Hey hey! Welcome back to The Bullpen Sessions! In this episode, we’re confronting something that I think is highly relevant to all of us right now. It’s no secret that we’re heading for an economic recession — the global pandemic situation has dramatically slowed down the economy. Many people are unemployed, and I know we’re all being reminded of the housing crisis from a decade ago.

But here’s the cool thing: While this has been a time of a lot of uncertainty and financial crisis for a lot of people, it’s also been an opportunity for insane growth. Left and right, people are finding ways to build new businesses, rebrand, create new streams of income, and grow their wealth beyond anything they would have dreamed of prior to the pandemic. Growing a business during a time of such economic uncertainty is a massive undertaking. But done right, it can lead to great success.

That’s why on this podcast, I try to give you guys the best tips, tricks, and advice I can find to help you grow as business owners. It’s also why I’ve brought in one of my own mentors and role models to share with you his brilliance. I can’t wait for you to meet this guy!

Chris Harder — along with his wife, Lori Harder — is the leader of the Fast Foundations Mastermind, which I participated in when I was launching my business about a year ago. One night, another member of the Mastermind, Chris, and I were having a conversation, and Chris said (edited slightly for cleanliness), “Stop being a wuss and start thinking bigger.” That piece of advice stayed with me, and it’s the reason I am where I’m at with my business today.

And Chris has plenty more advice to share. Today, he’s getting candid about his past mistakes and how we can all learn from them. He’s also bringing you the top four things you need to do when faced with a crisis economy like the one heading toward us. 

“The world has changed, but so has opportunity. Opportunity never goes away … You need to retrain your brain from a danger-seeking machine and train yourself to be an opportunity-seeking machine. And when you start looking for the opportunities, you start seeing the opportunities.” – Chris Harder

We’ve got a ton of great stuff to talk about today, so let’s dive in!

Who Is Chris Harder?

Chris Harder is the business expert working on the coaching scene today. He’s one of the most in-demand coaches for new entrepreneurs and elite business owners alike because he has the expertise and motivational capabilities to drive people to their individual best. His teachings on money mindset and business strategy have literally reshaped my life and career over the last year or so. I’m extremely grateful to him for joining me on The Bullpen Sessions today!

I mentioned that Chris and his wife Lori are the leaders of the Fast Foundations Mastermind, which helps new entrepreneurs grow their small businesses and dramatically increase their wealth. It’s a huge opportunity for aspiring business leaders to learn from the best. But that’s not their only mastermind! They’re also the brilliant leaders behind the Elite Entrepreneur Mastermind. As the name implies, this is an elite mastermind — it’s reserved for six-figure earners looking to break through to seven-figures.

Beyond leading masterminds, Chris continues to keep himself busy with his podcast, For the Love of Money. I can testify that this podcast is full of great teaching and advice to help you shift your money mindset. I’d strongly encourage you guys to check it out when you’re done listening to this episode!

And finally, Chris has created an online course called The Money Principles to help anyone learn how to master their money mindset and start earning their wealth. It’s a packed course with video lessons on topics ranging from wealth accumulation to philanthropy to the rituals and habits you must create and beyond. And right now, Chris is offering The Money Principles for 50% off! Plus, if you sign up, you’ll get to send a FREE enrollment link to a friend. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn from the best, and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the discount while Chris is still offering it!

Here’s the bottom line: Chris Harder is the go-to guy for entrepreneurs who are trying to scale their business and bring abundance and wealth into their lives. You do not want to miss any of the great tips he shares in this episode. So without further ado, let’s get started!

Chris’ Story: From Success to Failure and Back

If you had known Chris at the very beginning of his career journey, you probably would have thought he was some sort of financial prodigy. In his first career in his twenties, Chris found massive success in the banking world. He thought of navigating through the various promotional levels at his job like a game, and he started earning a lot of money very quickly.

At the time, he and Lori were a young married couple enjoying life. They purchased a large home in a wealthy neighborhood — which seemed extremely odd to the neighbors. Why was this young couple buying a house in the suburbs among families with children? Answer — because they could afford it. They could afford the mansion and the cars and the trips because Chris was secure in his career. Or so they thought.

You can probably guess what happened next — the housing market crashed, and while Chris managed to stay afloat for a while by bouncing from location to location, he was ultimately let go. Thankfully he was granted a generous severance package, but still, he and Lori were suddenly in a position where they had to sell everything and downsize — and I mean way downsize. They moved into a 900 square foot apartment downtown and had to rebuild their wealth from scratch.

“… Car after car would pull up and park in front of the house and person after person … would come marching into the front door and they would bargain for the couch. They bargained for the chairs. They’d bargain for the tables, for the grills, for the TVs, for whatever they wanted. … I can assure you that it was the most humiliating part of my life up to that point.” – Chris Harder

Chris met with incredible financial success early, but he lacked the wisdom and skills he needed to position himself to survive the economic downturn that happened as a result of the housing market crash. 

But he didn’t stay down for long. Chris found new ways to bring in multiple streams of income, grow wealth, and become a significant business magnate. Today, he and Lori have sole ownership or an ownership stake in eight different seven or eight-figure businesses. Chris made damn sure he’d never land himself or Lori in such an embarrassing financial situation again.

All that to say, if you’re going through financial uncertainty — Chris has been there. He knows what it’s like to lose everything; he also knows what it’s like to choose to see opportunities and capitalize on them. So if you’re ready to discover the top four things you need to be doing right now to prepare for an economic crisis, read on!

#1: Stop the Bleeding

The first piece of advice Chris wants to share with anyone who needs to prepare for the coming financial crisis is that they must stop the bleeding. By that, he means that it’s necessary to bring your monthly expenses down as low as they can possibly go.

There are lots of ways to do this, but Chris recommends a couple of things specifically. First, take out your bank statements from the last few months and see where you can make cuts. And be radical — you really want to get your monthly expenditures down to the bare necessities. Slash any excess spending on non-essentials and dramatically reduce splurges.

Once you’ve done that, start making phone calls. Call your landlord or mortgage company. Call your phone company. Call your credit card company and negotiate with them. Chances are, you’ll be able to negotiate a lower payment or lower interest rates, and that will help you reduce expenses.

“Here’s what all of those companies learned in the last downturn … They would rather have a shared sacrifice with you right now through this then hold the line and have you go bankrupt or walk away leaving them holding the bag. … So they are saying ‘yes’ to some of the most incredible requests right now.” – Chris Harder

If you make a few simple phone calls, chances are you’ll be able to make serious cuts to your monthly expenses. You’ll be able to stop the bleeding, and that will help position you to remain financially strong through an economic crisis.

#2: Create 3 – 12 Months of Runway

Step two: create at least three months of runway. What’s runway, you ask?

“… Runway simply means the number of months that you can remain in business without taking on another dollar.” – Chris Harder

The goal here is to save enough money to survive for several months, even if you lose an income stream. That way, if something bad happens and you need time to find a new job or create a new income stream, you don’t have to radically change your lifestyle overnight as Chris did. Three months is enough time for you to regroup and find new income, so work on building up your savings account.

And if you’re still wondering if that much runway is necessary, here’s Chris’ explanation:

“Why do I say you must go out and find three to 12 months runway? Because we are in an economy that is full of surprises. … So the reason you need three to 12 months runway is you need to make sure that you can keep a roof over your head, food in your bellies, your family [is] taken care of, and you are in a position to take advantage of a lot of … opportunities …” – Chris Harder

I want to encourage you to find ways to save as much extra money as you can. There’s an unfortunate possibility that the crisis economy will hit you with a surprise. You’ll feel much less stressed and much more capable of finding new ways to earn money if you don’t have to worry about whether you and your family can afford to eat. You’ll be able to make wise financial decisions and continue planning for your future.

#3: Create a Bulletproof Daily Routine

I know this isn’t the first or last of Chris’ tips, but it still might be the most important. If you want to be successful even in an economic crisis, you must have a daily routine that prepares you to make good decisions and keep moving forward with confidence. 

“… When you are trying to put yourself in position for a comeback, when you are trying to take advantage of opportunity, if you are in a reactionary state, if you are being affected by the negative news, the scary reports, the tragic numbers … [those things are] going to cause you to take a pause. It’s going to cause you to show up with less energy. It’s going to cause you to make decisions out of fear and out of scarcity, and so you must be able to control the routine of your day.” – Chris Harder

It goes back to what we were talking about just a minute ago: If you find yourself in a position where you suddenly lose an income stream, and you don’t have enough savings to survive until you can find a new one, you are going to be in a reactionary state. You’re going to be making financial decisions out of your present anxiety rather than thoughtful planning for the future.

But a way to prevent that is to have a daily routine that keeps you in a positive money mindset no matter what the economy looks like. Make sure you craft a morning routine that fills your cup first thing every day. For example, Chris wakes up, and the first thing he says to himself is, “I’m happier, healthier, wealthier, and more fit than I was yesterday.” It’s a positive mantra that gets him in a good headspace early in the day. Chris also likes to listen to a positive podcast and get in a workout first thing in the morning — by keeping a positive mindset and maintaining physical fitness, Chris prepares himself to have a great day.

“When you control the outcome of the rest of your morning, you then have increased your chances of controlling the outcome of the afternoon. And when you can control the outcome of your afternoon, you can absolutely control the outcome of your day.” – Chris Harder

Take control of each day with a bulletproof morning routine. You’ll feel much more confident and comfortable throughout the rest of your day to make solid financial decisions that set you up for financial growth.

#4: Invent New Income

Once you’ve prepared financially and mentally for any income losses that might result from an economic crisis, it’s time to start inventing new income streams. Having multiple streams of income is essential for true wealth-building. And as we talked about earlier, having multiple income sources means that if one goes away, you won’t have to dramatically change your lifestyle while you look for a new one.

“So if you still have a job, you need to invent a side-hustle for cushion. If you lost your job, you need to invent new income to replace it. If you have a small business or you’re an entrepreneur or if you lost a bunch of accounts, you need to invent new income to be able to say, ‘never again will I be susceptible to this type of financial situation.’” – Chris Harder

Even in a crisis economy, there are opportunities to find new income streams. Remember what Chris said earlier — “Opportunity never goes away.” But if you’re wondering how you’re supposed to invent this new income, there are a couple of questions you can ask yourself.

“Number one: All you have to do is ask yourself, ‘What are the brand new urgent needs that are important today because of this new situation that weren’t important to talk about before?’ … And number two: ‘How do my past experiences or my current skill sets fit into solving one of those needs?’” – Chris Harder

In any financial crisis, I guarantee there will be new needs that pop up. There will be new niches to fill — you just have to seize the opportunity to fill one of them. When you do, you’ll create new financial security for yourself and your family.

Why You Should Listen to This Chris Harder Podcast Episode Right Now…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — Chris Harder is a financial genius. His advice and perspectives about money mindset and entrepreneurship have radically changed my life, and they have the power to change yours too. If you want to bulletproof your finances for the upcoming economic crisis, you do not want to miss this episode of The Bullpen Sessions!

I also want to remind you of a couple of other ways you can connect with Chris. Remember that he and his wife, Lori, lead two masterminds: the Fast Foundations Mastermind for newer entrepreneurs and the Elite Entrepreneur Mastermind for six-figure earners. But even if you’re not an entrepreneur and you want to learn more about money mindset, definitely check out Chris’ new online course, The Money Principles. If you sign up now, you’ll get 50% off and a FREE enrollment link to a friend. It’s a steal, especially given the tremendous value I know you’ll get out of it!

Thank you so much for joining me today, folks! I hope you got a lot out of this episode. If you did, I’d really appreciate it if you’d leave me a five-star review over on Apple Podcasts. And don’t forget to share the episode on Instagram and tag Chris, @chriswharder, and me, @andy_neary. Remember, you can change someone’s life just by sharing this episode with them!

Until next time, keep bulletproofing your money mindset and looking for new streams of income. You’ll protect your finances and be ready for whatever surprises may come.

Catch you later,

Andy Neary Signature

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