Create a business for freedom
The best way to make big bucks is to build your own business, to run your own game. But, whenever you speak to your acquaintance about starting such endeavour, you will hear a lot of chilling stories about working 70 hours a week, being stressed out, living with high risks of failure only to end up being a slave to your own business if it ever works, etc.
Yes, you get rich, but you will have no time for family and friends, no time for real vacation, no time to spend your money. If you don’t put the hours, no money will come in!
You made 300k last year, but you can forget about this 6 month trip around the world with your girlfriend you both dream about, because if you leave your business aside for that long, it’s simply going to self-destruct.
You can’t just leave like that, you’re trapped in!
If that’s true, so what’s the point? Better to get a job; at least I’ll be worry-free, working a lazy 40 hours a week, and have 15 days of vacation a years. I’ll never get really rich, but I’ll have some kind of a life at least!
That is what they want you to believe, right?
But fortunately, that is not necessarily true. The thing is, most businesses are started with an employee mindset!
It’s a self-centric business model in which you’re the brain, you’re the heart, and you’re the muscle that’s running the show.
Basically, the problem is; you are the business!
Of course, you plan one day to hire helpers, to become the boss, but as long as you are the business; you will have big problems with freeing yourself from it.
Moreover, this kind of business model comes with high failure probabilities because, after all, you’re just human; for how long will you be able to keep on going and being at the center of all this without burning out?
It is simply a bad design, a design made by a former employee. If you want to build a business, your must start thinking like a business owner!
Before you start a business venture, think about what your end goal is!
- I want to make a lot of money!
- Of course, but why?
- I want to enjoy a higher quality of life!
- For that, you will need more than just money, you will also need time! Right?
You cannot enjoy money without time, that’s why your business goal should not only be to bring money but also to free some time.
First, your business should not be you
You, your life and your business should be completely different things.
The key to a great business model is to see your future business as being a product itself.
Like every other product, it should be easy to duplicate, to sell, to franchise, and to operate.
This perspective will give you the mindset that you are looking for.
Even if you want to keep your business for yourself, at least for now, designing your business model that way will be -it might happen sooner than you think- providing you the key to the ultimate freedom you have been looking for.
Your business must be a system
Your business must be a system that contains sub-systems, and where sub-systems contain processes. These processes should be optimized and automated over time. All those systems must be built in a way that anybody could operate them.
See it as a machine, a money-producing machine. After all, that’s what you’re building!
Once it’s completed, you simply have to drive it or anyone else could do it to with reasonable training and some simple, easy-to-follow instructions. You will be operating the machine; you’re not going to be the machine, you will not become a part of it. It’s a key difference!
The system will most likely:
- Deliver an equally expectable product, service and experience to your customers.
- Deposit money into a bank account.
- Have the capacity to run with only a minimum supervision.
- Allow you to own it while being free from it!
- Allow you to sell it, duplicate it, improve it or franchise it.
A good process that can help you design your business with enforcing that mindset is to write an operation manual with a check-list.
Each sub-system will have a couple of processes that the operator can go through by simply following a check-list.
When your describe how to operate a sub-system, ask yourself this: does my mom could just read the manual, train a little, and start operating it in just a week?
The answer should be: yes!
If no, it just means you’re not there yet; there is always a way to make it more simple, do your research.
“Simplicity is the key to brilliance” – Bruce Lee
Think about it, one day most of those sub-systems will probably be totally automated by computer code or outsourced to virtual assistants and freelancers located somewhere in South Asia.
It must be a simple recipe to follow.
Eventually, everything that can be automated by computers will be automated. You can get software that does all that or you can hire a freelance programmer from Bangladesh to write some code in order to automate some of your most uncommon business processes.
You need to keep that in mind while you’re designing your business model. That’s the direction where you’re heading! That’s what is going to free the time you need.
If you’re starting an on-line business, it could even become 100% automated!
This should not necessarily be your goal, because it can’t be always possible but let’s just say that if you or anyone else can operate your business with an average of 2 hours a day, 4 days a weeks, from any location connected to the Internet, then you are pretty free compared to 99% of the global population.
As soon as you can partially remove yourself from operating your business, your business system will become an automated money-making machine that operates 24/7, 365 days a year without you working more than you have to.
Seriously, is that realistic?
Think about it; most fruitful businesses of this world actually follow a similar model!
Every business that is a franchise just for starting.
Here is how it goes: you pay the franchise fee, they send you to training, they sell you the equipment and your staff just follows the freaking manual!
Have you ever seen a McDonald’s owner actually cooking burger? I don’t think so…
Any franchised business you see all over the place are themselves products! Complete business system products.
You buy it, and then you operate it from a strategic and administrative point of view, a few hours a week, from any location!
That’s what you need to design and build; a complete business system product. No need a fancy MBA for that, street smart will do just fine!
If you want to start a business, be honest with yourself!
What do you really want? What is the true purpose of your business?
If rich and free is part of your answer, that would be one way to go!
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