The Resilient Entrepreneur, Edition #91
Hi there
I hope you had a great week!
Here are the topics in today's edition:
- Should Entrepreneurs Be Proactive or Keep Calm? The Answer Is: Both
- What if Your Bank Goes Bust? A Preparation Guide for Entrepreneurs
Please reach out if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for articles!
Talk soon 👋
Tom
LEADERSHIP FOR RESILIENT ENTREPRENEURS
Should Entrepreneurs Be Proactive or Keep Calm? The Answer Is: Both
Do you want to seize the moment but not freak out unnecessarily? Then you have to learn to be proactive and keep calm at the same time.
It’s good to be ambitious. It’s good to be proactive.
From my own experience as the Founder & CEO of Yonder, a B2B SaaS company, I fully agree: I set ambitious targets for myself and my team, and I plan my work 2–4 weeks ahead.
Now, this article isn’t about being ambitious and proactive. It’s about keeping calm and carrying on in the midst of entrepreneurial hectic and all the setbacks that are oh-so-characteristic of entrepreneurship.
Once again: It’s good to be ambitious and proactive. But keeping calm is possible even when you’re ambitious and proactive. Looking at our team as a whole and our journey over the last few years, I think we do have some potential for improvement in this area.
Let’s look at some real-life examples.
Example 1: A New Customer
Winning new customers is exciting, especially when a new large customer signs up. That’s what happened recently after a long dry spell in sales.
Of course, the team was excited when the message came through that we had been selected as the provider and that the contract would be signed shortly.
And that’s when the unnecessary hectic began. We need to set up the tenant for the new customer. We need to plan on-site training sessions. And damn, the assigned customer success manager was just about to leave for a 3-week vacation.
Guys. Saying that a contract would be signed is not the same thing as signing a contract. I had to hold everyone back, and I looked like a party spoiler. I reminded everyone that we should cross the bridge once the contract was signed.
Guess what? The contract was signed two days before the assigned customer success manager returned from vacation, and he could jump right in after his return.
Example 2: A Promised Deep Sell
One B2B SaaS strategy is land-and-expand. You start with a small scope in a big organization, proving the value of your solution, and then expanding from there.
We’ve followed this avenue many times. And on quite a few occasions, our customers asked for proposals for an organization license, i.e., a flat-fee license covering their entire organization. Some of these proposals showed very big numbers that made us dream.
Now, back to the topic of this article. What happens every time an enterprise customer asks for an organization license proposal? Unnecessary hectic. We start discussing how to refactor our software to handle the huge amount of new users. We dream about the marketing effects the big rollout will have in the industry, and what it would mean for our future growth and potential exit perspectives. And amid the frenzy, we tell our board about the big proposal.
Guys. They only asked for a proposal for a deep sell, but they haven’t signed the proposal yet. Deep sells in enterprise organizations always take much longer than anticipated, as you have to navigate hierarchies and procurement. Wait for the purchase order before you get carried away by unnecessary discussions.
Example 3: Market Consolidation
The B2B software market is changing fast. It’s not just because of AI, but because investors love vertical software in B2B markets with high switching costs.
That’s why every now and then, we are approached by investors and consultants, asking us for our view of the market we operate in. We’ve also seen competitors merge and partners being sold to competitors.
Enter the hectic, again. Every time an investor or consultant reaches out, the wildest speculations are discussed. What if competitor A merged with partner B? What if competitor C lured away our top two customers, merely to prepare itself for a merger with competitor D? If such a transaction eventually closed, would the market be dead for us?
It’s good to take competitors and risks seriously. But it’s unwise to try to adapt your strategy and vision to rumors about possible transactions. History teaches us that there is always a third way, and that we should cross the bridge when we get there.
Conclusion
It’s a tight edge between being proactive and keeping your cool. Both elements are required for success — sometimes you have to seize the moment; sometimes being too quick degrades your options.
Do you want to seize the moment but not freak out unnecessarily? Here is my advice: First, plan conservatively. Second, prepare but don’t overprepare. And third, seize the moment when the time is right — not before, and not after.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT FOR RESILIENT ENTREPRENEURS
What if Your Bank Goes Bust? A Preparation Guide for Entrepreneurs
The possibility that your bank goes bust is more likely than you might think. Remember Silicon Valley Bank? Check out if you are prepared.
When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in 2023, one of our suppliers at Yonder, the company I co-founded, was affected. We received urgent messages to change payment details immediately; already issued invoices were reissued with the new bank details and an urgent request to wire the funds immediately. Liquidity is the lifeblood of any company, and it looked like that 200M USD supplier was in a cash crunch due to the collapse of the bank.
In today’s world, a lot can go wrong. It’s not just the large issues, such as climate change or the return of war to Europe. Everything is connected, and the consequences of seemingly small events can be huge. We’re much more susceptible to crises than we commonly think — yet nobody dares to think the unthinkable. It’s because people still cherish the (past) good times, and they don’t recognize the need to build a crisis attitude.
In this article, let’s think about crisis preparation for a bank run, a bank collapse, or a move of your bank into another country.
Here are some aspects to consider.
1. Don’t Put All Your Eggs Into One Basket
It’s a simple rule, yet often ignored: Don’t put all your eggs into one basket. Decentralize your assets — that’s also true for your retail banking assets. I know most banks try to sell you a package of all banking products your company needs, but have you thought of the consequences of using such a package when that bank goes bust?
I suggest keeping accounts with at least two different banks — if feasible from a regulatory standpoint, even in two different countries. If you are doing business internationally, the same applies to currencies — keeping accounts in different currencies provides a natural hedge against FX fluctuations.
2. Buy Time
When the shit hits the fan, you need to buy time. Remember the example of our supplier at the beginning of this article? That 200M USD revenue company was struggling for cash. Because of a single bank collapse.
Besides decentralizing your financial assets, paying some of your expenses through credit cards with high spending limits can buy you a little time: Most of the hectic will be already over when your credit card invoice comes due. It’s similar to food stock: You don’t need to bunker up for 5 years; it’s sufficient to survive the first few turbulent weeks. That’s true for financial turmoil, too.
You can also use services such as Stripe and PayPal to pay and receive money. With such services, you can bypass traditional banks, both on the receiving and the spending side.
3. Good Old Cash
It doesn’t work for all businesses, but keeping a little cash to pay for the most urgent expenses in times of a bank run or a bank collapse is certainly a good idea. But as with the other preparations described above, cash doesn’t solve the problem on its own; it’s part of the mix of preparation measures that will ease pressure in dire times.
Conclusion: Are You Scared?
You don’t need to be scared. Thinking the (not-so) unthinkable is an essential skill for every entrepreneur. Don’t belittle other people’s crisis preparations, and don’t underestimate the speed at which the world can change for the worse.
Do you need help getting started to think the unthinkable? I have summarized my thoughts on crisis attitude and preparation in an eBook you can download for free.
Happy reading!
About Me
Growing a company 📈 in uncertain times 🔥🧨 is like running a marathon — it demands grit, strategy, and resilience.
As a tech entrepreneur 💻, active reserve officer 🪖, and father of three 👩👦👦, I share practical insights and write about entrepreneurship, leadership, and crisis management.
When I’m not solving problems, I recharge and find inspiration in the breathtaking mountains 🏔 around Zermatt 🇨🇭.
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