Recognize warning signs in business

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It was 10 p.m. and I chose to ignore the sign that the road was damaged 56 miles ahead. However, taking this shortcut from central California to Santa Barbara on the coast could possibly save me about 100 miles of travel. With any luck, I should arrive at my hotel around midnight, get a little sleep and be at my client’s office by 8 a.m. that morning.

Being the positive risk-taker that I am, I thought I could navigate the rain-soaked mountain roads heading to the Pacific Ocean. It didn’t dawn on me until too late that I wasn’t passing any oncoming vehicles heading inland from the coast.

The boulder completely blocking the road was the size of a small house. There was no way around it. It was then that I realized I had ignored key warning signs and had made some pretty bad decisions to continue on a path that was destined to fail.

Warning signs.

Bob had a $3-million residential design/build company in Texas. He was growing steadily – 15 to 20 percent per year – but barely breaking even in the process. The previous year, he had lost over $30,000 and knew something had to change, but he didn’t know where to start.

Read the full story from the May issue here.