Ep.07-Starting a business in a recession with Brandon Rodman
The History of Weave
Weave was not Brandon Rodman’s first business. In fact, the first business he founded was in 2008, at the beginning of an economic downturn. Until this recession, the 2008 recession was considered one of our biggest since the Great Depression. The business was a call center and he founded it with his brother.
In the years prior, Brandon had spent most of his time as a door to door salesman. During that time, he not only honed his sales skills but he also learned how to recruit, train, and manage teams. And the freedom. It was a big part of what encouraged Brandon to start a business as opposed to getting boss at an existing organization.
After attempting to start a non-profit, Brandon bumped into what may have been software and hardware for the first speed dialer. This ultimately helped Brandon and his brother start their call center. Because sales is such a numbers game, Brandon immediately saw the value of a speed dialer. You could get in front of so many people in such a short amount of time.
With a family connection to dentistry, he decided to put the software to use with helping dentists schedule and maintain their appointments. All the time they spent on phone with patients gave them a tremendous amount of insight into the industry. And that knowledge gave Brandon an idea.
Adaptability
Learning to talk to people from all sorts of backgrounds in his door to door sales days prepared Brandon for the time of transition from the call center to what is now Weave. Those days speaking to a hundred people a day help him stay fluid and keep his emotions in check. Whenever you start on a business venture, you need to have the same type of adaptability. Take in user feedback, shareholder’s opinions, product reviews and anything else you can get your hands on and roll with it.
Likelihood is you’ll metaphorically get punched in the face because nothing goes according to plan. So what are your contingency plans? And if you can’t make any of those, how can you build the skill of adaptability to calm potential anxieties, to help you level set and remain strategic?
Being Relentlessly Resourceful in a Recession
Like a cockroach. You mean, you never considered how an entrepreneur is like a cockroach?! Neither had I. But it paints an interesting picture. A recession is no joke. It’s daunting and scary. It’s pervasive and deep. But if you think you’re a business cockroach, then you’ll arm yourself with everything you need to survive the metaphorical nuclear bomb that is this recession.
Being like a cockroach isn’t just being indestructible. It’s also being resourceful. Limitations can bring out our creativity.
3 Takeaways
- Be quick to adapt to change.
- Do what you have always wanted to do.
- Figure out what you’re passionate about and go for it!