Meet Susan. Susan owns a successful pet-sitting business. To her friends, her clients (both the two-legged and the four-legged) and the world at large, she’s “made it.” Starting from scratch six years ago, her small business has grown by word-of-mouth and local advertising to more than 100 clients.
But Susan is burned out. The 60-hour weeks she spends walking dogs in every kind of weather, logging countless miles in the process is having a serious impact on her health, her marriage and her kids.
Her business has become a job, because she’s still trading her time for money. She needs to take control and step back from the pressure of running her business day-to-day. But she’s afraid her business will suffer.
Sound familiar?
Take it or leave it
All too many Business Owners fall into the trap of thinking they have no choice. They believe they have to keep putting in the hours, the miles, the time and the energy or their business will fail.
That’s what’s meant by the expression Hobson’s choice… otherwise known as “take it or leave it.” What does that mean? Simply put, there’s no real choice offered, because there’s only one thing you can do. But that’s a fallacy. You don’t have to choose between having a life while your business suffers or sacrificing your life so your business grows.
Your business will succeed when you understand how to break the link between time and money. And this is how you do it.
Introducing your personal GPS system
There are three steps that will guide you down the road to take control of your business and reach personal Financial Freedom—like your own personal GPS system.
But we’re talking about business… why is personal Financial Freedom important? Because no matter how much you love your business and doing what you do, there will come a time when you won’t be able to work anymore. Whether the reason is physical, mental or emotional, there’s no avoiding this reality. That means you need to start preparing today for the time when you can’t work in your business. And the key to surviving—and enjoying—those years is your personal Financial Freedom.
No matter how successful you are today with your business, that success won’t amount to a hill of beans. Unless you create personal Financial Freedom that is entirely separate from your business.
So here are the three steps you must take to ensure your ultimate success.
- Keep your business finances and your personal finances separate;
- Pay yourself a regular and consistent income from your business; and
- Establish an exit strategy for the day when you either sell the business or simply close the doors.
Once you take these three steps, you’ll find yourself behind the wheel of your business accelerating down the road toward personal Financial Freedom.
Don’t get caught driving without a GPS system to take you to your ultimate destination of personal Financial Freedom!
Dr. Tony is the co-founder of MindShift.money and the best-selling author of three books on personal and business finances. Having achieved Financial Freedom at 27, Dr. Tony believes that through Financially Fit Bootcamp and Cash Flow Cure everyone can get there. He has made it his life’s mission to help others live a life where their money works for them—not the other way around.