Looks like I am NOT the only one...
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:22 pm
Looks like I am NOT the only one who doesn't want the hassle of running a business!
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
- Albert Einstein
Take Your Business Wherever You Want It to Go
By Jeff Paul
How do you picture your ideal lifestyle? I'm guessing an important part of it has you securely positioned in a business where you're completely in control - of your time as well as your finances.
For you, it might mean:
Being able to spend more time at home with your family
Having more leisure time for your hobbies
Feeling free to pursue the many interests you haven't yet had time for
Having that picture firmly in your head is the first step toward achieving it. Once you know how you want to live, you can build your business around that dream.
Many people think I'm nuts when I tell them that planning your business with a "top-down" perspective is crucial to success. They think I am asking them to drive down the road before they've even gotten into the car.
Understand something. I am not like one of those business school professors who tell you to develop a detailed business plan with multi-year cash flow projections, sales analyses, financing strategies, and so on. Actually, I think that type of plan is usually worthless.
The ground rules I want you to put down on paper right now revolve around the details of what your lifestyle is going to be like and how your business fits into those lifestyle decisions.
Here's what the ground rules for my business looked like:
1. No more nights or weekends - unless I chose to work (I would see and/or coach all of my kids' Little League, soccer, and basketball games, karate matches, school plays, etc. No more occasional father.)
2. No more face-to-face customers
3. Direct-response only - mail-order, Internet, or phone order
4. Home-based
5. No more employees
6. No more depending on others
7. High-priced information products only
8. No more inventory - publishing on demand only (with products I could create on my computer)
9. No out-of-town trips (unless I wanted to go to a seminar)
You might be thinking, "Sure, that sounds good. But it would be impossible to run a business that meets all of those criteria."
Yes, it sounds almost too good to be true. But setting ground rules like these for your business does work.
When I moved into specialized direct marketing, every single decision I made either followed my ground rules ... or it didn't happen. This is still the case today, by the way. For example, I get asked to speak at seminars quite frequently, and I hardly ever accept because I dislike being on the road for business. I do, however, take lots of vacations - and I'll go to a seminar if it's in Vegas or someplace where I can combine golf time with some work.
All you have to do to make this a reality for your own business is to start by picturing your ideal lifestyle in your mind's eye. Once you have that vision, concentrate on it all the time.
See it when you go to bed.
Dream about it when you sleep.
Daydream about it.
Watch yourself in that scene whenever you can. Never let it get buried in your subconscious. Keep it in your conscious thoughts, and you'll eventually make it a reality.
The next step is to sit down and make up a list of the ground rules for your soon-to-be business. Use my list as a guide, if you like. Just make sure you write your rules down on paper. And make sure you keep the list where you can see it.
I want you to be able to see it so that any time you are making a business decision or getting ready to take action, that decision or action will be based on your ground rules ... and not on something else that may seem more important at the time.
By the way, you are allowed to change the ground rules any time you want. They are by no means cast in stone. But you always need to have a set of rules to work with. They will prevent you from taking actions that lead you away from - not toward - your dream lifestyle.
The idea is to build your business around your lifestyle, as opposed to squeezing your lifestyle in around your business. When business comes first... there's never any time for YOU.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
- Albert Einstein
Take Your Business Wherever You Want It to Go
By Jeff Paul
How do you picture your ideal lifestyle? I'm guessing an important part of it has you securely positioned in a business where you're completely in control - of your time as well as your finances.
For you, it might mean:
Being able to spend more time at home with your family
Having more leisure time for your hobbies
Feeling free to pursue the many interests you haven't yet had time for
Having that picture firmly in your head is the first step toward achieving it. Once you know how you want to live, you can build your business around that dream.
Many people think I'm nuts when I tell them that planning your business with a "top-down" perspective is crucial to success. They think I am asking them to drive down the road before they've even gotten into the car.
Understand something. I am not like one of those business school professors who tell you to develop a detailed business plan with multi-year cash flow projections, sales analyses, financing strategies, and so on. Actually, I think that type of plan is usually worthless.
The ground rules I want you to put down on paper right now revolve around the details of what your lifestyle is going to be like and how your business fits into those lifestyle decisions.
Here's what the ground rules for my business looked like:
1. No more nights or weekends - unless I chose to work (I would see and/or coach all of my kids' Little League, soccer, and basketball games, karate matches, school plays, etc. No more occasional father.)
2. No more face-to-face customers
3. Direct-response only - mail-order, Internet, or phone order
4. Home-based
5. No more employees
6. No more depending on others
7. High-priced information products only
8. No more inventory - publishing on demand only (with products I could create on my computer)
9. No out-of-town trips (unless I wanted to go to a seminar)
You might be thinking, "Sure, that sounds good. But it would be impossible to run a business that meets all of those criteria."
Yes, it sounds almost too good to be true. But setting ground rules like these for your business does work.
When I moved into specialized direct marketing, every single decision I made either followed my ground rules ... or it didn't happen. This is still the case today, by the way. For example, I get asked to speak at seminars quite frequently, and I hardly ever accept because I dislike being on the road for business. I do, however, take lots of vacations - and I'll go to a seminar if it's in Vegas or someplace where I can combine golf time with some work.
All you have to do to make this a reality for your own business is to start by picturing your ideal lifestyle in your mind's eye. Once you have that vision, concentrate on it all the time.
See it when you go to bed.
Dream about it when you sleep.
Daydream about it.
Watch yourself in that scene whenever you can. Never let it get buried in your subconscious. Keep it in your conscious thoughts, and you'll eventually make it a reality.
The next step is to sit down and make up a list of the ground rules for your soon-to-be business. Use my list as a guide, if you like. Just make sure you write your rules down on paper. And make sure you keep the list where you can see it.
I want you to be able to see it so that any time you are making a business decision or getting ready to take action, that decision or action will be based on your ground rules ... and not on something else that may seem more important at the time.
By the way, you are allowed to change the ground rules any time you want. They are by no means cast in stone. But you always need to have a set of rules to work with. They will prevent you from taking actions that lead you away from - not toward - your dream lifestyle.
The idea is to build your business around your lifestyle, as opposed to squeezing your lifestyle in around your business. When business comes first... there's never any time for YOU.
