Some entrepreneurs and business owners run on the hamster wheel of their business day in and day out. They’re hardworking, highly skilled, and have years worth of satisfied clients … so why haven’t they earned their freedom? I sat down with Dean Jackson to dissect this question.

If you don’t know Dean, he is a brilliant marketing mind who has helped dozens of incredible people market their business. In fact, he helped Tony Robbins launch his online marketing business, he started the I Love Marketing podcast with Joe Polish and has worked with countless other heavy hitters like Jay Abraham and Dan Sullivan. The ideas we uncovered are real gems to help catapult the business of any entrepreneur or business owner to the next level.

Leverage — A Great Tool for Any Entrepreneur

What is the true entrepreneurial pursuit? Dean and I believe it is the development of the “WHAT” for any business or service. In other words, what are you going to do, what are you going to build? What are you best at?

In the early stages of running a business, the entrepreneur is often occupied not only with the “WHAT”, but also the “HOW”. The entrepreneur will take on these tasks themselves. They develop the product or service, then deliver the service themselves. Fast forward some years and the entrepreneur is now thinking about HOW to 10x their business, but they are still worrying about getting and fulfilling orders to pay the bills.

Dean suggests that the entrepreneur needs to focus less on the “HOW”, and concentrate almost exclusively on the “WHO”

You see, leveraging the right personnel, or systems to answer the “WHO” questions will free up your time to focus on what you’re good at. It will increase the quality of the product or service by allowing you to focus on what you are truly passionate about. You bring the best version of your product or service to the public when you’re not worrying about “HOW”.

Leveraging the experts, or the existing platforms, whether they are internet-based or people based is a huge advantage that sets some entrepreneurs and business owners apart from the rest.

Dean gave the example of Kylie Jenner who became a billionaire in less than 3 years, by dividing up the duties of her empire and focusing solely on the creative products and content. She mastered the “WHO” by employing a very small team of just seven people! By outsourcing, partners and leveraging relationships. Kylie and her team sit around the boardroom and figure out “WHO” they are going to so use to get the “HOW’s” done. That is a testament to the “WHO’’ not “HOW” approach. Maybe you think that Kylie’s success is due in part to her having “every advantage” in life. So let’s look at Montero Lamar Hill.

Montero is also known as Lil Nas X, (an American rapper, singer and songwriter) who came to international attention for his country rap single “Old Town Road.” He turned that song into the number one hit in history on the Billboard chart. He did the same thing Kylie did. He leveraged someone else’s skills and talents and existing platforms to showcase his own talents.

So, in thinking about your business, “WHO” is the right person or platform to answer the “HOW” do we get this done.

Maximize Your Efforts, By Shrinking Your Target

There is a difference between marketing and sales. For example, think of marketing as everything that takes place before you get a prospective client on the phone, sales is everything you do once you have them on the phone. How much time have you spent in your business thinking about the BEFORE stage?

Do you know one of the most common misconceptions of most entrepreneurs and business owners? The idea that shrinking their target market will eliminate potential business. So they try to attract everyone and never get clear on who and what they do and what they want to build towards. But Dean confirms that narrowing the focus of “WHAT” you do, will drastically increase your business performance.

It starts with asking key questions like: “What is it I want to do?”

If you’re a custom builder, maybe you want to build Mansions?

If you’re a general contractor, maybe you want to do renovations, or build condos?

Shrinking your target stops you from wasting energy and resources on shotgun methods of marketing and allows you to zero in like a laser or a rocket launcher to hit it.

If you’ve been doing things a certain way in your business for a long time, figuring out exactly how to get that clarity can be frustrating. Remember, don’t focus so much on the “HOW” to do this, focus on the “WHO”. Luckily, this tactic is something 4 Level Coach would be happy to help you with.

The Vending Machine

One thing that is terrifying in business ownership is the unpredictable, the unknown. How much will this cost me? Where are my clients going to come from? What will the ROI look like? It’s something I have seen drive even the best business owners into a panic. Dean has an amazing mindset hack that has literally changed the game. He calls it the difference between the slot machine and the vending machine. Just take a second to visualize those two things.

A slot machine is something you place money into, you hope for positive results, yet you never really know. You are playing a game of chance. Sure, sometimes you get lucky, but it is always blind luck.

Marketing for the business owner can feel like it’s a slot machine sometimes. You put time, effort, money, and manpower into projects that do not result in future clientele or revenue for your business. It is frustrating.

The vending machine, on the other hand, has options. You know exactly what those options are, what they cost and you know what to expect when you make your selection.

The answer to unpredictability is to identify what options you want in your vending machine. That way, when you put money into your marketing machine, you know what comes out every time.

So take time to think differently about what you do, and develop a different perspective and mindset. Remember, the very first principle is not to stress the “HOW.” Reach out to 4 Level Coach to help you with your “WHO”.

If these steps left you wanting more, Then head over to The Building Freedom Podcast and listen to the entire podcast where Dean and I share even more tips and tactics than those summarized in this article — and detail how anyone can follow these steps and obtain the freedom in the business they never thought was possible

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