The Moment series, where highly successful people reveal the critical moment that changed the trajectory of their lives and careers, discussing what drove them to make the leap into the unknown.of $9.5 billion. But nearly two decades ago, Hurricane Katrina almost wiped away the entire company — a position Graves was only in due to his own self-proclaimed"stupid financial strategy," he tells CNBC Make It.
Here, Graves discusses the panic he felt as he watched New Orleans' levees break, what he learned about handling crises of any kind and how to avoid the same financial mistakes he made. I gathered the team, explained it all to them and said,"I'm sorry I put us in this bind." I also said,"Our crew members need jobs. We also need to be open for the communities. People need a hot meal when they're redoing their houses, right? And we need to save the company. We're in a bad financial situation, so we need to get after it."
I could've gone back and offered equity, but I didn't want to say,"Hey, I screwed up with your money" — even though they knew, I showed them everything. And I just did not want to equity. The reason why I own so much of my company, versus some other people, is: I was very risk tolerant. Risk did not bother me at all.
Did nearly losing your business change your definition of success? What do you consider"successful" now? You can become successful enough to help others become a success, and others to be happy. That's the American dream to me.
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Source: NBCLA - 🏆 319. / 59 Read more »