7 ways to spot a bankrupt entrepreneur (and how to avoid it)

Are you bitter because your network is not delivering results? Angry that the people you’ve been engaging with aren’t sending you business? Tired of working long hours at your business only to see your bank account nearly empty and your bills piling up?

The problem is in you, yes, in you. It has been giving away too much for too long and is now attracting penniless entrepreneurs.

Who is a bankrupt businessman? This is someone who operates with a frugal mindset, but refuses to spend money to run his business.

You are a smart entrepreneur with an amazing product or great services. However, the only way you can start reaping the financial rewards you deserve is to get rid of these bankrupt entrepreneurs.

First, you need to detect them. So, you need a strategy to avoid them, or if they are already creeping into your life, you need a plan to get rid of them. Here are my 7 tips based on what my friends tell me.

1. Brokeback Entrepreneurs Always Choose Your Brain. They will email or call you whenever they find a problem that you have the experience to solve.

   How to avoid them: Compose an email that lists all the freebies you offer on your website. This will include links to your blog, articles on your website, your podcast, and any other advice you offer freely online. Then end the email by saying, “If after reviewing my free resources you still have questions, you can rent my brain for $200 an hour.” You will never hear from the bankrupt businessman again.

2. Brokeback Entrepreneurs copy from you instead of coming up with fresh new ideas. They will plagiarize your content, copy your website design, and use your trademarked name in their marketing materials.

   How to avoid them: Use a website like copyscape.com to monitor who is copying the content on your website. Being proactive in protecting yourself will prevent bankrupt business owners from messing with you in the first place.

3. Brokeback Entrepreneurs attend all the free events you offer. They live for $0, teleclasses, webinars or workshops at no cost. They will never pay for any of your events, preferring to listen to the same one for free over and over again. Then they’ll come to you at every break or master every Q&A for free advice.

   How to avoid them: you can’t. Instead, delete the questions the penniless entrepreneur asks you (without being rude, of course) and invite him to contact you via email. When you do, follow my advice in #1 above.

4. Brokeback entrepreneurs feel uncomfortable when you sell your products or services. They will email you after your teleclass or walk up to you after your pitch and berate you about how wrong it is to use 2 minutes at the end of your 50 minute information exchange to sell them anything.

   How to avoid them: Keep your humor. Remember, price is to a bankrupt businessman what billions are to Trump, so they will never be his customers as they will never spend money with you. Instead, thank the broke businessman for his advice, then move on to the next person. Don’t argue with the bankrupt businessman. Chances are, when the broke businessman complains to his colleagues that he actually tried to sell something, the broke businessman will have balls in his face.

5. Brokeback entrepreneurs will seek to exchange their services with you. They never want to spend money on anyone’s services simply because no one is spending money on him or her.

   How to avoid them: Not all barter relationships are bad. Instead, define the fix in advance by writing a statement of work. Detail start and end dates, what is included and excluded in the project, plus a timeline. Also, issue an invoice that shows the value of the work you are providing, but has $0 for the amount due. Most likely, the bankrupt businessman will find someone who doesn’t take the barter relationship so seriously.

6. Brokeback entrepreneurs expect you to drop everything for them. Because he or she is sitting in their home office twiddling their thumbs, the penniless entrepreneur hopes you are too. The reason he or she has so much free time is because they are not making money. So when they leave you a voicemail or send you an email, they expect to see a response within the hour.

   How to avoid them– Update your voicemail greeting so people know when you usually return greetings. A typical response time is 24 hours. A general rule of thumb is to respond to your current and potential customers who inquire about your product or service on the same business day. A penniless entrepreneur usually isn’t either, so make it a habit to respond to network contacts within 3 business days.

7. Brokeback businessmen hang out together. Those who feel they shouldn’t spend money on anything other than registering a domain name hang out with the like-minded.

   How to avoid them: If you want to be a millionaire, go with millionaires. If you want to have a successful business, date people who have a successful business. If you want to be broke, hang out with broke people. It’s that easy.