It had taken me a decade to acquire expertise in the clothing industry. In less than four hours of coaching, my new friend in Chicago had encapsulated what I needed to know about the leather industry. The random telephone call had not landed me in the heart of the hornet’s nest after all. Out of millions of people, something, somehow had delivered me in the hands of just the right person. “Thank you, thank you . . .” I repeated, as a mantra.
At my meeting with the president and other management for the leather company, they led me on a tour of the facility, threw open their books to me, and gave me a good picture of their business.
Two brothers had started the company more than 50 years ago, manufacturing fine leather for gloves and purses from sheep and goat skins. A few years before, the surviving brother, by then in his eighties, sold the company to a conglomerate for $8,000,000 in cash. Within months of the sale, the cost of raw materials started to rise and was now 11 times more than what it had been two years before. No one, including the original owners, had anticipated that rise in prices. The profits started to slide precipitously before the ink on the contract could dry. Now the entire business had stalled, with practically no production and sales.
I made a proposal. The president loved it and scheduled a meeting for us with the group vice president at their offices in New York. There, he introduced me as a man who could grasp their problems in one day, when people who had worked at the company for 30 years couldn’t figure it out.
I explained the problem. Their company had a good product, and customers were loyal. They had an excellent team of experienced and honest people managing the company. Their fault line was in the supply chain. Their raw materials were sheep and goat hides, semi-processed in wet condition. These skins came from one country, Iran, and the price of hides at the source had gone up drastically. To compound the problem, they had one single broker procuring those materials for them. They needed to diversify their supply chain, and it needed to be done fast because the business was choking.
The boss asked how I could help them.
I told them their need was for someone to travel to other countries where sheep and goat skins were available, to line up other suppliers. It could not be done by mail or telephone calls. One would have to examine their supply capabilities. That could be done by one of their experienced people, or by me.
The question of my fees came up and I quoted the figure, as I held my heart in my hands.
Before the meeting, I had consulted a good friend. His advice was, “be bold, be bold, and forever be bold.” He knew I was desperate for cash flow and would settle for practically anything at that time. He said my clients would not respect me and my work if my price was not high. He said I needed steel in my backbone.
I quoted an amount that was twice the median yearly income of an average American at that time, plus my travel expenses, for two months of my time. No guarantee of any results—they would have to depend on my best efforts.
The contract was signed with one modification. It read first-class travel. I had them change it to economy class. The look of disbelief on the face of the executive assistant making the change was priceless.
I was back in the saddle.
balbirmathur.com 
“Ancora imparo”