Our office was in one of the partner’s homes when we started. There were serious times when we were not making money, had no salary or cash flow, and could not pay our three-person staff. My partners, Ken Shead and Mike Russell, kept saying, “We will make this work; our time will come.” We were close to folding the business when we received the good news that the 1988 U.S. Olympic committee had chosen us to be their supplier. We were shocked and looked at each other and said, “Now what do we do?” It gave us instant credibility and opened up doors for a deal with Disney, which came next. In July 1989, after six months of negotiating, we signed an agreement with an apparel company that infused significant capital into our business, which helped us turn the corner.
When you are facing difficult times and it does not look like you will make it, that is when you need to keep pulling and plugging, because you never know when that one additional phone call or extra effort will get you over the hump. I am a perfect example of that, because in business, we could have folded the tent a long time ago and we would never have known how close we were to making it happen. A lot of people give up when a little extra effort or push is all that is needed.
Bio: Drew Pearson played professional football for the Dallas Cowboys. During his eleven-year career, he played in three Super Bowls and was an All-Pro three times. After his career ended, Drew opened a sports apparel business and experienced the challenges that many entrepreneurs face. Source: www.survivingadversity.com
