If you’re a business owner, then creating freedom through business is the ultimate goal.
If you have a freedom business, you have a business that runs seamlessly without you. This then allows you the freedom to pursue other things, whether that be building more businesses or becoming an investor in your business, or maybe it’s sitting on a beach everyday – the choice is yours with a freedom business.
After more than 15 years of mentoring experience, in my opinion pretty much any business can become a freedom business, however there is one caveat to that. If you are a high level specialist at something, unless you can find other specialists and hire them, it’s going to be very hard to scale yourself out of that business.
The good news is that any other business that involves a product or a service where someone else can deliver that product or service without you having to, is a business that you can create as a freedom business.
To take your current business and turn it into a freedom business requires you to think like an investor. Thinking like an investor means setting your business up for success and building it as a business model – a business model business has structural systems and processes in place (think Boost Juice) with a solid team and strong culture so it will continue to grow whether you’re actually in it every day or whether you’re sitting back on a beach. Unless you are a very niche Specialist, then I cannot see why you cannot make your business a freedom business.
To take your current business and turn it into a freedom business requires you to think like an investor.
A freedom business is the one thing all our Inner Circle members have in common, they are striving to create their version of success in their own business, which will ultimately allow them the choice if they want to work or not. Your Investor IQ (the degree to which you think and operate in your business like an Investor) is what determines your ability to navigate the pathway from small business owner, to freedom business owner. If you choose to, you can then become an investor in your business yourself.
If you’re still stuck working in or on the business, it’s time to look at areas of the business that could be lagging. Data is usually the main culprit I see. Data is the language of the investor and people who know how to actually put deals together and grow businesses are referring to their data countless times throughout each day and every decision they make is founded on the data they have.
If you’re struggling with the numbers the best way to start is just to start. You don’t have to be a whizz at it but you do need the ability to understand the financials of your business and be able to forecast forward. What I would do is print out your reports (get them from your accountant if you need) and run through them, and if there’s any line that doesn’t make sense, if you don’t know what a certain line means go back to your accountant and ask “what is this?” See if this month is the same as last month, were you expecting it to be the same as last month?
Start to read through all those basic financial documents and financial reports, to give you a window into your business. Ultimately your numbers are the dashboard from which you fly the plane. Without a dashboard it’s very unsafe to fly a plane, especially if you’re flying in the dark which is what most business owners are doing by not knowing the numbers. Remember, data is the language investors speak. If you know your data and you have a product or service that ultimately someone else can do, you’ve got yourself the foundations of what could one day become a true freedom business. With the right systems, structures, processes and team in place, freedom through your business is inevitable.
If you would like to learn more about creating a freedom business, or perhaps you would like some 1-1 support with your numbers, feel free to reach out here and let’s see what we can do for you.
