It is well known that gamblers must occasionally win in order to keep playing their games. The easiest example is that slot machines are programmed to give back a penny or a quarter based on some number of pulls of the handle (or, push of the button). I was thinking about this phenomenon recently when talking with another small business owner. We’ve previously written about Ms. Debbie and her wonderful pies. She is a super positive person and she was talking about her hope for the new year, as well as the fact that she had surprisingly good Thanksgiving sales – the best ever in the history of her business. It hit me that entrepreneurs have a kind of hope based on some positive feedback cycle. When we pull a lever and get a win every once in a while, it feeds us with enough energy to carry on and play another day. For us, that lever is typically a phone call or maybe, an email. We had one client that used to send us letters about new cases, but more often than not, it is a good ol’ telephone call. The phone rings less often than it used to – supplanted by email in many ways. Nonetheless, the phone is more likely the bearer of good news (for us) of new cases. And, just as a slot machine has audible signals of winning, we long ago added sound when a new case call happens. We ring a bell. We keep bells in a couple of spots in the office, and at home, and ring them when a new case comes through. The bell enhances the reward and announces it to all in hearing range (though, Rex, the cat, seems annoyed by it sometimes when it happens at home). Entrepreneurs live on the hope for the next case, the next sale or the next win. We always know it is just one phone call away! Our number is 954-784-0110. Call us and we will ring the bell with your new case!
Interestingly to me, both David and I wrote this post on December 17, 2020, the anniversary of our first retainer check. Although David and I are in two different cities today, we must both be thinking of Magnus’ beginnings and the hope we had for our continued success. As anyone who knows me will verify, I am not an optimistic person nor one with a sunny disposition. That’s just not who I am. However, I do possess a strong entrepreneurial spirit that keeps me “coming back for more,” day after day, week after week, and year after year. I never considered myself to be a gambler, knowing far too much about statistics and the low odds of winning, however, if it takes a gambler to be an entrepreneur, then I guess I am rolling the dice every day Magnus is in business. This year has been extremely difficult on many people, including David and me, but we seem to press on, in hopes that tomorrow and next year will be better. We always have hope for just one more case to keep us going. And, when a client calls, as one long time client did yesterday, it reinforces our willingness to keep on keeping on. I spoke with the client yesterday and I told him I was delighted to hear from him and further, that I live for calls like his. He seemed quite taken aback by my enthusiasm about working on his case, but he understood my point of view when I said his case, and those of his colleagues, are the only reason for Magnus’ existence. Indeed, when times are tough as they have been since March of 2020, it is this gambling entrepreneur’s “eternal hope” that keeps me going. As David and I have said in many prior posts, owning and operating a small business is not for the faint of heart. And, I guess it’s not for those who don’t enjoy rolling the dice for just one more day. And, boy was it fun ringing the bell yesterday!
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