I Was Robbed…Literally
As we near the end of the first month of Q2, I am both optimistic and still in a bit of shock. Last week, I was the victim of bank fraud and, unfortunately, had a significant amount of money stolen from my business.
The Sucker Punch
Whether you’re a fellow small business owner or simply just human, I’m pretty certain none of us would feel good about our hard-earned money disappearing in the blink of an eye. The crazy part is, I’m the one who is always preaching caution, and I thought I was savvy enough to be immune to a scam. But…wow. These folks have really upped their game and the level of sophistication in their tactics, how they communicate, what they say - it took me off guard, and I didn’t see what was coming. I’m sharing this as a word of caution to all of you. Be vigilant and don’t be afraid to question things that seem perfectly legit, because, you know what? They might not be.
Profit First to the Rescue
On the bright side, I get to take this opportunity once again to mention one of my favorite business books - Profit First. If not for my diligent adherence to the Profit First methodology over the past three years, my business wouldn’t have a chance to survive this setback. I’m not going to lie, the impact of this scam will make Q2 much more challenging than it should be, but moving forward and working hard to earn back what was lost is possible with the foundation in place from Profit First.
Finding Grace in Community
I know we are all dealing with some variety of complexities in life, and it’s so easy to forget to just pause and THINK. There is so much going on and so little time to get everything done, and just too many distractions from life outside of work. I was so frustrated and upset with myself last week for letting this happen. It was so hard for me to show myself any grace, but I’m here to tell you…We all deserve a little now and then. I’m very lucky to have a supportive family, friends, and incredible clients all willing to show me the grace I wanted to deny myself.
Wealth is More Than Money Alone
This ordeal has reminded me how important relationships are and why they are so foundational to our business. We always lead with strategy first in our approach with clients, but the truth of the matter is that we are fundamentally relationship-driven. Does money matter? Well, sure - it’s fundamental in its own way to many things we need in life. However, would I prioritize a contract just because of a dollar amount if they weren’t a right-fit client? Probably not, because if the relationship isn’t a point of connection and only the paycheck is, we won’t be set up to do our best work. While making money is a necessity and important for its own reasons (have you seen the price of things lately?!), it’s the people in our lives who show up in both the good times and the bad, who are the real reward and truly make our lives rich.
If you think you have been a victim of bank fraud, here are a few actions you can take to aid in the investigation and support the possibility of recovering your funds:
File a report with your bank ASAP, providing as much detail as possible for their investigation.
File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - this is run by the FBI.
File a report with the Federal Trade Commission to report the fraudulent activity.
File a report with your local police department.
File a business insurance claim and provide them copies of all of the above.
