Just curious… what are you guessing I’m about to say?

I could say…

“Getting superbad at 80/20”
“Getting superbad at copywriting”
“Buying my amazing new $2000 program”

I’m not against any of those things, but your BEST hedge against disaster is actually:

   One Long Shot

            And

   3 Fish In a Barrel

If you’ve got a wife and kids and a mortgage… if you’ve got 30 employees, a lease and payroll to make, and ya can’t just roll the dice on some crazy scheme…

(Even though you are just so sure it’s all going to work out perfectly)

You should have three sources of income – businesses, product lines, major customers, modes of operation – that cover your bills.

And:

You shouldn’t bet more than 25% of the farm on something wild and crazy and futuristic.

A lot of folks get this backwards. Three long shots and one fish in a barrel.

That usually ends with divorce papers.

I was having a conversation a year ago with a marketing rock star in the making. He had two businesses: A “boring” one, that’s big; and an “exciting” one that’s on the grow.

He wanted SO desperately to hurl all his energy into Business #2.

Business #2, by the way, has FAR bigger upside potential than Business #1. His primary gig can only grow so big, and it sort of chugs along.

But it still demands attention. I told him: “You’ll be sorely tempted to starve Business #1 and pour buckets of creativity into #2. But as you just learned from your $4,000 spend on print advertising that got you goose egg, one misfire smarts real bad. Dude, manage your ADHD until Business #2 can pay its own freight.”

That’s frustrating, but it maintains sanity and stability. While his wife is 150% supportive, it’s hard for her to continue to pour out that support if she can’t even buy crayons and tennis shoes.

In the time since, he’s followed that advice. Business #1 has chugged along and Business #2 has exploded.

Last week, one of his suppliers screwed him out of $14,000.

OUCH.

But because he’s been feeding his fish in a barrel, he can shoot ‘em at will and it’s not a major disaster. His next product rollout gets delayed a few months & he’ll take his long shot from a safe position.

There’s an old book called “The Secret to Money is Having Some.” It’s true of opportunities, of relationships, of businesses. Eliminate desperation from the equation. Cuz when you know you can’t get wiped out by your next decision, you make that decision from a place of great strength.

Perry Marshall

I’m taking applications for Roundtable 2014 now

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.