In our 16th take at Client Horror Stories, Bonnie Rothman, CEO of Company B, brings to Our Beloved Host’s table, Morgan Friedman, a fast, exciting, and very well told (not that she tells stories for a living!) horror story. Today’s tale has everything that a great story needs: dynamism, excitement, plot twists, and shoes in the oven.
In today’s episode, Bonnie walks us through the story of an incredibly well-funded startup that had a great idea and had been growing super fast, so everything indicated that the future ahead could only get brighter. And it did, at first. As Bonnie’s strategies kept making her client’s company grow more and more, so did the excitement that both created revolving around the company’s acceleration and expansion, until one day, 10 minutes before their scheduled team meeting, Bonnie received the call that turned this into a horror story: The team meeting was being canceled, and the investors decided to shut their business down because they weren’t reaching their expected numbers. Harsh.
Bonnie’s tale leaves us with more than a couple of interesting lessons on how sometimes you do everything right (and how important it is that you recognize it!), and you still fail due to factors that could never be managed by you. Reaching the end, Bonnie tells us what she thinks the bottom line is: The most important thing is to be able to build a trust-based relationship with your clients, that allows them to be vulnerable with you and express their fears. Make sure you are trusted, that you provide good and coherent ideas, and that you are a good partner, even if that includes offering to go for a drink after your client learns that their business will be shut down.
About Bonnie:
Your story drives your business and builds your brand. I’m the founder and CEO of Company B, a digital communications agency. A lifelong storyteller, former New York Times journalist and screenwriter, I help high growth companies tell stories through content and public relations, driving massive media attention. Stakeholders want to hear more from you, learn more about you and do more business with you.
