Business lessons from a resilient entrepreneur who fought his way back from a brutal attack.
During a visit to Las Cruces, New Mexico last December, Joe Bushey and his fiancé were victims of a random violent attack. Bushey was hospitalised for a week to treat his injuries from being repeatedly beaten, including a leg broken in multiple places. His hip-to-toe cast left him unable to fly back to his Atlanta businesses, POS World, Inc., a value-added technology products reseller, and INTOUCH Interactive, a consulting and software development firm. His livelihood depended on maintaining them despite his injuries. But this wasn’t the first time Bushey had beat the odds.
Bushey’s team of 28 employees had already been tested once. After POS World’s revenue fell 30 percent during the recession, the cost-conscious entrepreneur had already slashed costs, and employees agreed to a temporary 20 percent pay cut to avoid layoffs. By mid-2010, POS World was profitable again, allowing him to focus more time on INTOUCH, which he had launched just two years earlier.
This time, wheelchair-dependent Bushey set up shop in the New Mexico hotel room he had rented for his trip, staying connected to the Atlanta office through his laptop and iPhone. But he was able to restore his own health and reach some remarkable milestones in his businesses. This year, the combined businesses are projected to reach $20 million in combined revenue and POS World had its most profitable month on record in March. Through his challenges, Bushey learned and applied three lessons that helped lead his companies out of the crisis.
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