What do you do with your last $1,800? Twelve months after the floods, with a $750,000 debt still hanging over me, I spent every cent of it on a generator - and it changed everything.
In April 2023—twelve months after the Lismore floods—I was still fighting the shadow of a $750,000 debt. The world had moved on, the recovery continued. I stood there with exactly $1,800 left in my account.
A movie production in town lost power. The silence on set was costing them a fortune. I didn't see a tragedy; I saw an opportunity to be an asset.
I spent every cent of that $1,800 on a portable generator. I combined it with my salvaged EcoFlow power stations and I saved the shoot. I didn't wait for a contract. I didn't ask about the fee. I simply restored the power.
This moment was a direct application of the Value Exchange principles I’ve studied with Advanced Business Abilities. In their training, we learn that your utility is your only real currency. If you can solve a problem worth more than the cost of the solution, you are always in business.
I moved from "flood recovery" to "essential consultant" in the space of an hour. I chose to invest in my reputation rather than my survival.
Leadership is the choice to be the solution when everyone else is focused on the failure. When you lead with integrity and provide value, the resources follow the action.
Leadership ProblemSolving AdvancedBusinessAbilities LismoreFloods Resilience ValueCreation OffGridEnergy
Founder of Sovryn Consulting and Sovryn Energy. After losing a business to the 2022 Lismore floods and fighting back from a $750,000 debt, he now helps owner-led Australian businesses build companies that run without their owner - and helps directors through turnaround when the letters arrive.
Mike's been the director in that chair - the debt, the creditors, the letters. If that's you right now, one confidential conversation about where you actually stand, from someone who's lived it.
Turnaround & insolvency guidance