Snookered!

About thirty years ago, I made a really, really bad choice. One that caused me to throw away almost a year of my life. One that cost me thousands of dollars. One that caused me to lose an investment property. And worst of all, one that caused me to lose my dignity.

I was a successful business-to-business marketing consultant. I had a small roster of dependable clients. And I had twenty-five years of business experience. I thought I knew the ropes.

One of my clients, we’ll call him Bill, was the president of an up-and-coming medical electronics manufacturer. The company was bought by a major corporation, and Bill was moving on. He suggested we go into business together.

Our idea was simple. Using his business management background and my marketing skills, we would offer our services to startup technology businesses to help them attract investor financing. We had the experience to recognize good business opportunities and the ability to write business plans that would appeal to prospective investors.

I had worked with numerous small technology entrepreneurs. They knew their technology inside and out, but often knew next to nothing about business management and marketing.

We would provide our services in return for a fee to be included in the business plan or an equity position in the company. It was a good idea in 1995. It still may be.

The only catch was that my business partner was a dishonest grifter who was only looking out for himself.

The first clue that I chose to ignore was that every time I suggested we sign a contract to protect us, he said his lawyer was working on it. That it was just about ready. I trusted him.

I introduced Bill to many of my clients and colleagues. He and I had long conversations on the way to these appointments about business and ethics. Bill confirmed everything I wanted to hear. In hindsight, he played me like a cheap violin.

The second clue I chose to ignore was that several of my friends and colleagues to whom I introduced Bill said they didn’t like or trust him. I assured them that they were wrong about him.

I knew it would take some time to get our business off the ground. I plowed so many hours into naming, marketing and publicizing our business venture that I ended up neglecting some of my current clients. My billings were down, but I believed in Bill and the future of our relationship.

My personal bills started piling up. I relied on credit cards to tide me over until the money started coming in. Then, one of the tenants in my two-family investment property suddenly left without paying their rent.

Bill reassured me that our contract and our success were right around the corner.

I couldn’t ignore the next clue. I received a phone call at home one Saturday morning from a former member of the Board of Directors for the medical equipment manufacturer.

“Karl,” he said after a little small talk. “I just heard you’re in business with Bill. You do know that he’s a liar and a grifter, don’t you? Everything that comes out of his mouth is either not true or a wild exaggeration. Do yourself a favor and don’t go through with it.”

I was dumbfounded. This guy was a lawyer who knew Bill very well. A sick feeling came over me. I began to realize that I had been taken in by a con man.

I met with Bill to talk it over. He told me that one of our prospective clients had made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. When I asked about our business plans, he explained that some things just don’t work out.

I admitted that I was behind on the payments for my investment property, and he offered to take it off my hands for what I owed on it. I finally saw that Bill was only out for himself.

I sued him for breach of contract; but a sympathetic judge said without a contract, I didn’t really have a case. Bill was smug at the hearing.

I was so professionally crushed and personally humiliated that I sat in my home office playing video games all day for nearly three straight months. A good friend and client helped me regain my confidence and get back to work. I later landed a job as Marketing Director for a very successful food company. It was the best job of my career.

I‘m sharing this experience because I want you to know that it’s easy to get fooled by a con man – particularly if you believe in the goodness of people as I do. I wanted so much to believe in Bill that I closed my eyes to reality.

If it happens to you, forgive yourself and move on. Don’t give a con man the power to continue ruining your life.