"It never occurred to me that you can't control some variables"

Another business mistake story reported by Marcia Pledger of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. This story is from Carole Richards, president of North Coast Education Services in Solon, Ohio.

You have to have passion about your product or service if you want to be successful. But I made the mistake of spending way too much emotional energy and time on one deal only.

When my company was five years old, I spent an entire year trying to close a deal that didn't happen. At the time, I was too naive to understand that politics plays a role in business. It never even occurred to me that you just can't control some variables.

At the time, revenues for my company were about $100,000. The deal would have easily tripled sales overnight. I really believed it was going to happen, and I ignored the nuances of politics because I wanted it so desperately. Funding would have come from a foundation and the school board. One person who controlled the purse strings had other plans for the money and killed the deal.

More than 20 years later, I periodically think about that experience when I'm planning new projects. Now, I put in all the energy needed to make it a worthwhile project, but I never invest emotionally until it's a reality.