On today’s show I want to address something that has been on the mind of many investors I’ve spoken with in the past week.
We’re talking about the frustration be feeling stalled, of deals falling apart, of delays as a result of the current market conditions and the pandemic induced delays.
I’m hearing from a lot of driven type-A personalities that they feel like they’re failing. When you’re used to getting things done, to slaying a dragon each and every day, it’s unnerving to feel like the market has passed you by.
We have seen delays of all kinds. We have seen professionals like lawyers and accountants take longer than normal to respond. We have seen lenders take longer. We have seen contractors struggle with supply chain disruptions.
We’ve seen customer support calls facing incredible wait times. In the past, wait times that were 6 minutes, are now sometimes 30 minutes, or even 3 hours.
Materials that should have been delivered to a job site in one day have been waiting for over 5 days with no clear forecast on when they will be delivered. Parts for a vehicle repair have been waiting for nearly 4 months. Office supplies that should have been delivered in a single day, took nearly 3 weeks. When they were delivered, the quality was not up to par.
Last year, deals were too expensive. Today, the economy has changed and the deals are still to expensive. It’s going to be another bunch of months before prices fall to the point where the valuations make sense. More waiting.
Oh, it’s an election year in the US. That means some investors will want to see the outcome of the election so that they know what tax rule changes might come into play, depending on who gets elected into the White House.
All of these uncertainties mean only one thing – more delays.
As professionals, we pride ourselves in being able to set expectations. I pride myself in being able to control the outcome. These days, I’m finding myself incredibly frustrated by the seeming inability to deliver items whenever there is a single external dependency.
I don’t control what others do. All I can control is myself and my own response to others.
I find myself making excuses and resetting expectations. Things that used to take a few hours are now taking a week. It’s hard to adjust to the new pace. I’m not working any less. I’m not taking my foot off the gas.
It just feels like life is in slow motion. I hadn’t given myself permission to adjust to the new pace. Is this the new normal?
This week I was in a mastermind meeting with other developers. We compared notes on what was happening in the market. We talked about the struggles we were facing.
It was through the process of masterminds that I finally gave myself the permission to slow down. By talking with other entrepreneurs I was able to see that I wasn’t alone. Everyone was experiencing greater difficulty in getting tasks to completion, to having projects achieve their milestones. Everyone was experiencing changing terms from lenders, seemingly variable commitments from investors.
Everyone was experiencing slower progress and labor shortages in construction. Everyone was experiencing supply chain disruptions.
The stress I was experiencing was the result of the gap between my expectations and the reality on the ground. I only control my expectations and the expectations that I set with others. I can’t change reality. I may be able to influence the future through my actions. But reality is in the present, not in the future, and not in the past.
