Sometimes as business owners, especially as a start up, we are tempted to get discouraged and quit. Often times we are right on the edge of our breakthrough when we give up. I'm here to tell you today that you are closer than you think.
Five years ago, I allowed a friend of to come into a business that I had already established. One year after being in business with her, it just wasn't working out. We both hired attorneys to fight for the company that I had built on my own. You can image the frustration I felt. I looked around and noticed that the people who were suffering the most were the clients who were caught in the middle. I decided to contact my attorney to let him know that I had chosen to walk away. And I did just that. Crazy huh?
I decided that I was going to start over again. After I had signed everything over to her, I went to the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a new application. Image my surprise when I found out they were not accepting applications, and wouldn't be for the next three years! I was devastated! I called back the next day to speak with someone else and they gave me the same story. What was I going to do now? I got into my bed and under the covers and cried. I stayed there for two weeks.
One day, I decided to go out and get the mail. There was a letter in there from her attorney wanting me to sign a non-compete. How dare she do this, after I brought her into my business. I had just about given up, until I saw that letter. It lit the fire under me that I needed. I called back to the Department of Health and Human Services and got the same story. I was just about to give up and then I started to pray. I called again and told them my story. The lady that was on the other end of the line told me not to sign any paperwork from the attorney, but to instead come in the following week for a survey. When I went in for my survey that day, I was missing ten items from my policies. She told me what they were and said that normally, they don't license anyone with missing items, but that she trusted I would get them written and put in my binder. She licensed me with an effective date that day.
Over the next year, I built my company larger than it had ever been and continued to grow it. I received many awards and was featured in several magazines, including "Forbes". The irony in the whole thing is that my ex-business partner sold the company one year later and the person that bought it, handed it right back to me. He just called one day and handed it over, "Free and Clear." I was amazed. So, though things may look difficult, don't rule out the favor of God. You have to believe before you can see. Don't give up, because you're closer than you think!
- Tammy Lewis