Hey, I’m a long-time lurker (I had an account before this one) but a first-time poster.
I’ve been building businesses for 10+ years. I’ve done stuff like e-commerce, office cleaning, and publishing.
I’m not a billionaire or anything like that, but I’ve done okay. I’ve adopted many of the Fastlane principles of leverage, scale, control, and more to build my businesses. I’m not particularly smart or talented, so a lot of my success boils down to the following things…
I currently run a marketing company specifically for financial advisors. Nearly all of the stuff I do comes from them. I have talked to them every single day for over a decade now. I am constantly emailing them, interacting with them on social media, and having conversations with them. I don’t just sit around and think about what I can do—I look for their pain points and build something to solve them.
For example, it’s certainly possible to build a successful business offering a single $5,000 product. But it’s often a lot faster to sell a $5,000 product, a $1,000 product, a $500 product, a $50 product, and a $50,000 product. Again, these products should be built around your market and what it wants. Figure out what your market is willing to pay $50 for and build it. Figure out what your market is willing to pay $50,000 for and build it.
The key word is need, though. I am actually neck-deep in the marketing world. It is my biggest entrepreneurial passion. So I am biased toward good marketing—as long as the product is good. You can’t polish a turd.
I have consulted thousands of financial advisors (my niche), and I’ve seen this as one of the biggest differentiators between successful and unsuccessful ones. The ones who struggle are the ones who wake up and think, “Hmmm. What can I do today?” and go wherever the wind blows them.
Success for me looks like a lot of marketing, a lot of thinking, and a lot of planning. No ice baths, no meditation, or any of that stuff. Just good old-fashioned hard work.
A lot of farmers are cash poor.
I had this beaten into my head at a young age, so I’ve never really focused on net worth as the goal. Instead, I’ve focused on cash flow.
Don’t get me wrong, net worth is cool. But for the purposes of wealth-building, your net worth should be used largely to create cash flow.
But the best businesses? They’re simple.
One core offer. One clear market. One strong message.
The more complexity you add, the harder it is to execute. And when execution slows down, growth slows down.
If something in your business isn’t working, ask yourself:
“Am I making this harder than it needs to be?”
I’ve seen people go from struggling to thriving just because they learned the right strategy and implemented it.
But I’ve also seen people who consume endless information and never act on any of it.
Reading doesn’t change your life. Using the information you learn does.
I’ve been building businesses for 10+ years. I’ve done stuff like e-commerce, office cleaning, and publishing.
I’m not a billionaire or anything like that, but I’ve done okay. I’ve adopted many of the Fastlane principles of leverage, scale, control, and more to build my businesses. I’m not particularly smart or talented, so a lot of my success boils down to the following things…
1. Know your market.
This is probably the most important thing. Lots of people try to start a business and then find a market. This is backward. You should find a market and then start a business based on that market’s needs.I currently run a marketing company specifically for financial advisors. Nearly all of the stuff I do comes from them. I have talked to them every single day for over a decade now. I am constantly emailing them, interacting with them on social media, and having conversations with them. I don’t just sit around and think about what I can do—I look for their pain points and build something to solve them.
2. Know your goals.
Some of my entrepreneur friends want to build big businesses, even if it means paying themselves nothing or very little. That’s not my style. My goal is to build businesses to build personal wealth. In my experience, neither approach is good nor bad. You just have to know what you want.3. Have multiple price points.
This might be a little tactical, but I’ve noticed it in my businesses and the businesses I’ve served. It is a lot harder to compete if you only have one or two price points because you are limiting your total addressable market.For example, it’s certainly possible to build a successful business offering a single $5,000 product. But it’s often a lot faster to sell a $5,000 product, a $1,000 product, a $500 product, a $50 product, and a $50,000 product. Again, these products should be built around your market and what it wants. Figure out what your market is willing to pay $50 for and build it. Figure out what your market is willing to pay $50,000 for and build it.
4. A productocracy should be the target, but marketing helps.
I think MJ hits the nail on the head when he talks about having a productocracy. Your products should be so good that they don’t need marketing.The key word is need, though. I am actually neck-deep in the marketing world. It is my biggest entrepreneurial passion. So I am biased toward good marketing—as long as the product is good. You can’t polish a turd.
5. Have a routine.
Some of my friends and family members would describe me as “rigid” and “robotic” because I do the same exact things every day. I almost never deviate from my schedules and plans. That’s because I plan out what it will take to accomplish my goals, and I just do it.I have consulted thousands of financial advisors (my niche), and I’ve seen this as one of the biggest differentiators between successful and unsuccessful ones. The ones who struggle are the ones who wake up and think, “Hmmm. What can I do today?” and go wherever the wind blows them.
6. A lot of entrepreneurial success is, well, boring.
TikTok and Instagram would have you believe that success is fun and sexy, with all sorts of cool things happening throughout your day. Lol. That is not reality at all.Success for me looks like a lot of marketing, a lot of thinking, and a lot of planning. No ice baths, no meditation, or any of that stuff. Just good old-fashioned hard work.
7. Urgency is vital.
Far too many people are lackadaisical about their wealth-building efforts. They believe they have all the time in the world and that they’ll get to it “someday.” But someday never comes. You only have a finite amount of time on this planet, so why not work your butt off to accomplish your dreams as quickly as possible?8. Net worth is (mostly) a vanity metric.
I grew up in a farming community. If you know anything about farms, you know that it’s relatively easy to have a million-dollar net worth. Own some land, a tractor, and some cows, and you’re there. A million bucks. Yippee! But there’s one problem…A lot of farmers are cash poor.
I had this beaten into my head at a young age, so I’ve never really focused on net worth as the goal. Instead, I’ve focused on cash flow.
Don’t get me wrong, net worth is cool. But for the purposes of wealth-building, your net worth should be used largely to create cash flow.
9. Simplicity beats complexity.
A lot of people overcomplicate business. They try to create fancy systems, stack multiple business models, or add unnecessary layers that slow them down.But the best businesses? They’re simple.
One core offer. One clear market. One strong message.
The more complexity you add, the harder it is to execute. And when execution slows down, growth slows down.
If something in your business isn’t working, ask yourself:
“Am I making this harder than it needs to be?”
10. The right information can change everything, but you have to use it.
For me, that was The Millionaire Fastlane . It truly changed my life.I’ve seen people go from struggling to thriving just because they learned the right strategy and implemented it.
But I’ve also seen people who consume endless information and never act on any of it.
Reading doesn’t change your life. Using the information you learn does.
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