I-Marketer Blog and Newsletter

A little personal history (you’ll need this to understand how you can overcome your anxiety in just a minute…)

Back in 1990 I had just started my own consulting business.  I had a beautiful office in one of the most envied addresses in Memphis.  I had a nice 4 bedroom home in Cordova, an upscale suburb on the northeast side.  My neighbors were young doctors and FedEx pilots.

Even though I had financed the whole thing on my 7 credit cards as well as a signature loan, my wife and I were optimistic about the future—we knew we’d make it big.

In my first month I landed a dozen or so new clients, netting me around $8,000.  Not bad for a first month.  Everything was working just as I planned.  Lots of money coming in, prestigious address, great home life.  The overhead of an office and receptionist didn’t really bother me.  I knew it was all going to work out just fine.

Plus, I liked “lunching” with potential clients at upscale eateries, wearing nice suits and crisp-white tailored French-cuff shirts.

The second month was more of the same—we netted out over $9,000.

That’s when the roof caved in.

Looking back I can see a combination of  my arrogance as  a 26 year old “hot-shot”, my own inner fears and my desire for a lifestyle I couldn’t afford caused my problems.  I wasn’t prospecting for enough new clients.  I wasn’t pre-screening the prospects I did have.  I was spending way too much time face to face with people who couldn’t afford and/or weren’t prospects for my services.

The third month, things were tight.  After paying my overhead I made a very small profit—less than $2,000.  “That’s alright,” I told myself, “it’s just a slow month.  I’ll get on the phone, get some new clients and we’ll be back on track next month.”

But I didn’t get back on track.  In fact, I lost even more ground.

By the sixth month I was no longer able to pay my receptionist or my lease.  I was getting weekly cash advances on any credit card that wasn’t already maxed out.  I was paying everything late or not at all and my debt skyrocketed with interest and penalties.

By the eighth month I was 3 months behind in my office lease.  The property manager was nice enough to let me leave and break my lease, but I still owed them over $3,000 for the 3 months I was behind.  I wasn’t making my house payments either and the idea of foreclosure loomed dark in my mind.

My life seemed bleak.  I was totally defeated.  I quit opening the bills, answering the phone.  Maybe you feel the same (I’ll show you how to stop this in just a minute.)

Worse yet, I didn’t want to tell anyone about my situation.  I was embarrassed.  I didn’t get overwhelmed with debt because of some tragedy like a divorce or illness.  I got over my head trying to be a hot-shot.

Turned out I was more of a “hot-not.”

Through a group I belonged to I had met Jim, a business owner in his 60’s who seemed to have a lot on the ball.  I drove to his office and spilled my guts, asking for his advice.  His response:

“Kevin, being in debt isn’t your problem—not having a plan to get out of debt is.”

He went on to explain how EVERYONE gets into debt at one time or another in their lives.  In our world today it is inevitable.   The ones who go on to financial success are the ones who put together a plan to rid themselves of the debt.

Then he told me something truly life-changing: Once I had a workable plan in place to deal with my debt, I could put those worries behind me.  Avoiding bill collectors, not opening my mail, burying my head in the sand only increased my anxiety.  I needed to put together a plan.

That afternoon we came up with a plan to deal with my debt.  The first part of the plan dealt with how I could make regular payments on my debt.  The second part was how I was going to increase my income so I could survive financially.

It was tough to face the bills, total them up, look at the balance and come up with a workable plan.  But once I did an amazing thing happened—my anxiety lifted.  I was able to be creative again.  I was able to get back to work on making money rather than worrying about debt.

Today I am completely free of debt.  No mortgage.  No car loans.  The feeling of freedom is refreshing.  The feeling of personal control over my destiny is amazing.

It’s a feeling I want you to experience.

Now, let’s move on to where you are…and how you can be free from the anxiety associated with your debt.

If you’re reading this it is likely you are in debt.  It’s also pretty likely your debt causes you some anxiety—you aren’t seeing how you will ever be out of debt.

On the next page you will discover how you can rid yourself of the fear and anxiety caused by debt and never have those fears again:

http://all-in-one-business.com/imarketer/2006/03/22/step-one

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 at 3:31 pm and is filed under Debt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.