Preparing for Murphy’s Law

So this past weekend I watched my favorite college football team botch a 13 point lead in the 4^th quarter and lose the game in heartbreaking fashion.  They played too conservatively, made too many mistakes, and didn’t expect to win.  They make it hard to keep rooting for them.

So this past weekend I watched my favorite pro football team botch a 13 point lead in Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste.  

Yes, it happened just like that.  There is something bad that has crept into the DNA of Tennessee Football teams.

This happens to entrepreneurs as well.  There seems to be a black cloud that hovers over the head of particular business owners and busy professionals.  Not all of them or even a majority of them.  But too many of them.

Just like my favorite football teams, it appears to be self-inflicted.  Sure bad luck happens and Murphy’s Law is invoked.  And if you have never heard, Murphy’s Law states, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.  Yes, that is the Debbie Downer version of life.

However, I have always heard that:

Good luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

It also appears that bad luck is where threats meet disorder.

So, if every time you:

• Get money saved for taxes, a piece of equipment breaks.
• Get all of your open positions filled, somebody quits.
• Find a marketing strategy that works, it suddenly dries up.

It may be time to better prepare for Murphy’s Law.  You can’t avoid it, but you can at least minimize Murphy and his black cloud.

• Begin a savings plan that includes you paying yourself first.  Once it becomes habit, you won’t even know you are doing it. 
• Always be on the lookout for talent.  Use your referrals, LinkedIn, and even check out your competitors for potential employees and have a list ready to roll when someone quits. 
• Make sure to consistently use 3-5 marketing strategies at all times.  You should review where your business is coming from, at least monthly, and tweak your strategies accordingly.

Again, this won’t solve all of your problems, but it will keep Murphy at bay.

Now for the football teams…I’m open to suggestions.