Some small business owners don’t really own anything.
In reality, their businesses own them.
Here’s a test. Have you ever:
- Opened your business personally before dawn and closed it after dusk?
- Worked extreme hours because of staff shortages or because “no one else can do it”?
- Missed important life events—or even just a kid’s baseball game—because you had to take care of the business?
- Gone so long without holidays that you don’t remember what time off is for?
- Been accused by a spouse of being “not present” because you can’t stop thinking about the business?
- Committed yourself to “the entrepreneurial grind” but kept grinding for four or more years without getting any momentum?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, your business probably owns you.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The Grind
Starting a small business is tough, and it’s a lot of work.
In the beginning, you’ll probably sacrifice some sleep, you’ll work long hours, and you’ll donate a lot of elbow grease. That’s OK. But you should work to get out of this stage of entrepreneurship as quickly as possible.
“The grind” is a thing, but it shouldn’t be a forever thing.
The grind is actually a high-intensity period of investment. In this stage of your entrepreneurial development, you put in a lot of effort to build the momentum that will carry the business forward for decades. In return for this investment, you should eventually receive some freedom of time and money.
That doesn’t always happen. It’s common for people to grind for a decade or more without taking very many steps toward freedom. (I was on this path until I got a mentor.)
On the other hand, in the fitness business it’s now possible to grind for a relatively short amount of time, build a very profitable gym, create an income stream of $100,000 a year and achieve a net worth of $1 million.
Many Two-Brain clients have done all this in about four years. Some of our clients move faster, and some take a little longer, of course. But I have data that shows this evolution is very doable in four years—if you minimize mistakes, do all the right things and have someone to keep you on track.
With a good income stream and a net worth of $1 million, you’ll have a measure of freedom. And you’ll have the tools to get more of that. Many of our upper-level gym owners start scaling by buying gyms, opening second locations, investing, buying real estate and so on.
At that point, they have a lot of freedom. Their finances are great, and they can take a lot of time off. Some can even “retire” if they want to. Whatever they choose, these owners certainly don’t miss their kids’ birthday parties—the GM can handle the problems at the gym.
They are business owners—emphasis on the last word—and they enjoy the benefits of owning a business.
Own Your Business
So how do you become a business owner?
You must build a real business, not “buy yourself a job.”
That means you don’t mop the floors every night while dinner gets cold. You hire a cleaner.
You don’t do staff members’ jobs because they messed up again. You do the job once, you write out an airtight SOP, you teach the staff member to follow the SOP, you review performance, you mentor the person to succeed, and you replace them if they just can’t succeed.
You don’t hope new clients show up this month. You create a marketing plan to add the exact number of clients you need.
This stuff is really hard.
But I have good news for you: You don’t have to figure things out on your own. A mentor can tell you exactly how to build a business, lay out step-by-step instructions and provide accountability so you take swift action.
Earlier, I said you can build a business that pays you $100,000 a year, and I meant it. On average, it takes Two-Brain clients just over two years to do this—regardless of starting point.
So if you’re tired of being owned by your business, take the first step toward being a business owner: Book a call with my team.
