BIO: Donald Cohen is the founder of doncohenconsulting.com. He is collaboratively empowering LinkedIn proficiency and performance.
STORY: Donald opened a successful store in Detroit and sold it after four years. He and his girlfriend got married and moved to Denver, where he decided to open a similar store. He didn’t realize that the two markets were different, and he couldn’t replicate his Detroit success in Denver.
LEARNING: Failure isn’t final. You don’t lose until you quit. Have a plan and write it down.
“Little things done right compounded over time are huge.”
Donald Cohen
Guest profile
Donald Cohen is the founder of doncohenconsulting.com. He is collaboratively empowering LinkedIn proficiency and performance. He is the founder/CEO of Tool King. He was a two-time internet retailer of the year, a two-time top 50 website of the year by an internet retailer, a three-time INC 500 CEO. He was also the top Amazon and Walmart Marketplace partner, generating $200,000,000 in sales, beginning with $4 on e-Bay.
Worst investment ever
Donald opened up a little tool store in Detroit. He made $50 a week for the first year. By the second year, he had bought the building, the restaurant next door, and lived in an incredible high rise with a new car. After four years of being pretty successful, He sold the business and the building. Donald and his girlfriend of seven years decided to get married and move to Denver.
In Denver, Donald decided to open a store similar to his in Detroit. On the day he opened the store, nobody showed up. This was the trend for two weeks. In the third week, a competitor opened a bigger store making things more complicated for Donald.
Eventually, Donald decided to close down for a few weeks to regroup and develop a better strategy. After a while, he decided to go wholesale instead of retail, and he was able to make the business a success in a few weeks.
Lessons learned
- Failure isn’t final. You don’t lose until you quit.
- You need perseverance to deal with and move on from poor business decisions.
- Anybody can run a successful business. Be disciplined, pace yourself, and have fun while at it.
- Have an informal board of directors for your business.
Actionable advice
Have a plan and write it down. Anything you put in writing becomes powerful. Also, always take action, don’t just sit around.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Donald’s goal for the next 12 months is to continue accelerating the path he’s on.
Parting words
“Reach for the stars and reach out to me if I can help in any way.”
Donald Cohen
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