A few days ago Jeanie and I had the pleasure of visiting Oklahoma City for a sporting event, and were invited to accompany a friend and his wife to dinner at Mickey Mantle’s. Our friends are about to open a brand new restaurant in Dallas with two well known professional athletes, and I couldn’t help but wonder why on earth anyone would do that at this point in time! I suppose with the partners on this project one wouldn’t have to worry about getting your hands on the necessary working capital to get the job done, but with the general economic landscape appearing so bleak for many months to come, why on Earth would you jump into that equation?
In our friend’s case, it’s because that is who he is. Because loans are hard to come by doesn’t make a true entrepreneur slow down, but rather forces them to move in other less traditional paths to attain working capital. In fact, it may be the perfect time to get spectacular lease terms on property which might not otherwise even be available! People wired this way don’t see issues but solutions. I must confess that my spirit was somewhat renewed by that perspective and the dinner was worth exponentially more to us long term than the monetary investment (and it was an investment). Oh, and the other friend who joined us that evening is also starting a new business in the energy arena, and he shared much the same attitude toward our present economic mess… that of rare opportunity.
I bring up this story to remind us that the reason we got into entertainment in the first place was not only an artistic spirit, but an inability to follow traditional paths and abide by the rules which invariably accompany those on the customary routes. We are idea people with an entrepreneurial sprit which really can’t be contained by prevailing conditions but only by our own decision to stop looking for ways to reach our goals.
Don’t let these tough times slow you down. Use our current economic downturn as an opportunity to reconsider each element in your business plan to assure yourself and your employees that your vision is clear and the time is still now. We’ve got magic to create and our audience needs to experience it now more than ever. Someone at that table may well be looking to your vigor to keep their business spirit sustained. Oh, and I highly suggest the striped bass on lobster risotto as a great way to get the creative juices flowing at Mickey’s! We’ll let you know how the place in Dallas turns out when it opens in December. I’m confident it will be fabulous!
Garry Leigh
