It’s time to build.
But let’s be clear on what we are building.
We are building a great business so we can live a great life.
And my definition of a great business is one that produces cash for you without you being there.
I am guessing you are not there yet.
You are working nights and weekends, missing out on time with loved ones.
You work the hardest in your business but take the least holidays.
You can’t seem to find the time to work on the things that matter.
That amazing holiday is possible sooner than you think.
The mortgage stress - gone.
Worrying about how to pay the next tax bill? Never again.
Yes. It is possible.
I know you can do it because I did it, and have taught my clients to do the same.
I achieved it with Australia’s largest driving school, a 100 person organisation that I run in less than 45 minutes per week.
That’s why I built the Autopilot Roadmap, the exact plan to get you from overworked and underpaid to owning a profit machine that doesn’t rely on you.
It’s all possible. You just have to decide that you are going to build a business that gives you a great life.
Growth Workshop is a 12 month, high touch coaching program designed to build the business of your dreams.
In the first 6 weeks we will install 3 key systems:
1. The Profit Launchpad - Get more customers, paying more and staying longer
2. The Leverage Machine - Make the business work for you
3. The Delegation Engine - Make the business work without you
This program isn’t for everyone, but it might just be for you.
Want more info?
Comment ‘Freedom’ and I’ll send you the details.
I favour hiring junior people over senior people.
On average they contribute more.
Without the baggage they adapt and thrive in my environment.
In 2017 I hired a Uni student as a casual. One of many.
I saw something in her. Potential.
She started in customer service and sales.
Moved into product development.
Then into marketing.
Now Annette runs my business and has skin in the game.
Without her, I wouldn’t be here teaching business owners how to put their business under management.
I am eternally grateful for her brilliance.
But I wonder if she had a different leader would her story be different.
Wait. I don’t need to wonder. I know she would not be where she is now.
In my years working with owners I see so many making the same mistake over and over again.
They wait for their staff to prove their worth.
This is backwards.
Your job as a leader is to see the potential in others before they see it in themselves.
Then push them out of their comfort zone.
It’s this transfer of belief that creates superstars.
We all need someone to believe in us.
Be that person for the people you lead.
And, Annette. You are a star, the future looks bright.
I can’t wait to see what we build next.
Unless you act now, your margins will be smashed.
Price pressure is coming and if you wait for it, you only ever recover losses at best.
Get ahead now.
There are two indicators that will show me your next move.
Conversion rate and margin by range.
If your conversion rate is above 80% we change price.
If not we change the product/market mix.
Get moving.
The biggest growth opportunity in your business is the customers already paying you.
And business owners are scared to use it.
They hesitate to send the next offer, the upgrade, the renewal. They worry it'll push people away. This is self importance, nothing else.
“I don’t want to annoy my customers” Is a focus on self not the needs of the customer.
Every time your customer makes a purchase, commitment gets stronger. People act in line with what they've already done. Buy once, you're testing the water. Buy 6 times in 90 days, you've decided this is your guy.
That's how human behaviour works.
The customer who has bought from you 8 times has already told themselves a story about why you're worth it. Each transaction reinforces that story. They stay because they keep buying.
Go quiet because you don't want to "annoy" them, and the relationship goes cold. They forget you. A competitor reminds them. That's how you lose them.
Sell them again. Then again. That's your retention plan and your growth plan rolled into one.
Enough is a number.
Until you write it down, your business will keep asking for more.
More revenue.
More clients.
More staff.
More hours.
More of you.
And somehow the finish line never gets any closer.
The goalposts move because you never put them in the ground.
So put them in the ground.
How much does the business need to pay you each month for life to feel spacious?
$20,000?
$30,000?
$50,000?
How many hours do you actually want to work each week?
20?
30?
Not the hours you’ve learned to tolerate.
The hours you would choose.
How much energy do you want left at 6pm for the people you love?
Because they did not sign up for the scraps.
How much space do you want in the calendar?
A month overseas.
Friday afternoons off.
Training at 10am.
A Tuesday off because the surf is good.
Write the numbers down.
Then look at your business honestly.
You might find you are closer than you think.
You might find the business you have built cannot give you the life you want.
Both are useful.
Money.
Time.
Energy.
That is the deal.
If your business does not give you enough of those three, you do not have a character flaw.
You have a design problem.
And design problems can be solved.
Somewhere out there is a 9 year old boy.
He just wants his dad to come home from work. To put the laptop down. To come and play.
We tell ourselves we're building it for them. It's bullshit.
No kid trades time with their parents for a bigger house.
You can be there AND build a great business. I know because I've messed it up and I've got it right.
The grip you think you need? You don't.
Stop writing SOPs.
In 2016, I'd had enough of every task being done differently. I'd just read The E-Myth, which preached systematising everything, so I locked myself in a room.
Literally. I rented a windowless room in a Neutral Bay coworking space, two days a week, for twelve weeks.
I documented the business end to end into one giant manual.
No one cared. No one followed it. No one used it.
The reason is simple: the person who creates it, owns it.
Now the person who'll run the process writes it.
My customer success manager rebuilt our onboarding checklist in an afternoon.
It's the first one anyone's actually used.
I took a couple of my clients out fishing on the Friday before the long weekend.
All our businesses carried on without fuss, without checking phones. Why?
Because we build a business that allows freedom of choice.
Great day, deep conversations and a few fish in there as a bonus.
Thanks @gregwatts23 and Danny Keo
Lazemaxing (verb):
The practice of maxing out how little you work while your business grows without you.
See also: not looksmaxing.
No jawline gum. No cold plunge. No morning routine with 47 steps and a gratitude journal.
While the gym bros are mewing, my clients are Lazemaxing.
Exhibit A. My client Mike.
Marketing agency owner. Used to work 60-hour weeks. Used to answer every Slack message personally. Used to be a person you could actually reach.
Six months ago we installed a General Manager.
She owns operations, delivery, and the team.
He owns his time, and he owns it aggressively.
I asked for a meeting last week.
He offered me a 20-minute window. Nine days out. That was the only slot.
I helped build this thing. I can barely get near it.
I created the monster. The monster is thriving. The monster will not return my calls.
Good.
Most owners optimize for revenue. Smart owners optimize for hours worked.
Lower is better.
A business that needs you every day is a job with extra steps.
A business you barely touch is an asset.
The only gains that matter are the hours you claw back.
Install the operator. Guard the calendar. Shrink the hours.
Lazemax accordingly.
Agency owners: what would you do with 30 hours back this week?
