Become Masters of Negotiation with Mike Lander

damottaleonardweb
Nov 2, 2021
4 min read

We meet another amazing post-corporate, self-operated businessman who could not resist the call of entrepreneurism on today’s episode of The Prosperity Perspective Podcast. Host Liam Leonard talks allocation preparation and the core elements of what EVERY entrepreneur should know before they decide to launch, along with our guest Mike Lander, who has had his fair share of trials and errors. But like so many other intelligent businesspeople, Mike wanted to lead a life where he wasn’t married to the office/climbing the ladder, and he wanted to use his personal skills to help others in a successful niche.

Tune in today to get scoops of wisdom that Mike freely gives to any entrepreneur looking to try something new, whether that’s taking the business to the next level or starting from scratch. The call of entrepreneurship will become clearer to you in this episode as Mike explains that “If I look back...would l have stayed? I don’t think I would. But If I had seen the entrepreneurial journey and what it takes, I’d have been tempted.”

3 Key Takeaways:

The two ways of being an entrepreneur.
Why you MUST have 12 months of survival savings.
The necessity of doing 5 different things every year with your company to ensure financial security against risks.

Show Notes:

[0:30] Mike introduces himself

Working for corporate life and as entrepreneur
Raising over 7 million in debt
Helping smaller companies sell into big companies by improving their negotiation skills

[1:33] Mike’s pivotal moment

Working with KPMG
- Realizing he didn’t want to move up to be a partner
Partners work for the money
“If I look back...would l have stayed? I don’t think I would. But If I had seen the entrepreneurial journey and what it takes, I’d have been tempted.” -Mike Lander

[4:00] After experiencing wealth, how Mike allocated his money to set himself up for success

Using savings from his previous corporate job
- Having an amazing property asset
Realizing that if his startup doesn’t get better in 3 months, he’d need to get a job
“A very simple thing: you need at least 12 months’ money. If ‘re going to do something like this, go off and be an entrepreneur, you need to survive for at least 12 months.” -Mike Lander
The worst mistake he’s seen is chasing short-term money

[7:10] The two ways of being an entrepreneur

Be a freelancer or build a company
Describing the life of an entrepreneur
- Once you get to the end of the month, take out your tax savings account cash
- “What happens if it rains?...I need a rainy day fund.” -Mike Lander
- Paying income tax

[11:09] How much do you need in your rainy day fund

If you’re employing people, keep at least three months of salary money
If you’re upscaling, focus on the niche and do it really well
- Innovating the product is going to cost
- How much money do I need that’s basically an investment ahead of revenue?
Mike’s example of hysteresis
If you’re barely making it each month, what that means is: you need to put away more than 30%

[14:57] How you determine those things that you need for growth

Looking at scenarios as a rationalist
Running a revenue forecast
- This is never 100% correct! But it’s not far enough out to kill you
You’re taking risks/bets
- “Any investment you make through your business...any bet that you make cannot break you.” -Mike Lander
- Make sure that you’re doing 5 things in the year so that no one thing can kill your business

[18:19] Mike’s advice for anyone who’s good at making a product and need to take the next step to polish/refine their business approach

Any entrepreneur needs to understand finance:
- What’s a P&L?
- What’s a balance sheet?
- What’s a cash flow?
Mike’s online resource to those who need a little finance planning help
When you listen to a video, do the exercises right then to ensure you got the concept
Every entrepreneur must absolutely know how to use spreadsheets/Excel
Use an online accounting platform

[21:45] Where Mike’s opinion on where to allocate funds has changed

Recognize that your allocation is going to be different as you get older
What you do is very lifestyle based
Mike talks about “The 4 Quadrant Model”
- Compound interest is a wonderful thing!
- Buy the TV, but don’t spent $5,000 on it

[24:27] Other things that Mike is grateful he decided to do

What he wouldn’t do: “Don’t invest in businesses that you don’t understand.”

[27:11] Last advice Mike gives to his listeners

Wealth of any kind takes years to accumulate and a heartbeat to lose
Make small investments and risks
Have a small investment plan
Invest in your own business as long as it’s going to grow
When you look at asset allocation, make sure to have assets that will grow over time
- Make sure you’re not spending on ego

About Connor Robertson:

Mike Lander is a successful entrepreneur and expert negotiator with a proven track record of buying, growing, and selling businesses for seven-figure sums. He’s raised over £6.5m of acquisition/growth capital in his career and grown companies to over £20m revenue and £4m EBITDA.

Mike has a uniquely valuable perspective on negotiating commercial deals, having worked on both sides of the table as a Procurement Director and an entrepreneur. In one of his roles, Mike worked as a Procurement Director for what is now one of the world’s largest RPO/MSP organizations worth in excess of $1bn where he negotiated 100s of deals with staffing agencies.

He launched Piscari in 2010 and leveraged his specialist knowledge and experience negotiating hundreds of deals worth over £400m in total to empower leaders and sales teams to negotiate more profitable deals, especially when procurement are involved.