Page 23 - Midas Touch

In other words, entrepreneurs must be very fast learners and seekers of
new knowledge, innovation and ideas. Fear is the entrepreneur’s
motivation to learn. If fear paralyzes you, keep your daytime job.

What this really means is that business grows only if the entrepreneur
grows.

Story #6: Holding The Bag
Soon we were shipping wallets all over the world. Although we were
internationally successful, our company was still going broke. We had
much more cash flowing in, but even more cash was flowing out. In a last-
ditch effort, John asked me to raise even more money, which I did. I still

remember the day I walked into his office with a check for $100,000 from
an investor. John and Stanley smiled and thanked me.

A few days later, I was in Chicago at a sporting-goods trade show, selling
Ripper products. At the end of the show, I called Honolulu to report my
results.

Jana, our receptionist, answered the phone. She was crying.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I hate to tell you this, but John and Stan closed the company today. They
took what money was left, and I believe they left town. I don’t know where
they are.”

If I did not have a heart attack then, I will never have a heart attack. The
shock that went through my body was like being hit by a bolt of lightning.
I felt like someone had kicked me in the guts. That phone call was the
beginning of the descent to one of the lowest points in my life.

I returned to my hotel room on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive and stared out
at Lake Michigan. Over and over again, I asked myself, “How could I have
been so stupid?”

John and Stan were gone. Their debts were paid off. I was left holding the
bag for nearly $1 million in loans, money I had raised from friends,
family, and investors. I had no job, no business, no home, and no wife. She
left me once the money was gone, when I sold our condo to pay off the
credit cards so I could use them again.