Get Back Up

Sarasota entrepreneur Andrew Neitlich took a blow in his last big business venture, an admittedly foolish failure. The endeavor, Bonecrunch Fighting, cost Neitlich at least $150,000. The concept, back in 2007, was to build a regional franchise-based sports league for Mixed Martial Arts, a cross between boxing and karate. (See Business Review, July 27, 2007.)

The business model, however, didn't mesh with the recession. Says Neitlich: “If I were going to do that again ... I wouldn't do it.”

Neitlich, a Harvard M.B.A. grad, quickly refocused his energy on his other business, the Center for Executive Coaching. The center trains management consultants on executive coaching techniques.

The Bonecrunch experience was also the backbone for Neitlich's latest project, a book he wrote on how to find the right business and employment opportunities in a difficult economy. The book, “Guerrilla Marketing For a Bulletproof Career,” is also a tribute to the entrepreneurial spirit.

“If you think the government has done too much intervention,” says Neitlich, “then this is your chance to have a revolution.”

Neitlich, 44, co-wrote the book with Jay Conrad Levinson, a prominent ad industry executive. Levinson is credited with creating the guerrilla marketing concept, in which a business or product is promoted through unconventional methods, such as free giveaways and PR stunts.

“He's one of the foremost experts on this in the world,” says Neitlich. “He was always a hero of mine.”

“Guerrilla Marketing For a Bulletproof Career” is built around four parts, from how to create opportunities through rebounding after setbacks. A key theme to the book and a companion website is to be bold, much like a guerilla marketing campaign.

“Despite the potential risks and pitfalls in today's economy, there is a tremendous upside if you embrace the guerrilla philopshoy and tactics,” writes Neitlich. “Never before have there been so many different ways to earn an income...”

Neitlich realizes, however, that these days many entrepreneurs and executives are in difficult spots, courtesy of the economy. In one chapter he lists the dreadful possibilities, from bankruptcies to business failures to owning a home worth less than the mortgage.

NEITLICH'S TIPS:

• Don't take it personally: “Your idea or plans might have failed, but you are not a failure,” writes Neitlich. “You still have your talents, brains and energy.”

• Stay proud: “If you failed while trying to grow a business, realize that you had the courage to do something many people never have the guts to even dream about, much less try,” Neitlich writes. “Our entire economic system depends on entrepreneurs like you. Our government cannot function without risk-takers like you.”

• Be resilient: “Ultimate failure comes only when you fall down and refuse to get up again,” writes Neitlich. “When [fighters] get knocked out, they get up, congratulate the opponent and train harder than ever to win the next fight.”