives of successful individuals who faced immense challenges provided Omar with perspective and motivation. He cites Phil Knight’s "Shoe Dog" as a prime example:

   “Phil Knight is the founder of Nike, and basically his life for 20 years is horrible. He's eating glass every day. It's incredibly difficult.”
   — Omar Zenhom [06:20]

   Realizing that even giants like Phil Knight endured prolonged hardships reinforced Omar’s resilience.

2. Taking It One Day at a Time

   Focusing on daily tasks rather than becoming overwhelmed by long-term uncertainties helped Omar maintain productivity and hope:

   “Just keep breathing, keep waking up, keep trying every morning... Let’s just get to the next day and do what I’m supposed to do.”
   — Omar Zenhom [08:45]

   This approach minimizes stress by breaking down daunting challenges into manageable actions.

3. Focusing on Gratitude

   Practicing gratitude shifted Omar’s mindset from what he lacked to appreciating what he had, fostering a positive outlook:

   “Most of us have all our faculties. We have a working, solid mind. We have all our limbs... These are things you might think, oh, that's standard. No, it's not standard.”
   — Omar Zenhom [11:10]

   By starting his day by writing down three things he was grateful for, Omar cultivated a habit that reinforced positivity even during tough times.

4. Building a Supportive Network

   Surrounding himself with supportive and like-minded individuals was crucial for Omar's emotional and professional well-being. He highlights the importance of assessing and nurturing one's social circle:

   “Lawrence saying you're the average of the five people around you is true... Make sure the people around you are helping you get to where you want to go.”
   — Omar Zenhom [13:25]

   Omar recounts attending networking events despite exhaustion, which ultimately led to meaningful connections and renewed energy:

   “I pushed myself to go to this event. I spoke some people. I was energized... It makes all the difference because you meet people, they add you to LinkedIn, you start chatting.”
   — Omar Zenhom [15:40]

Practical Implementation of Strategies

Omar offers actionable advice for listeners facing similar hardships:

• Create Reminders: He suggests writing down key strategies on a post-it note and placing it where it’s easily visible, such as the back of a phone.

  “You can stick it to the back of your phone so that it's easily found anywhere you are at.”
  — Omar Zenhom [18:00]

• Embrace Daily Practices: Regularly engaging in gratitude exercises and incremental goal-setting can steadily improve one’s mental state and business trajectory.

• Seek Out New Connections: Actively participating in networking opportunities, even when it feels challenging, can lead to valuable support systems and potential collaborations.

Concluding Insights and Motivational Takeaways

Omar wraps up the episode with a powerful quote from Sylvester Stallone, reinforcing the universality of problems and the importance of choosing which ones to tackle:

“Everybody has problems. Poor people have problems. Middle class people have problems. Rich people have problems. May not be money problems, but they have problems.”
— Omar Zenhom [20:30]

He underscores that while problems are inevitable, the key lies in selecting and conquering challenges that foster growth, ultimately leading to more manageable and meaningful issues:

“As you go through life, you start upgrading your problems. These problems come less and less critical or less high pressure.”
— Omar Zenhom [21:15]

Final Thoughts

Omar concludes by reiterating that business serves as a profound personal development program. By employing the strategies discussed—reading inspirational biographies, taking things one day at a time, practicing gratitude, and building a supportive network—entrepreneurs can navigate their lowest moments and emerge stronger. He encourages listeners to share the podcast and continue applying these lessons to achieve both personal and professional success.

“Business is the best personal development program on the planet.”
— Omar Zenhom [22:45]

Key Takeaways

• Acknowledge Shared Struggles: Recognizing that hardship is a common experience among successful individuals can provide comfort and motivation.

• Draw Inspiration from Others: Learning from the biographies of successful entrepreneurs can offer valuable lessons and encouragement.

• Focus on the Present: Breaking down challenges into daily tasks can prevent overwhelm and maintain momentum.

• Cultivate Gratitude: Regularly acknowledging what you’re thankful for can shift your mindset and enhance resilience.

• Build a Supportive Network: Surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people is crucial for emotional and professional growth.

• Implement Practical Tools: Using reminders and consistent practices can help internalize strategies to overcome tough times.

This episode serves as a beacon for entrepreneurs grappling with adversity, offering both empathy and pragmatic solutions to empower listeners to navigate and triumph over their lowest moments in business.

Transcript

[A]

And we're back, folks. It looks like Jim from sales just got in from his client lunch and he's got receipts. His next meeting is in two minutes. The team is asking, can he get through his expenses in that time? He's going for it. Is that his phone? He's snapping a pic. He's texting Ramp. Jim is fast, but this is unheard of. That's it. He's done it. It's unbelievable.

[B]

On ramp, expenses are faster than ever. Just submit them with a text. Switch your business to ramp.com hey, welcome to the $100 MBA show, the business podcast you can't afford to miss with our practical business lessons. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started back in 2014. And today's episode is Q. And on Q and A Wednesdays, I answer a question from one of you, one of our listeners. If you got a question you want to ask, go ahead and email me [e-mail] Today's question is from David. And David asks Omar. I'm going through a tough time in my life and business. It's really hard. My question to you is, how did you get through your lowest moments in business? That's a solid question, David, and a real one. And I want to start by saying that anybody who's done anything significant, has gone through hardship, has had it hard. It's not easy. You're in good company. This is what I want to encourage you. If you're going through a tough time and it's hard and you're struggling, that is the same path all successful people tread. So I want to start with a little bit of encouragement, because when I learned that, it made me feel a little bit better, made me feel like, okay, I'm not messed up, right? There's nothing wrong with me. This is how it's supposed to be. But the next step is learning to move forward, despite the way you feel, despite the hardship, getting back up. And in today's episode, I'll share a few stories of some of my lowest moments and how I was able to kind of get through them and some of the things that you could do to help you get through your tough times. I got your back, David and everyone else listening. Let's get into it. Let's get down to business. This episode of the $100 MBA show is brought to you by this is Small Business, an original podcast from Amazon. It's a podcast all about what it takes to be a successful small business owner. Today, join this is Small Businesses host Andrea Marquez as she shares with you how to safely go through the journey of building a small business, growing one, and facing those pivotal moments we faced along the way. Go ahead and listen to this is Small Business today. Season two is out right now, so go ahead and listen to this is Small Business. David asks a really tough question because he's going through a tough time. How did you get through your lowest moments in business? I mean, I could think of a whole bunch of moments, but one moment that comes to mind is a good number of years back before I started this podcast, before I had my software company, I was still trying to find a successful business with traction. I was in a lull in my entrepreneurial career. Nicole and I, we were really struggling. We were basically trying to make ends meet every single month. And one month we couldn't make it. And it was so hard for me to admit that I needed help. I had to borrow money from family just to pay rent. I felt really embarrassed and ashamed. I was a grown adult who couldn't pay his bills. And those moments really test your will. It really makes you question, should I be doing this? This is crazy. It really makes you want to go back to your comfort zone and step away from entrepreneurship now. A few things helped me get through that time as well as many others. The first one is really enjoy reading biographies. I say enjoy like I enjoy it because it's helpful. But in the moment when I'm reading these biographies, it's not fun. Because what you learn is every successful entrepreneur, every successful person, even in any field, really struggles, really has tough times. The one that comes to mind is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Phil Knight is the founder of Nike, and basically his life for 20 years is horrible. He's eating glass every day. It's incredibly difficult. He doesn't know if he's going to go out of business the next moment. It's hard to get traction. It's hard to know how to stay one step ahead. I read another and it's the same story. Difficulty, challenges, low moments. And what I realize is that whenever you're trying to do something hard, when you're making a change in your life, when you're trying to make something happen, it's uncomfortable. It's really difficult. It's going to challenge you. It's going to push you to the brink. But the good news is, is that because it's so hard, not many people do it. And therefore the chances of you becoming successful are quite high if you just persevere. I just remember telling myself, just keep breathing, keep waking up, keep trying every morning, keep going, okay? Because if I could just stay alive, if I can just keep trying, I will eventually get there. The other thing that helped me a lot is just taking it one day at a time. I know that it's important to think long term. What does your business look like in 10 years, all that kind of stuff. But when you're in the struggle, when you're having a tough time, that can be overwhelming, that can be daunting. And even just thinking two weeks, three weeks, a month ahead can be stressful if you're in a really tight space. And that's why just thinking about the next day, let's just get to the next day and do what I'm supposed to do and work as hard as possible, as if today is the last day of my life and I have to make it count. And I do the same thing the next day and the next day and the next day. What I'm saying is you start getting some traction, you start making some moves, you start getting a few small, tiny wins. Even if it's just somebody saying, good job, or I like your idea or I love your podcast or your content or whatever it might be. It might not be financial, but it's something that will lead to something great. And taking it day by day helps you just stay focused. Another thing that really helps is trying to focus on what you're grateful for. Most of us don't understand how blessed we are, how many great things we have going for us, even when we think we have nothing. Okay? Most of us have all our faculties. We have a working, solid mind. We have all our limbs. We can walk, we can talk, we can hear, we can see. These are things you might think, oh, that's standard. No, it's not standard. There's many people that don't live like this, don't have the tools we have, and despite all that, they still can figure a way to be successful. But you already have so many things to be grateful for. So just think about that. I like to start my day with just writing down three things I'm grateful for. And that kind of leads me to my next point, my next tip. One of the things I always say I'm grateful for is the people around me. I'm lucky enough to have a partner in life, partner business. Nicole, who is super supportive, that is helpful, that believes in what we're trying to do. And I always say this life and business is as hard as it is. You don't need to make it harder on yourself by having people around you that don't make it easy, that don't support you, that don't help. Now, when I say don't support you, I'm not talking about people that maybe challenge you or question some things in a loving, caring manner. Okay? It's okay for somebody to challenge your ideas or your thoughts if it's coming from a good place. But overall, you need to be around a supportive network. So this means making the effort of making new friends that are positive, that believe in what you're doing, that are trying to do the same thing you're doing. This means evaluating the people that are close to you and how much time you're spending with them. And if they are positive or a negative contributor to your life, that quote by Jim Rohn, you're the average of the five people around you is true. Okay? So make sure the people around you are helping you get to where you want to go, that are cheering you on, that actually celebrate more than you do when you win. You need these kinds of people. And if you don't have these people now, now you need to make it a top priority to start meeting new people, going to meetups, go to parties, go to dinners, go to anything you can to meet new people, make new friends. And a lot of these events are free in your local area. They don't actually cost that much, and if they do have a ticket price, they're pretty inexpensive, and they include pretty much like dinner and drinks and things like that. So it's pretty, pretty affordable. But the value you get from it is incredible. I'm going to tell you, just recently I went to one of those meetups because I'm trying my best to continue to grow my network and build friends and really just be out there. And I was really tired. It was a Friday night. It was the end of the week. I was exhausted. I had the longest week ever. But I pushed myself to go to this event. I went to the event, I spoke some people. I was energized. I felt good. They had some speakers and a panel, and we learned a bunch. And then after the panel, you kind of get to talk to people, mingle a little bit, get to know people. I did that a bit. Then I was like, okay, I'm going to go home now. I'm tired. And then I actually walked out of the actual space. I looked at Nicole and I was like, you know what? Let's go back in. I know I'm tired. I know that I want to go home and just recharge my batteries. But let's put in another hour. Let's put in another 30 minutes or something where we meet a few other people. We made it this far. We're here. Go ahead and maximize the effort. So I went back in, I spent some more time, then I went home and I felt so much better that I actually pushed myself because I'm tired anyway. I'm not gonna get any more tired. So let me just go ahead. I'm here now. And it makes all the difference because you meet people, they add you to LinkedIn, you start chatting, you're saying, hey, we got another event next week. Cool, I'll see you there. Before you know it, you have some new friends that are really supporting you and your work. This episode of the $100 MBA show is brought to you by this Is Small Business, an original podcast from Amazon. It's all about what it takes to be a successful small business owner. Today. I've listened to a bunch of episodes of this Is Small Business and here's the deal. It's practical, it's short, it's to the point. And it's about real small business owners navigating through the journey of building a successful business. They cover topics like how to attract investors, how to manufacture your own product, and the pros and cons of a business partnership. Very, very useful. So go ahead and listen to this Is Small Business wherever you get your podcasts. Again, it's called this Is Small Business. Dig in right after this episode. Got a 7am meeting on a Monday expensing breakfast because it's in policy wasting all afternoon submitting an expense report for that breakfast. If your company used Ramp, you could submit expenses with just a text. Yay. Free your team from expense reports today. Switch your business to ramp.com to wrap up today's Q and A. Wednesday's question from David in the moment when you're feeling low, whether it's in the morning when you're getting up, or maybe in the middle of the day, it's hard to remember the things I just talked about. So my recommendation is to listen back to this episode and write down these things on a post it note. And you can carry this post it note wherever you go. You can stick it to the back of your phone so that it's easily found anywhere you are at. Because I often forget and I have to do this sometimes. I have it in my notes app and I just look at These things when I'm feeling a little bit down. And by the way, that's normal. We're human. I remind myself of these things. I do these practices, and I move forward. And what happens is that these low moments become less frequent. Why not? Because things just magically get easier. It's because we learn how to deal with them and we start to realize it's okay, let's move on. And the best thing about this is that this is the definition of. Of becoming stronger as a person. This is why I always say business is the best personal development program on the planet. I hope that helps David. I hope that helps everyone who's listening. Today we're going after something great. It's not easy, and this is expected. Let's make sure we use the strategies to deal with low moments when they happen. If you love this podcast, go ahead and share it with others on social. Go ahead and let them know you listen to the $100 NBA Show. You can send them over to 100- MBA-NET so they can subscribe to the podcast themselves. Thanks so much in advance for doing that. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Sylvester Stallone in an interview, once said, one of my favorite things I've ever heard, and that is everybody has problems. Okay? Poor people have problems. Middle class people have problems. Rich people have problems. May not be money problems, but they have problems. Okay? We all have problems. This is normal. The key in life is choosing the problems you want to have. You're gonna have problems, but choose the ones you want to have, the ones that you want to deal with, the ones you want to conquer. And as you go through life, you start upgrading your problems. These problems come less and less critical or less high pressure. They're still problems, but they're better problems to have. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you in Friday's episode. I'll see you then. Take.

[A]

And we're back, folks. It looks like Jim from sales just got in from his client lunch and he's got receipts. His next meeting is in two minutes. The team is asking, can he get through his expenses in that time? He's going for it. Is that his phone? He's snapping a pick. He's texting.

[B]

Ramp.

[A]

Jim is fast, but this is unheard of. That's it. He's done it. It's unbelievable.

[B]

On ramp expenses are faster than ever. Just submit them with a text. Switch your business to ramp.