Editor’s note: MFA is pleased to share today’s article from guest blogger Justin Devonshire. We hope that if you are one of those solopreneurs, or small business people, who is working long hours, with too little time for LIFE, that you will find real value in Justin’s advice! Click here to learn his systems and strategies in depth…
If you’re struggling to earn the money you deserve AND you find yourself overworked and stressed… it’s because of one simple mistake.
I call it the “90/10 TRAP”
You’re putting your time into the wrong things.
What most coaches, trainers, and business people are doing is spending 90% of their time marketing (or ‘hustling’) for new business.
Also spending hours on strategy calls to close those new leads.
And you only get 10% of your time to spend delivering a great service to your current clients, moving your big vision forward…
…oh and you have to squeeze in your partner, your kids and your LIFE in there somewhere in that 10% too!
So, we need to get you out of the 90/10 trap.
Because the coaches and expert entrepreneurs who are MOST successful have it the other way.
They spend only 10% of their time on marketing and sales.
And they spend 90% of their time serving their clients to a high level, and having an amazing life of freedom.
We’re going to get you closer to that.
Have you checked out “The Marketer’s Mind” podcast yet?
Todd Brown answers all of your most burning marketing questions!
Find out about the marketing topics that other marketers are afraid to touch!
Set aside 10 minutes because in this post I’m going to teach you how to get out of the 90/10 trap forever.
It goes like this…
Struggling entrepreneurs are failing because they don’t understand economics. More specifically, they don’t understand that there are only three currencies (units of energy) they have.
Your currencies (or energy sources) are:
- Money
- Time
- Effort
How you distribute your currency will literally determine whether you fail or succeed
It really just comes down to this, and I don’t see other people talking about it in this way. In fact, you won’t learn this from many business experts.
Because I learned it from investors, not entrepreneurs
Investors think WAYYY differently from entrepreneurs. And for good reason.
You see, entrepreneurs want to work for their money.
But investors want their money to work for THEM
That’s a big, life-changing difference there, my friend.
So here’s what entrepreneurs are doing with their energy:
They’re investing effort and therefore time to make things happen.
And they’re saving as much money as they can.
They’ll refuse to pay for advertising costs…
But happily spend hours knocking on doors or writing endless blog posts and podcasts (even if they’re struggling to put food on the table)
They won’t invest in hiring a sales team or getting people to help them deliver their product…
…but they’ll happily work from 6am to 11pm just to get it all done themselves.
Sound familiar?
Then you’ll know that the real problem is, even if you DO somehow make money with this ridiculously destructive habit..
..you still have no life at the end of it.
No time with friends or loved ones. Nothing – really- to show for your effort and time.
Nothing that matters anyway.
Here’s what I teach 6 & 7 entrepreneur clients on how to get out of this mess
(My 8 figure clients don’t tend to have this problem – that’s why they make 8 figures!)
>> Invest your money.
>> Leverage your time.
>> Outsource your effort (get others to do the heavy lifting for you)
Look, I know what you may be thinking…
“But I LOVE what I do…”
Do you love it enough to sacrifice your life for it? C’mon, get real.
Another objection is:
“But I have to put the hours in and grind to succeed…”
It’s only people who are rich (but often unhappy) that spout that. Even if they are happy, they made their fortunes in a time before we had the internet, automation, and could access customers all over the world in mere minutes.
We’re in a different time now. You shouldn’t have to work that hard to make good money.
Maybe you could work harder and a make bit more money…
But to be honest, would the effort be worth the return for you?
I don’t want to trade it all away now just to have free time when I’m too damn old to do anything with it.
So, to get more specific, here’s a list of priority actions for you to take if you want more free time, more enjoyment, and more fulfillment in your work
(Print this out and stick it up on your computer or whiteboard…)
Priority #1: Automate or outsource lead generation
With Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, this should take you less than a day.
Alternatively, you can get joint venture partners who have access to the customers you need to promote for you.
Priority #2: Automate or outsource lead conversion (sales)
Today you can automate your sales with automated webinars, sales pages or VSLs.
You can outsource sales to a sales team.
And if you must invest time into closing clients, then please leverage that time and close multiple new clients at once by using live events and workshops.
If you can automate, leverage or outsource your lead generation and conversion, you now have 90% more free time.
Remember the 90/10 trap states that struggling entrepreneurs are investing 90% of their time and effort into leads and sales.
Unfortunately, only 10% of your income is made here.
When you’ve automated or outsourced leads and sales, you now have 90% more free time.
To do what?
To spend with your clients, giving them amazing service (to boost retention and referrals)
And to offer them new services and products (upsells to maximize client value).
Which leads nicely into…
Priority #3: Automate or outsource your delivery of service
Hire an apprentice coach / consultant.
Train new speakers.
Make a digital product.
Do something so that you no longer have to trade time for money. This is the real secret of 7-figure+ businesses.
The amount of income is not capped by the owner. Money can be made infinitely, whether or not the owner works. The faster you get YOUR business into this position, the faster you can start scaling up to 7 figures.
And make more money, while working FAR fewer hours. By serving thousands more people than you’re able to now
Don’t you see the lesson here?
You make the most income when you make the most impact on people’s lives. To do that, you MUST step out of your own way.
Working fewer hours for more money isn’t an opportunity.
It’s a necessity.
Justin Devonshire is an international speaker & trainer, and helps coaches, consultants, speakers, authors and business people like you to attract more clients & create a freedom lifestyle by creating “Expert Authority” positioning quickly.
Justin consults some of the biggest 8-figure-earning coaches & speakers in the world – including companies generating $20 million in revenues – on how to triple their lead flow, charge premium fees and scale their businesses quickly.
He owns businesses in multiple niches, including personal development, health and entrepreneurial success. He has partnered with, and shared the stage with, some of the most successful speakers in the industry.
Justin’s businesses have been featured in Forbes, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post and several national TV and radio stations. To learn his systems & strategies go to Justin’s Expert Authority Academy.
