Circumstances are profoundly challenging for society on a monumental level; however, there is beacon inside us all.
Navigating adversity is nothing uncommon to the entrepreneur. Perpetually tasked with putting out fires of macro and micro proportions, is part and parcel of your performance. While survival concession may force many to pivot professionally and personally, the urgency and resolve to face this unprecedented era is something your team will call upon whilst you search for your own existential and internal clarity.
This crisis will test who we are during times of turmoil, for leaders who have built their careers on resiliency, it is their defining moment.
One must follow their inner algorithm and operate in the same manner that they’ve done to get to where they are; by being compassionate, decisive, transparent, and resilient as a leader. Your perseverance will offer them, and yourself, the requisite guidance they need.
I’m Samuel Leach, and I’m CEO and founder of Samuel & Co. Trading Company in Watford, UK. I oversee the operations of my seventy-person, multi-million-pound company that I started in my university dormitory less than a decade ago. By the age of 25, I had crossed the million-pound-threshold in my earnings.
I’ve launched my philanthropic organization OverWatch, which protects endangered species, vulnerable coral life, and aims to prevent further human-made deterioration of our oceans and its ecosystem. I couldn’t have achieved any modicum of success if it weren’t for my pertinacity to take my lumps and keep pushing forward despite all impediments.
In an effort not to minimize the severity of this point in history, I understand that hardships are impactful on the individual, regardless of the measure. Distress remains an obstacle to overcome in any instance. Financial instability was a prevailing theme of my childhood, despite my hardworking mum and dad’s best efforts. They divorced during my adolescence, and at one point, my brother, father, and I shared a one-room abode in an apartment complex. The weight of it all was often overwhelming. That time instilled in me early on that whether or not you were in command of your circumstances, you could always take control of your outlook.
I knew I wanted to make enough money so that my family and I could be economically solvent. I looked up professions in the neighborhood paper that paid well and landed on becoming an oiler on some far away rig; unfortunately, I did not possess the decades worth of experience required to apply.
Schooling was my best chance at making a living. While enrolled in the Marketing and Advertising program At the University of Hertfordshire, I realized that I had an unrelenting passion that was separate from my course work. Captivated by the financial market, I quickly took a part-time job at a local bank, while selling stock tips to my classmates on the side.
I was engrossed in the research of companies’ positions and foreign exchanges. The idea of business and pleasure, being the same, was enticing. Taking calculated risks and betting on oneself was my calling.
After many trials and costly errors in trading, I decided to take the two-thousand-pound bursary, which was for expenses as a student and gamble my future in hopes of a brighter one. The wager I placed on my instincts parleyed my college loan into one-hundred-and-seventy-eight-thousand-pounds within a year.
Taking losses comes with the territory with buying and selling shares. I never dwell on a loss, no matter how significant. You have to be resilient and stay the course to find your next sound investment.
During this global disruption of the status quo, it’s essential not to catastrophize what you cannot control. Take your losses and leave them, they’re only temporary. You have an opportunity to rebuild, recalibrate, and continue on your growth trajectory.
Working from a remote location from your team is the new norm for a lot of businesses. While working from home certainly changes the workplace dynamics, this is an occasion to implement new practices that the monotony of the daily grind won’t otherwise allow. Find the optimistic outliers of your situation.
Resiliency is at the core of any entrepreneur’s or leader’s successes. The elasticity to bend and not break when pushed will be a testament to your character. While this extraordinary situation isn’t millions of meters near business, as usual, conducting yourself in the principled manner that bared the fruits of your labor, you and your staff can move forward with a sense of stability.
You are the captain of your ship, focus on the familiarity and confidence in how you function and chart all territories. You’ve reversed course in dangerous waters before; this time, we’re all in the same boat.
Follow Samuel on his Website and Medium