A friend of mine asked his billionaire neighbor (who owns a lot of companies) for advice. The billionaire business owner said, “Build your business to sell it and then keep it!”
If you are a skeptic, you may think it’s a fantasy to have a turnkey business that allows you to travel and do the things you want to do. And you may be the type of business owner who believes you have to be there controlling every aspect of the business and that if you are off at the beach that your employees won’t take you seriously.
To the skeptic: I’m living proof that it’s possible. And I have helped many people do the same. It is possible. It won’t be easy; in fact, building systems in your business will be the hardest thing you ever do in business. That’s the bad news. The good news is that once you have a turnkey business, you will have something that very few small business owners have.
To the control freak: If you love running the thing every day and that fits your life goal, go for it! But if you think that is the only way, let me ask you this question. Is Warren Buffet on the floor of the call center at Geico? I don’t think so. Phenomenal leadership is required to develop leaders who develop leaders. Leaders who can run your companies for you. Those who can handle the day to day for you and instead of you.
This acronym sums it up well:
Saves
Your
Self
Time
Energy
Money
Here’s my acronym for SYSTEMS:
Systematizing
Your
Strategies
To
Execute
Management
Successfully
Everyone has strategies. You may not realize how many strategies you have, but you have specific ways of doing things. You may have intentionally decided to answer your phone a certain way rather than another, for example. That’s a strategy. There’s a certain way you do your work. That’s a strategy. There’s a certain way you advertise. That’s a strategy.
A system is a group of working parts that are designed to work together. Then and only then can you really execute successfully. Then and only then can you really manage.
By the way, even if you are a solo operator or an independent professional who works alone, you need systems. There is a specific order of things that
works best. Once you find the best procedure and timing, do it the same way each time and your results improve. Once you have tested a number of strategies, you find what works best and duplicate it over and over.
