How to turn your business into an investment that works for you so that you don’t have to work for it.
by John Peterson
Even at a young age, I was fascinated by successful business people and, at sixteen years old, I envisioned myself one day spending a lot of time flying around in planes, helping business owners to improve their businesses.
Guess what?
Thirty one years later and that’s precisely what I do for love. I say “for love” rather than for a living because I have a number of business interests that earn me a living. So I’m one of those lucky guys that gets to do what he loves every single blessed day of his life!
However, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, when I wrote my first book, the most important part (in my humble opinion) was the chapter on how I lost one million dollars twice. Yep not once, twice!!!
I say this because, when you have never really lost out big time, then your beliefs are merely theories. However when you have had a major loss, you learn just how fine a line there is between success and failure and you look at things very differently from then on.
~Novel Serialisation: Heavens Fire~
So today we’re going to fast-forward to thirty-one years of progress and get to the good stuff. The simple five steps that allow you to turn your business into an investment that pays you and your family a passive income…as much as you want for as long as you want.
How?
Imagine if you actually pay attention here and you learn this system comprehensively. Sure as always, the devil’s in the detail, but this really works and I’m living proof. The last business I started only 18 months ago and, working less than 10 hours a week, it has just been valued at $10M AUD (Aussie Dollars) and I’m a 50% shareholder!
So let’s get to it.
STEP ONE – FOUNDATION
This is the fundamental step 99% of entrepreneurs and business owners miss and, as a result, never achieve much more than paying themselves a living, which is a bit like buying yourself a job!
Why do people miss it? Because they don’t know what to do. From first-hand experience, it wasn’t until I was in my forties that I finally worked this out and, until now, there had been virtually no documentation (no sign posts) for me or anyone else to follow.
Getting your foundation right basically means that 80% of what you do is done by someone else 100% of the time. Although that sounds quite logical, putting this into practice means checking your ego at the door and making your business more valuable than yourself, which isn’t easy for people to do.
A great example of this is McDonalds Restaurants, whereby teenagers operate a multi-billion dollar empire. Clearly 80% of what needs to be done is done by these kids 100% of the time!
Getting your foundation right is no doubt the longest step in terms of time frames. Depending on your aptitude, sector and good fortune, this will typically take you between 12 months and three years to achieve.
STEP TWO – ELEVATION
Elevating yourself to a more valuable and strategic role on behalf of your company is virtually impossible until you have your foundation right. Then appointing the right Manager (or Minder) is critical to ensure you can truly pass through the Elevation Stage. You’ll then spend 50% of your time coaching and mentoring your team and your “minder” so they stay on course, and the other 50% of your time in the “Elevation” role.
Once you’re in this position, your role is to study your products or services, your customers, and your market. Constantly in research and development (“R & D”), you’re slowly but surely masterminding your “market maker” strategy that will eventually dominate your niche and resonate with your ideal customers.
You-re also constantly developing and improving the four key competencies (necessities) for success in EVERY business which are:
- Time Management.
- Leadership & Employee Culture.
- Cash Flow.
- Marketing.
This is when, for the very first time, you start to feel like the master of your own destiny because you’re doing truly valuable and rewarding work on behalf of your company and your Vision is actually coming into sight. You can smell, taste and see it not far down the road.
But if you think that was fun, then wait for step three!
STEP THREE – MOMENTUM
Now you’re working on the potency of your Marketing and Sales functions, your channels to market and your own role as the Brand Ambassador for your business. You get to do the most amazing things like networking with your most favourite people in the world, sharing ideas and developing your own knowledge by hanging out with other Business Masters and captains of your own industry.
Key people of influence, alliances and endorsements are creating a new level of momentum behind you, propelling you forward at a rate you have never before experienced.
At this point all your high school buddies tend to get pretty damn jealous and, sadly, some of them don’t treat you the way you’d prefer, but remember not to hold yourself in any way responsible for their weird perception of you. You’re still the same old guy/gal you always were; only you’re now building an empire.
STEP FOUR – SUSTAINABILITY
With every journey to Business Mastery, there must be work at some point, right? Correct. The good news is, however, that by now you have this amazing team, a robust cash flow and deep insights into what systems and processes you need to automate to turn your business into the next Apple Inc. And even better still, it’s really damned exciting to design and build your own systems and watch them appear before your very eyes, automating all those things that should or could be so that your scalability is now virtually unlimited. Wow, what a ride!
From the very inception of marketing strategy to converting prospects into satisfied customers, you’re witnessing the evolution of a great business into an exceptional one. Customers are becoming raving fans and they’re now sharing the role of being your Brand’s Ambassador with you (yes your clients are!!!) and it’s just a pleasure to spend all your time partying and hanging out with your very best “A Class Clients.” You have long ago culled away those C & D class clients or created low price point products and services that meet their basic needs, which keep them satisfied and are easy for your employees to sell and distribute.
You’re developing world class KPI’s (key performance indicators), allowing you to soon measure your company’s progress on a daily basis via your iPad on a yacht or in the Bahamas. As long as you have the internet, you can see how your company is going from anywhere in the world.
STEP FIVE – MASTERY
Now the big test. You’re ready to appoint a “coach” or senior leader to coach your actual management team and keep them on track. You role will be to “coach the coach” which gets your active duties down to as little as 1 – 5 hours a week. You can now do whatever you like, such as change your title on LinkedIn to “Philanthropist” or go and feed starving people in emerging countries and/or fix up their contaminated water i.e. REALLY DO SOME GOOD, because you can afford the money and time to do so.
Alternatively, you may love your business so much that, like Sir Richard Branson, you simply take on a new project on behalf of your Company. After all, if he can have more than 600 Companies and over 100,000 employees, why can’t you?
Regards,
John
