Know When to Say When - My Three-Sheet Story

A few months ago, I was approached by author Mike Mikalowicz to contribute a personal story from my own entrepreneurial experience to his new book, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. I was especially intrigued with Mike's take on the difference between the "Media Darling Entrepreneur" and the "Toilet Paper Entrepreneur" (much closer to my own story). So I agreed to share my story for the book.

With just a little bit of artistic license, here's my three-sheet story, as retold in the book:

Know When to Say When

In 1992, Scott Allen, Founder of The Windows Experts, thought he had timing on his side. The U.S. economy was just starting to crawl out of a recession, and the demand for Windows-based computer networks was about to go through the roof. Scott was steeped in Windows networking knowledge, carrying expert certifications and experience that was unmatched. The competition was weak and unfocused due to the quiet times of the recession. Demand was growing faster than supply. Opportunity was knocking. Scott jumped on it and started The Windows Experts.

Within weeks of his launch clients started coming on board. But many were small clients, and the sporadic demand did not suit a scalable business. Scott pursued big clients, and when the State of Texas seemed to have the perfect mix of long-term projects, Scott dumped his small clients in order to work exclusively with the big guys. Along with his growing business came a heftier bottom line, so when, just weeks into the new projects, the State of Texas reorganized and abruptly cut off The Windows Experts and other vendors, Scott was in trouble. The loss of his biggest client put a huge damper on Scott's business, and he no longer had small clients to fall back on. With two teens and a newborn at home, Scott and his wife took a serious look at the business and their future. Their analysis changed the course of his business permanently.

Scott and his wife calculated it would take three to six months to reestablish the business with small clients. They discussed the sacrifices of starting over, such as no family time. And they talked about Scott's passion. Did he have enough drive to pull the business out of the hole? Did he want it badly enough? Considering the numbers, the sacrifices, and Scott's lack of sufficient interest in his business, the choice was obvious. It was time to stop.

After Scott called it quits, he accepted a full-time position that took care of his financial needs and allowed him time to discover a passion worth fighting for. A few years later, he found it. Based on his love of transforming virtual relationships into real relationships, Scott launched Link to Your World. Today, Scott is one of the leading authorities on the topic of entrepreneurialism, a frequent speaker on social media, and a fixture on Google's front page for the keyword "entrepreneur." No easy feat. That is unless you know when to stop and rediscover your passion. Scott Allen is a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.