In ’08, Adam & Maria Libman came to a 4-Man Intensive. Two bright-eyed, bushy-tailed optimistic entrepreneurs. They were early in their relationship. Adam was doing part time at his dad’s tax practice and the rest of the time building entrepreneurial ventures.
They hung on my every word, went home and got to work.
Six months later, Adam trusted someone he shouldn’t have. Should have put money in escrow but didn’t. He got HAMMERED financially. Total devastation.
Suddenly he owed EVERYONE money. I remember getting $50 checks towards the remainder of his 4-Man balance. Then he went “BK” (Bankrupt) and completely vanished.
Later I learned he was doing road construction and pretty much anything else that would pay the bills.
Adam and Maria went through a series of long sad years, recovering from that huge blow.
Slowly Adam resurfaced. From time to time he’d post blog comments. Then he came back into our Mastermind Forum. Then in 2012 he came to another 4-Man, seeking advice on a completely different business.
Last year an already-healthy business was up 40% with 20% fewer clients. He’s been replacing low-dollar clients with high-dollar clients and networking with financial influencers on the west coast.
Then he joined Roundtable. At our meeting last week we explored all the ways Adam can get clients who want an “Outsourced CFO” to manage their cash flow.
Now… who would expect a couple of romantic music lovers to emerge as some of the hottest entrepreneurs in the financial space in Southern California… especially after all that?
I’ve always loved the term ‘Dark Horse’: “A little-known person that emerges to prominence, or a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed.”
The term began as horse racing parlance for a race horse not known to gamblers, thus difficult to place odds on.
If most of the adults and teachers in your growing up years just weren’t quite sure what to do with you… you’re in good company. If you’ve been hammered and hammered again, yet somehow you can’t cork that well that rises up inside of you… welcome to the club.
Keep betting on yourself, cuz all the other dark horses are betting on you too.
Perry Marshall
He’s a dark horse in the nighttime
Heading straight for the enemy camp
And he has no fear
‘Cause his eye is clear
Throwing light like a burning lamp
And maybe sometime at the right time
You may see him galloping by
-John Fisher
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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.
2 Comments on “Roundtable Chronicles: Betting on the Dark Horse”
Thx perry for the shout out. I appreciate it. I’m replying to this post to let the readers who are struggling, just know its possible to escape their black hole, whatever it maybe. Having graduated usc business I never thought I’d land in such a pile of crap. But I did. At the time, my entire family thought I was a loser. Well. Most of them. Today, that experience has really helped me connect to my clients. I know what it’s like to ride the bus, to pawn your wedding jewelry. In other words, when I tell a client their strategy or implementation is gonna fail, I just have to tell them my story. Most listen. I’ve also learned the most powerful and difficult statement to say to a business owner…. No. Sometimes somebody has to say no. And I have the backstory now to really say it. In closing, never stop believing in yourself. And never stop increasing your skill set. U only get paid great money for solving hard problems.
That’s really uplifting somehow. Hope my bets pay off someday, net me some money in my pocket, some free time on my calendar, and some tickets to other places so that I can actually do things.
Come to think about it I’m really betting my neck on entrepreneurship, so the only thing I can do is pray and haul, hope and push. Colleges won’t want me, at least those that count, unless I do something awestriking, and even then it’s some risky wager I’ve got on my hands. And even if they would, I couldn’t afford it (yet).
Self education is good and well, but it doesn’t give you a slip of paper, so it’s worth is intrinsic, not extrinsic – short, it won’t get me that cozy cubicle job I don’t even want.
Perry, you really taught a uptonogood kid that noone could ever box properly to wager high. Hmmm…still a quicker crash than slowly being cubicled and quartered somewhere in corp. headquarters, so I’m actually genuinely thankful for that.
Rien ne va plus.