The Carpenter: A Story About the Greatest Success Strategies of All

Chapter 33Creating the Impossible

Michael wanted to build the kind of business where people would ask him how he did it, and every day as he sat at his desk he was reminded of the lessons the carpenter had taught him. He truly hoped J. was right about everything being spiritual, especially since he kept praying for a miracle. With two weeks to go, he and Sarah needed something miraculous to happen or else their business and dream would be dead.

He thought they would easily be able to raise money from investors, but everyone he met with balked because Social Connect had already lost their biggest client. It raised too many red flags, and Social Connect was considered a very risky proposition. Investors figured that when the company went bankrupt its intellectual property could be bought for pennies on the dollar, so why take the risk now?

Michael knew that as soon as their biggest client’s contract ended, Social Connect would run out of money very quickly without additional funding. Even if they secured several new clients in the next two weeks they wouldn’t see the revenue right away, and without support from investors, he had to find other funding to keep them afloat until new client revenue came in. That is, if he was even able to acquire new clients.

He remembered reading about Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, who, in the early days of the company, was faced with a similar situation. He didn’t even have enough money to make payroll, pay for their jet fuel, and keep the company ...