“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Mary Oliver, Poet
How big is big enough?
Year after year, business owners fall prey to the same old trap of shooting for a big number in the hope that this time, this number really will be the magic number they need to buy their freedom back.
Clients, David* and Melissa* were just like that. (*Names changed to maintain client confidentiality)
Prior to meeting Rob and myself, every year they’d literally pluck a number out of the sky and go for it.
And year after year, they hit it.
In just two years they went from being a $7Million business to a $13Million business.
It’s was certainly an impressive achievement.
And it was driving David* and Melissa* apart.
With the rapid business growth came more stress, more employees, more hours working in the business, and more stress on their relationship.
Having experienced exponential growth year on year for nearly every one of their seven years in business, David* and Melissa* knew that more growth was not going to give them what they wanted.
They were both already working 80+ hour weeks.
More growth would mean hiring more people. And more people puts more pressure on the business to continue growing.
As Melissa* said, “It just becomes a bigger beast to feed.”
So this year, David* and Melissa* took a radically different approach to setting their 2021FY targets.
Over the last few weeks, the couple have been working hard with me and Rob, putting pen to paper to describe in detail the lifestyle they want to live.
A lifestyle that completely aligns with and fulfils their highest values (personal drivers).
Now any lifestyle requires you to earn a certain amount of money each year in order to live it.
Once David* and Melissa* had detailed the life they wanted to live, they were able to work out how much money they would need each year in order to live it.
Once they knew that number, it was simply a matter of reverse-engineering that number back to the business in order to find the NET PROFIT they will need to pull from the business each year to create it.
With the business targets now aligned to David* and Melissa*’s personal goals and highest priorities, there’s no longer the pressure to grow for growth’s sake.
They’re no longer feeding the beast.
And they know exactly what they want to do with their one wild and precious life.
With their business now aligned to David* and Melissa* achieving a life that works for them and their family beyond the business, they’re free from the burden of growth for growth’s sake.
Whatever growth they do require is driven by a greater purpose and the knowledge that this time, it really is the magic number that will ultimately set them free.
Are you also tired of the pressure to grow simply for growth’s sake?
Would you like to uncover your actual ‘magic number’?
If you do, then it’s my privilege to share with you my Achieving Business Freedom Workbook.
You can download this workbook for FREE (no opt-in required) and it will take you through this process step-by-step.
If you’d like to work personally with Rob and me to not only find your magic number, but also uncover a lifestyle that completely aligns with and fulfils your highest values, then reach out. We’d love to support you in creating a business which rewards you and your family for all your years of hard work and sacrifice.
What does it take to actually remove yourself from the day-to-day grind of business? Learn from our panel of Business Owners who've Been There, Done That.
