I just left in a meeting in DC where another entrepreneur asked “how are you involved in different industries? I can barely manage one.” It’s an interesting question because I never really thought about it. So while I’m sitting in the back of an Uber let me try to knock out the answer.
Please excuse grammatical errors as I’m typing on my phone while in transit.
- First, let’s talk about why I own a political shop, a corporate brand reputation agency, a brewery with two locations, and the beginnings of a short term rental business. Tax breaks. The more money you make, the more the government takes. I prefer to keep my money so that I can create more jobs. Some investments, especially real estate, help me give less money to the man.
- Diversification. Industries grow and collapse. I prefer to not have all my eggs in one basket.
- Businesses are the best investment. I’m not saying I’m going to ever sell my businesses, but if I do I will get a multiple on my EBIDTA. So for every dollar I make I can sell it for 4 – 7X. This dramatically increases net wealth and the ability to borrow more money to grow or create businesses.
- I bet on myself. I know my strengths. I know my weaknesses. I’ve learned how to find people who can make up for my weaknesses. I don’t know your strengths or weaknesses. I bet on what I know. That’s me.
Now for how.
- I let go. This was and still is the hardest part for me. I like to micromanage. I get in the mindset of “no one can do it as good as I can.” That’s egotistical and silly. It took a long time, but I broke the habit. Although admittedly I occasionally fall back into it. That’s why I’ve empowered people like Phil to snatch me up and say “STOP! This isn’t your quadrant. Get out of the way!” Oh, and he does.
- I build teams. I focus on identifying and growing talent. That’s my main job. Then I put people in the right places.
- I build processes. I build out systems that operate like well-oiled machines. They operate even if I get hit by a bus.
- I teach. Yes, it takes a lot of time, but for every hour I teach I save days, weeks and years. It’s frustrating to take the time out of my day, but it’s shortsighted not to do so.
- I provide oversight, advice, and accountability. I step in when I need to. I have weekly meetings. I check in daily. I ask what’s going right and what’s going wrong and I give advice on how to improve. Then I get out of the way.
- I base everything on numbers. I am shown numbers. I make decisions based on numbers. We agree on goals and forecasts and I expect my leaders to meet those goals. I let them hire and fire, travel and spend money as the forecast dictates. I don’t watch every dollar spent.
Read The Parable of The Pipeline and Fast Lane Millionaire for more information on this topic.
Wishing you many Positive Vibes. ☀️
