How to survive a recession

Hi everyone,

It was 2008 and having just started my new company, The Goodbrain, I was regularly getting punched in the mouth by the Great Recession. Money was scarce. Companies were “downsizing” and a lot of people either had their salary cut or were let go. I was married; we were a single family income with 3 young children at the time. No health insurance. No big cash savings. No rich family to lean on — and I would sooner sell a kidney before I gave up and moved back with my in-laws. The future looked daunting.

It was rough and I didn’t really know what I was doing. What I did know was that what got me here was not going to get me to where I needed to go, so I had to do something different. This is pro tip #1.

If you read on, I’ll share pro tip #2 that combined with tip #1 made all the difference and got me through a very challenging financial cycle and launched my business to new heights. Before I share it, I want you to know this secret to my success is not for sale and I’m not going to ask for any money in exchange.

However, if you want to reciprocate anything, please take 5 seconds and leave me a podcast review on ITunes, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, Player FM, iHeart Radio and wherever you listen with however many ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ as you think I deserve for bringing the caliber of guests and free education to you. Reviews are very important. They signal to the platforms that people are engaging and therefore more people will discover the show. It would mean a lot to me, thank you in advance.

Now back to the story…

I started a little group on LinkedIn and it quickly grew to thousands of members. This brought me new attention and even a chapter in a bestselling book!

A year later I started reaching out to some of the most amazing thinkers and doers I could find and inviting them to speak at my events. I tried to make attending these events with A-lister’s convenient and inexpensive. Some of you saw the value, some of you missed the boat. If you know, you know.

Some of you know of the epic success story of how I got Seth Godin to come to Orange County, California in 2009. But almost no one knows the nitty gritty or that the event nearly didn’t happen. This is the essence of my valuable secrets and a model I still use to this day in order to find and land big clients with big budgets.

[FYI - This image is taken from pg 9 of The Goodbrain deck]

Were you there? Nearly 1,000 people filled the Segerstrom Center theater to learn from Seth Godin on this particular night. It was amazing on many levels. This event and many other prior and subsequent “Seth events” couldn’t have happened if the first event in 2009 didn’t prove the model.

I first emailed Seth in 2008 after reading his bestselling book, Tribes. I was inspired because while I was trying to survive a devastating recession, I was living the book out in real time and experiencing the benefits with my little group + email list which had grown to about 25,000 active members.

In summary what Seth wrote in Tribes is, “We all belong to some kind of group, but few ever take advantage of leading one. When you lead a group with the right vision and mission, big things can happen, especially when everyone is rowing the boat in the same direction.”

You may have heard me tell the story of how Seth turned down my invitations to come speak for over a year. More than 2 million people have heard this 8-minute clip…

But what you don’t know is how I convinced him to finally say yes — and how you can use the same technique in your business to help you prosper.

Seth’s objections were as follows:

• You can’t afford me [my speaker fee = $125,000 per hour]

• I only speak at Fortune 500 company events

• I don’t have the time. Southern California is 2,800 miles (6 hour flight) from NYC

• I’m already booked and too busy to commit to another keynote

• Who are you again?

After almost a year of getting polite email rejections from Seth I started to simply send status updates with no expectation of replies on how much Tribes was [literally] helping me build my tribe. After a while I think Seth took pity on me or the squeaky wheel tactic earned me the privilege of a phone call one afternoon in early December 2008.

With the objections in mind I carefully revisited the event idea. I asked a simple question that changed everything. Instead of trying to convince Seth how much coming to speak at my event was worth it, I simply asked, “What do you need?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and I could tell that he was taken aback by the question. He told me that he was finishing one of his most personal books to date called Linchpin. He knew it was going to be an instant bestseller but also he wanted to get it in the hands of as many people as possible — quickly. Timing was everything. Many of us were being swallowed up by the recession. Seth believed Linchpin was a game changer that would have deep impact in the lives of many people for years to come.

I responded with the idea of buying books for all of the attendees in lieu of a speakers fee. I read Seth’s blog religiously and knew that he mentioned being in Long Beach in February to attend the TED Conference. I suggested having the event on Feb. 19th, the day that TED ended so that he could come speak for an hour, then fly back to NYC without missing a beat. I promised him that if he came to talk to my group about Linchpin, that a lot of people would show up and he would make a major impact. To my surprise, he agreed with the following stipulations:

Requirements:

• Send at non-refundable cashier’s check for $10,000 within 72 hrs to hold the Feb. 19th date

• Buy 2,000 books at $20 each ($40,000) within 2 weeks to seal the deal

• Host an amazing event

In what can only be described as being in the zone and believing in the power of my little group to do big things, I hurled a Hail Mary pass and said “Let’s do it.” Keep in mind, I didn’t have $10,000 to spend on Seth. That money was for my house payment, food, utilities etc. for the next 2 months. When I shared the plan with my wife it probably sounded like the old Jack and the Beanstalk story, “I’m selling the cow to buy these magic beans…” She thought I was crazy but believed in me and came on board. I sent the $10,000 check.

Next I had to figure out a way to get $40,000 to buy 2,000 books in the next 14 days. For me, $40,000 in 2008 might as well have been $40 million. There were no sponsors with budget — and no one was willing to loan me money so I turned to my little group.

I had a moment of panic and doubt as I remembered that it was December and most people were probably spending what little money they had on the holidays. December is also typically not a great time to send emails if you want a response. But I was committed and pushed forward anyway. I sent out an email announcing the event to pre-sell tickets to pay for the books. There was a General Admission ticket for $50 that included the book or VIP Experience to meet Seth in a reception + book before the event for $100.

I had been asking my group “what do you need” for about a year. The consensus was a combination of: networking opportunities; business education; inspiration; ideas and more. The event with Seth felt like a win for everyone.

I pushed “send” on the email blast and ticket sales started to trickle in. Within about 6 hours of the same day I sold nearly 900 tickets totalling almost $80,000 in revenue. I was blown away. It was a Kickstarter campaign 4 months before Kickstarter was invented. But this is what Seth wrote about in Tribes. This was the power of stepping up [even when you don’t feel qualified] and leading a group of amazing people. The lightbulb moment for me was huge. “We” was infinitely more powerful than “me.”

I promptly purchased 2,000 Linchpin books; Seth came to OC and gave an incredible keynote and the rest is history. There are many lessons here for me but to restate what I believe are the 2 most significant to me:

#1. What got you here is [probably] not going to get you to where you need to go next. Unless everything in your life is perfect, you have to do something different. This extends to your health, relationships, financial goals etc.

#2. Ask the people who matter, “What do you need?” I’m shocked by how many pitches I get from people wanting my business or attention and they never ask me what I need? Most of the time they come in with a proposal or offer without knowing my needs. Again, this extends to (your) health, relationships, financial goals etc.

Looking back on it, I think part of the reason Seth’s heart changed towards me was because I (unintentionally) stumbled on to a principle taught by his mentor Zig Ziglar. Zig taught, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

I hope this story helps at least one person. Thanks again for being part of my community.

ICYMI - You can read all my previous articles on Inc. Magazine; watch my video interviews or listen to the podcast on ITunes, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, Player FM, iHeart Radio and wherever you listen!

P.S. If you’d like to chat about what I’m doing in my production company to help companies with products and services reach customers and grow their audiences, just send me a note! Btw, this pic was generated with A.I.

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