This week Friday I noticed that for the first time in a while I had more energy and a definite bounce in my step. The good news from the day before landing a new packaging account has definitely impacted me more than I had thought it would. I was used to having truckloads being delivered weekly and I am trying to get back to those volumes as quickly as possible. This is about getting back on the horse which is the hardest part having been down this road before.
This news was followed up by even more good news with other possible accounts on Friday that were not even on the radar. When I was talking to my business partner of Friday evening how things change so quickly he said this is how things normally work. This is like waiting for a bus that is way overdue and then 3 arrive at once.
It is definitely a type of rush you experience and I guess it is a dopamine type effect that gambling addicts encounter. I have to admit there is nothing better than landing new accounts when you are working for your own business because it justifies all the time and effort. When you are expecting something to happen then there is no real surprise, but when things are unexpected the feeling does impact you far more.
For months on end nothing changes and it can drain you mentally and it has to dent your confidence. Landing a new account can take years of work and why establishing a business literally takes years. I think my problem has been I have already been through this once with this business and was forced to shut it down due to lockdowns and an inconsistent supply of raw materials. I would rather walk away than let a client down through broken promises and I have not tried to rekindle those old relationships as yet. I am not even sure if I want some of those clients back in my life as things have moved on from those days. The original business before we decided to mothball production took 6 years to get off the ground and this time around it has only been active for 6 months. This is something you tend to forget and why things can change so quickly as you know what and how to do this as you have been there before.
This is an old photo of mine which is a prime example of the crookedness and corruption. The roll on the left is the same specifications on the right and has 30% less material, but weighs the same due to a heavier cardboard core. This client was losing R1 million monthly or $50K through corrupt buyers.
The economy is actually not in a good space right now and if everyone was honest not much has improved since the lockdowns a little over 5 years ago. My partner was telling me just in the last month two of our competitors went under and it is more down to the lack of business as the market has shrunk.
I think this highlights how difficult business has become in general so just by being able to grow in this environment is challenging. The extra accounts that have been picked up over and above the one I mentioned from last Thursday are rather big with one being a bottling plant that runs 24/7 and transports 500 pallets of goods daily. Oddly enough no work went into getting this account and was a chance meeting with someone that opened the door. The chap who is sanding and varnishing my doors at home happens to have a sister who is the buyer for this company. The other two leads came from our Durban office so we all work as a team.
