home business

Bill Bartmann’s professional life has experienced twists, turns, and heart-stopping freefalls. Despite his experiences' resemblance to a ride at Disneyland, they have never embittered Bartmann, who shares his secrets of success as head of Bill Bartmann’s Billionaire Business School. Home Business Magazine® recently discussed with Bartmann his tips for coping with hard times.

Home Business Magazine (HBM): How can the home-based entrepreneur survive hard times?

Bill Bartmann (BB): The most important single thing that people can do when going through challenges is to repeat that “tomorrow is coming.” Most people get so hung upon the dilemma that they forget that there really is tomorrow. This, too, shall pass. People who survive disasters can look into the future and realize that this, too, will go away.

HBM: What are the best steps to take when an entrepreneur’s reputation has been tarnished?

BB: The only thing an entrepreneur can do is to make sure he or she is focusing on doing everything in integrity, because the truth will come out. Eventually, everyone will figure it out.

HBM: What have you learned from the times when your businesses weren’t going well?

BB: I learned that there are three things upon which we can count almost all the time: faith, family, and friends. When things are going down, there are always those sources of strength. When our businesses are suffering, it’s when we need to find somebody who can be sympathetic. There are business things you can do, but they are so individualized. One of the general answers for everyone is having the deep-seated confidence in yourself that you’ve gone thru a bunch of trials and tribulations in your life and you’ve survived every one of them. It makes you your own best role model — not Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or Bill Bartmann. Look at the times you’ve gotten it right. And even when you did it wrong, you survived them.

HBM: When the economy slows down, what can entrepreneurs do to keep their businesses afloat?

BB: The things we can do are simple things: cutting operating expenses as much as we can and increasing marketing expenses as much as we can. The other people are going to do the opposite. Good. The likelihood of our success is great, because our competition isn’t being smart. This is so elementary and basic that people think it has to be complicated. They think it is some long-haired guru on top of a mountain saying this, but instead it’s so simple.

HBM: What are the signs that an entrepreneur needs to change things in his business to keep it going?

BB: The simplest barometer is the 4 a.m. gut check. If you wake up in a cold sweat, it’s your body and mind conspiring to tell you that something’s wrong. We’re smarter than we think we are, and we have better signals and clues than we give ourselves credit for. By being thoughtful during those times, it’s amazing how simple those answers become. Get a ballpoint pen and a legal pad. Get a cup of coffee or whatever you like to drink and sit down on your couch and think about what you can do. It works.

HBM: How do you balance family time with work time?

BB: It’s a challenge that can only be done with the concurrence with the family. I tell new entrepreneurs that it is the most important conversation they have with their loved ones. They should tell them what they’re intending to go do and what it will cost in time. Make sure the other parties are willing to pay that. Most of us never have that conversation. We men assume that the wives want bigger houses and all these financially wonderful things like nicer cars and better schools or nicer clothes. That is not always true.

Maybe they want you to show up for the PTA meetings and hockey games. I spent a period of my life obsessed with getting rich. It almost cost me my family. I can look back at times where I was not a good father or a good husband, because I failed to take care of my other obligations. I was lucky; most people end up getting a divorce, and no business is worth that. The great thing about home businesses is we can go back to working at home and have a good living and do it in a place where we can have a family life. HBM

About the author: Deborah Jeanne Sergeant writes from her home in Red Creek, N.Y. Her web site is www.hometown.aol.com/skilledquill/freelance.html.