Stop Being the Finder, Minder and Grinder in Your Business
Most entrepreneurs try to bite off a little more than they can chew hoping they’ll quickly learn how to chew it. They take on the multiple tasks of not only marketing and running the business and dealing with customers, but operating and maintaining the “machine” as well. They find it hard to let go and release control, and in this way, hinder the evolution and growth of their enterprise.
Successful entrepreneurs understand that unless they learn how to let go of the mundane tasks, their business will not grow. They know how to leverage the efforts of their teams and the knowledge of the people around them. By building business systems that can be operated by the team and having procedures, policies and check lists to support the management system, winning entrepreneurs enjoy total freedom, wealth creation and a lifestyle to boot.
Being the finder, minder and grinder in your business is an exhausting and emotionally draining exercise. Decide first why your business exists, identify your goals and then design your role to suit your business’ purpose. If you go against the flow and decide to be the grinder then you are only doings things as they come without direction or purpose. You are a “human doing” as oppose to “human being”. In other words you are replaceable. Should you opt to being the minder then you are a manager not entrepreneur. You manage and direct the grinders in your business and your existence depends on having grinders in your business to manage.
The best possible position for an entrepreneur is at the top of the pyramid. Being the finder means that you do not do real work in the business but ensure that all strategies of the business are aligned are being implemented the minders and executed by the finders. You rely on your internal network of people to realize all initiatives, projects and orders created by your extensive network of contacts who you spend most the time in their company dining a=wining and playing golf.
Ask yourself; “Am I building an enterprise or a job? Is what I am doing now moving me closer towards my goals? If not, then it is moving you away from your goals of enterprise building.
Stop being the finder, minder and grinder in your business. Leverage other peoples’ time in the operation of your business.
But, you may say, my business is me! I am it! I do not have a team! In this case, you must establish a virtual team of independent contractors who can help look after the core of your business such as:
- Bookkeeper
- Accountant
- Marketing Copywriter & Product/Service Manager
- Graphic Designer, Photographer
- Personal Assistant
- Webmaster and Online Shopping Cart Manager
- Special Projects Manager
- Google Ad words and SEO Specialist
Clients tells us that one of the biggest differences we made in their business was helping them build their team or “virtual team” which allowed them to enjoy a better life with great freedom while working strategically on the vision and future of their businesses!
BY: Michael Yacoub
Real Estate Mindset – Nine Essential Beliefs of Successful Investors
A tale of two investors: Two new investors begin their real estate careers. They get the same education. Same mentors. Same opportunities. One of them goes on to create great success and wealth while the other remains flat broke.
What made the difference?
Success in real estate investing is much more than knowing how to complete a deal. It takes the real estate mindset and habits of a professional investor. Here are some of the real estate habits that you must put into practice:
1. Develop a long-term perspective. Plan 3~5 years in the future. Don’t let ups and downs shake your commitment. Expect a crisis every 2~3 months with problems sprinkled liberally throughout. How do you respond to difficulty? Challenges reveal your true character and how you respond to them is the only thing you can control.
2. Practice self-discipline. Do what you should do when you should do it even if you don’t feel like it. Delay gratification for long-term benefit–successful people do the things they don’t like to do when failures don’t do them. Remember: work 5 years like other people are afraid to, so you can live the rest of your life like other people only dream of.
3. Work with a goal in mind. Don’t work for work’s sake. What would you do with your time if money wasn’t an issue? Spend time with family? Do charitable work? Travel the world? Your answer to this question will tell you what you really want to do with your life. Let these life goals drive you to succeed. Hard work isn’t that hard when it will get you to your goals quickly.
4. Develop a strong work ethic. This is the 40+ formula: you work 40 hours a week for survival and everything after that for success–every hour over 40 is an investment in your future (the average millionaire works 59 hours a week). Don’t waste your work time. Make each hour count.
5. Do first things first. Make a to-do list. Set priorities on each activity, focus on the highest priority first, and work on it till it is done. Ask yourself “what is the best use of my time right now?” and then do it. This is the habit of high performance.
6. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning. To earn more you must learn more. Study real estate 30~60 minutes a day. Read books, listen to audio programs while driving or doing mindless work, and take courses and seminars.
7. Dedicate yourself to serving others. Success is determined by doing more than what is expected–there are never any traffic jams on the extra mile. You are paid in exact proportion to the value you bring to society. If you want to make more money, create more value for the people you serve.
8. Get around the right people. Your network = your net worth. You will tend to be like the people you spend time around. Build a network of quality people–find those you want to be like, get involved, help those people, be a go-giver instead of a go-getter. If you want to soar with the eagles, you can’t hang out with the turkeys!
9. Never consider the possibility of failure. Failure makes you stronger–fear of failure is what will hold you back. Take calculated risks in the direction of your goals. What is the worst that could happen? The worst is usually not that bad. Make a habit of doing the things you fear. Act boldly, and the fear will leave you. Back everything you do with persistence and determination. Resolve today to never give up. Success is predictable.
By: Sam Ally
Investing in Real Estate for Retirement: From Proceeds to Equity
There are two words that catches our attention when there’s a talk about investing in real estate for retirement. One is the word investing or investment and the other one is the word retirement. These are the two word which could translate to long term benefits depending on expended efforts, but can spell disaster if one is not too careful or if mismanaged may turn hard earned retirement money to waste. Conservatism is still the virtue for those who invest for retirement and like any other types of investments, the investor must always be in an anticipatory mode and ready to change alternative course should things go awry.
Investing in real estate for retirement is indeed a viable venture but diligence must precede the before shelling out your savings or your money. If you are a retiree and is thinking of entering this business, you should know how the industry works and you will learn this from various seminars or research that you can mostly find online. It is worth engaging the services of a competent retirement investment consultant considering the high non-monetary value that goes into the retirement proceeds about to be turned into investment equity. A competent consultant has a comprehensive grasp of the investment climate free from media hypes and detailed knowledge in converting retirement proceeds to investment equity.
Although it has its unique features, investing in real estate for retirement follow the same principles of a regular investment. Few years before the retirement, the retiree must decide to invest or not. Real estate investments are multi-pronged generally categorized into properties or stock portfolios. Should the retiree decide on property investment, say residential property or any property within the level of the retirement proceeds, the economics of location should be the first priority. Consultants are able to provide legal advice as to which state offers the lowest retirement tax liabilities, cash flow and other pertinent financial ratio analyses, accessible amenities of the area most especially hospitals or the more adventurous retiree can invest outside of the United States territory. Studying laws covering this sort of investment is a must as well and should not be left to consultants alone. The retiree investor should have the basic but adequate knowledge of the legal intricacies of retirement investment plans. There are consultants that may favor an alternative that benefits him or his affiliate firm. At the very least, the retiree must be well aware of the provisions of converting the so-called Individual Retirement Account (IRA) deposited in a financial institution to a Self-Directed IRA where more number of investment instrumentalities can be harnessed as given by law. With the assistance of a consultant, the retiree must be very protective and security compliant in investing. As an investor, the recent American experience of fraudulent and unregulated sub-prime mortgage scam is a reality which all must contend with. Careful industry environment scanning is in order.
Investing in real estate for retirement will surely gain benefits but you should deliberate planning and studying. Behind every retirement gains or IRAs is the sweat of labor to accumulate such savings. Enough legal security should be learned Benefits that resulting from investing in real estate for retirement is the very life itself of the retiree investor, any unplanned move could devastate what has been accumulated through sweat and toil.
Mastermind Groups: Associate Yourself With Success
Do you have a mastermind group that is helping you to realize the goals of today and make serious progress toward the dreams of tomorrow? America’s #1 Real Estate Network is doing just that for people across the United States. What about you? Are you living the life you dreamed of? If not, surround yourself with people who are also striving to become something greater than they are today-join or start a mastermind group.
If you’re reading this right now, QUIT YOUR JOB! Haha. Just kidding. But, seriously, if you’re working for someone else…do you have an exit strategy from the workforce? If you do, great! If not, why not? If not, go thou immediately and figure out what you want to have in Life…marinate on that for a few days. Chunk it down. Get specific. Meditate or pray.
One thing that’s phenomenal about investing in real estate is that it can be done in a number of ways; to be successful you just need to decide what you want to accomplish (i.e. who “success with real estate” will enable you to BE), and then devise a plan to get you there. A helpful way to start is to start asking questions like: “What do I need to DO in order to HAVE all those things/qualities/circumstances/dreams/accomplishments that I want in my LIFE? You DO remember, now, it is YOUR life!
Answer those questions and you’ll have a list of ACTIVITIES. But where do you start now that you’ve got a list of activities? Good question, and unfortunately one that can’t be answered as quickly and as generally as how to figure out what you want to HAVE and then what you have to DO to get what you want to HAVE. You should already know what you want to HAVE in your life. These things are concrete, tangible for the most part. They deal with THINGS and EXPERIENCES:
“I want to have as much time with my family as either of us can stand!”
“I want to have the ability to vacation anywhere, at any time- and for no reason at all!”
“I want to have the financial freedom to pursue my passions”
“I want to have enough money to tithe $100,000 to my church”
These questions are easy, and if you haven’t yet mapped them out…go do it! For those who are already on board, answer the tougher question….”Who do you have to BE to effortlessly DO the things necessary to HAVE everything you ever wanted in life?” This is NOT something I or anyone else can tell you. Believe me, I’m still figuring this one out for myself, and working with my mastermind group to implement what I find. I’m pretty sure that this is a lifelong journey we’re embarking on when we make this decision to decide who we want to BE. So…Who are you anyway? Really? Do you know? Maybe:) I hope so…
But it’s easier to find out if you talk about it with someone who cares and will help guide you through the thought process of self-actualization and focus. Napoleon Hill said “We will emulate those with whom we most closely associate.” Let’s closely associate together with people of integrity, people of vision, people who think like entrepreneurs and make things happen. You can find plenty of people like that when you join the right mastermind group.
What Price Would You Pay For Freedom?
Do not get me wrong. I am not getting into politics when I asked that question in my title of “What Price Would You Pay For Freedom”. I am talking about the price you would pay to get your personal freedom back.
I want to really get into this. How long do you want to work for a company that tells you how many hours you have to work, when to get to the office in the morning, when to take a break, or when to have your lunch, and when you can leave to go home and spend some time with your family? If you are lucky enough, your children may be still be awake when you finally do get home and you can play with them for a short time. “But do not get them too wound up,” says your wife, “because they will not be able to go to sleep.”
Before you know it, you are back on the train or in your car the next morning, sitting in traffic and talking to yourself because you have the time to talk to yourself because you are sitting in dead-stop traffic.
The question you ask yourself is, I am going to have to do this daily routine for the next 30 or maybe 40 years and make the company lots of money. I make just enough to pay my bills and maybe have a little extra to take the family on a small vacation (when they tell me I can and when to be back at work).
This picture I am painting does not look rewarding to me.
Let us go down the road a little. Kids are now college age. Were you able to save enough money to help them with the next 4 years or maybe 8 if they go on.By the way, did you notice how much the cost of tuition goes up each year??
Next stop 30 years later, time for retirement, we would hope.
Were you able to have some kind of retirement account, and was still in tact after the last turn in the economy?
But there are ways to get thru the process a little differently. Its called entrepreneurship. You make the rules, you set the hours, you get to see your kids and have meals with them and watch them grow. As long as you put in the time and energy, it is great.
So to answer the question “What Price Would You Pay For Freedom” only you can answer which way would you rather go thru life.
By: David Brenowitz
Why living abundantly will make you more money
Do you live in a world of abundance or in a world of scarcity?
What?
Really. The answer effects just about everything you do in business including how you make money, how you grow your business, how you serve your clients and employees, and how you impact the community around you.
If you live in a world of abundance, you fundamentally believe you will get yours by helping others get theirs, because there is plenty to go around, and the generous will do well. Profit comes from serving others and focusing on getting better, not from eliminating competition.
If you live in a world of scarcity, you fundamentally believe you will get yours by getting it before the greedy guy does, because there is only a limited supply to go around, and the bad guys will get it all if I don’t get mine first. Profit comes from grabbing the scarce market before the next guy gets it, and eliminating the competition.
Companies that live in a world of abundance operate differently. I was in Nordstrom’s once and they didn’t have what I wanted. They called their competitor in the same mall, found the product at a lower price, had someone go down and buy it for me, brought it to Nordstrom’s while I finished my shopping, and gave it to me at the competitor’s price.
Many examples of both abundance living and scarcity living exist in the technology world. Abundance living is demonstrated by Linux and other open-source software that is available for all to build on. Google built their business on “do nothing evil” (some say they are wavering on that lately). On the flip side, in 1997 I was given a confidential document that showed a three-year plan by Microsoft to drive Novell out of the market. The focus wasn’t on how Microsoft could get better, but how they could eliminate the competition so they wouldn’t have to get better.
Markets are indeed limited. It’s counter-intuitive, but in the long run you will almost always get more of that market by living abundantly, not be grabbing everything you can up front. Scarcity living might give you a first leg up, but will create a reputation you don’t want long term.
Put helping your clients above your own desire to sell them something. I dare you to help your competition be successful, too. Or if you can’t get your arms around that, at least focus on getting better instead of eliminating the other guy. You’ll make more money in the long run, create loyal followers, and develop a legacy that will carry the company forward.
Do you live in a world of abundance or in a world of scarcity? The answer will affect everything you do in business, and will go directly to the bottom line.
By: Charles Blakeman
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