Today is my 1 year TMF anniversary

[Get Right]

Well, its here. My 2nd TMF anniversary.


Year #2 has been...well painfully beautiful. I had to struggle and fight with myself this year. I had to break through a few barriers and learn a few more lessons. Here are a few of the bigger ones:

• There are some pretty big highs and lows in entrepreneurship. I'm not the best at managing it but getting better. I can recover from the "hits" with a little more grace. I can smile off a big win without alerting the masses that "see, I'm not a failure all the time "
• I had to get over the "why isn't business step [HASHTAG]#579[/HASHTAG] easy? I've put in the time, everything should be easy now". NOPE - that's not the way it works. If you get to a step that is hard then guess what - you haven't learned everything you need to know yet to hit your goal. The world of business doesn't care how many steps were easy but it will stop you when you haven't learned enough to advance.
• I stopped money chasing. I wasn't getting anywhere with it so I sat back and just started providing value. Why spam somebody when you can form a relationship, a friend and maybe they pay you one day too?
• I stopped being so hard on myself. I stopped pushing so hard to achieve "success". What is success anyway? I think I subscribed to somebody else's definition. Don't do that, it slows you down or even makes you go backwards.
• I found the edge of my comfort zone. I sat in a developer's office a few months ago with a proposal that would put 1.2M in my pocket immediately and another 7M+ over the next 5 years. I put 3 months of work in the deal and about $100k. I almost threw up when I walked out of his office due to the excitement/fear or whatever. I wish I could bottle that feeling. (BTW - he didn't sign it so no gold rolex pictures today, ha!)

So I know you guys wanted a "result" post with me in front of a new lambo proving once and for all TMF can make it happen. Lol, I'm pretty happy with my used Jetta but I am enjoying a few things at the same time my PROCESS is making my long term goals come to fruition.

• I no longer trade 5 days for 2 days. I now work 2 days for 5 days. That's right, I work Monday and Tuesday....that's it.
• I get paid (mostly) passively for systems, products, and ideas I set up over the last few years. I put in a few days of work to nudge them along.
• I'm doing it the "hard" way in B2B without using Amazon or Ebay. Just regular businesses operated in what I would consider a Fastlane method.
• My favorite commandment has become "time".
• I understand more what the word "free" means.
• My daughter decided she wants to be a golf star. So I now dedicate Wednesdays to her dream. Couldn't do that before TMF.
• I'm starting another business (imagine that). I work on it on Thursday's and at a leisurely pace. It's more of a hobby but maybe it will be a business I can pass along to family one day.

So today, I'm in a pretty good place. My choices are mine. I accept responsibility for the things that don't work. I applaud myself for the things that do. Every once in awhile a friend asks me for business advice...and frankly that makes me smile enough to keep plugging away. Finally - thank YOU for helping me along my path.

 

[Get Right]

So today is a milestone for me. I year of applying what I have learned from the TMF and the great people of this forum. To @MJ DeMarco and all of you that have helped me along my path - a big Thank You!


In just 1 year I have started 4 new businesses, attended B&P, attended C&B, joined a mastermind, spent countless hours and $ on improving myself, joined a gym, changed my diet, studied business psychology extensively, learned how to build and market websites from scratch, became a better husband and father, mentored a few people, and countless other improvements that have totally changed my life for the better.


I have failed at things but am not afraid, have succeeded at things but not become blind, won the battle against judgment, smashed many limiting beliefs, and can generally "see" things better.


If you haven't made the decision to jump in here and get your hands dirty, please do. The TMF family has always been here to help...for free and very genuine in my experience. Ask the best questions you can, do your homework, and provide value along the way to others.


Again - Thank You to all that took the time to share your knowledge with me and the fastlane family.

edited by Vigilante : This thread was changed to gold in July 2016, but to those who come across this later, please start at the beginning, read each post and the progression in this thread by Get Right, and you will see the bread crumbs he left for you that caused this thread to turn gold in 2016

 

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[Vigilante]

Some people register here, post epic 1AM excitement induced rants, and never log in again as their Subway Sandwich Artist career flounders.

Yet another group registers, racks up a significant post count, zero speed/rep bank, and stays for years. If I owned the place, I would bounce them out much like you might a 29 year old child still living in your basement.

A third group comes in here talking the talk, but not walking the walk. They may get some rep, and even have some good posts, but later you learn they're actually pizza delivery drivers. Much like a kid that grew up in the church, they might know the right words to say, but don't really get the theology for themselves. They just regurgitate what they heard.

Then... there are people like YOU. YOU are who MJ wrote the book for. YOU are who MJ built the forum for. YOU are the reason people like me hang out here.

Courage. Transformation. Guts and determination. You'll get there. You are an [HASHTAG]#ActionTaker[/HASHTAG]

 

[Get Right]

Sorry for picking your brain, but did the needs come to you (in terms of generating the idea)? Or did you actively look for solution?

Actually I look for markets first (took me a year to figure that one out). Needs second. Product third.

Markets - Where are the large hungry masses that are ready to cram money down your throat? The markets where you mention "XYZ" and they foam at the mouth. That's where I want to be. Think health, pets, pleasure, etc.

Needs - I listen to that market. I listen a lot. They will tell you (indirectly) what they want if you get close enough. I love the comments section on niche websites, blogs, forums and social media. Treasure.

Product - I look for smiles. Forget statements like "I'd buy one" or "looks awesome" (they aren't going to buy anything from you). Look for those smiles. They can't hide them and they know you are on to something.

Hitting the phones, be back in a few.

 

[Get Right]

It's here! My 3 year anniversary on the Forum! Wow, what a trip.

In my first anniversary you saw where I was working on myself and my thinking. Year #2 brought trying some new businesses and new fastlane strategies. The big push for year #3 was to get in the right "vehicle". The intent was to get in a vehicle that gave me a chance to hit my goal. You can follow that progress thread here (I will update that thread later to reflect this one). My vehicle was found by identifying a hungry MARKET which paired with some of my existing talents. I drilled down to the core NEED of that market. I then developed a PRODUCT to fill that need.

That product happens to be building spec houses. Here is a sneak peak of where I am with it:

Year #3 wasn't all about finding my vehicle though. I kept putting in the time with all the other life changes identified in year #1. Here are my favorites:

That's 18 lbs of belly fat gone

That's my girl's medals for the last 2 golf tournaments she entered I devote Tuesdays to helping her achieve her goal of "becoming a golf professional". I can do this because my "vehicle" is pretty darn passive.

Here's my WIN box you hear me preaching about. I give code names for all my wins be it small or large. You will also see tasks lists, accelerators and various other tracking columns. I find it very helpful to accelerate, track and celebrate wins (feel free to steal this)! If you look in the corner you will see my personal golf handicap drop 1.1 strokes this year as well

I find myself in a good place this year. I haven't struggled near as much compared to years #1 and #2. Here are a few things that made this year smoother:

1. I sold or closed all my other businesses to focus on just 1. Mentally I seam to have more capacity and generally make better decisions pushing #1 without other businesses stealing my attention (even if it is sub-conscious).
2. I play cash flow a good bit. Thanks @Russh. I support Russ's assertion that you have to play it at least 10 times, here is the link.
3. I threw away my safety net income producers. These were time sucks but fear made me keep them. Not any more.
4. I'm not quite to Zero Fu&*s given but let me tell you, closer is better
5. On the opposite side of that, I try to contribute to others regardless if they appreciate it.
6. I have a few mental images to randomly pull up when things head south. They remind me to appreciate what I have and what may be one day.
7. I'm working on the concept of "honor what you can". This concept is for dealing with negative people (that you can't remove from your life). It's giving me my power back without harming that person.
8. I'm really starting to appreciate some overlooked music. Noticeable One by Missing Persons is playing right now. That drum line is sick

So I can't do this all alone and YOU the forum participants are a huge driver of where I am now. So THANK YOU!!

I also want to personally thank a few people. Give them some forum love if you can:

@MJ DeMarco - Couldn't get this far without TMF or the Forum, Thank you.
@Vigilante @AllenCrawley @Andy Black - Thanks for the huge volume of sincere help through your posts, it is appreciated!
The entire B&P gang, you know who you are
The entire C&B gang, ditto
The Ecomm mastermind group
Each individual poster in my threads. I read every one several times. I find value in them all and try to use your gifts the best I can!

Well I am off to do some more "lion shit" so here's to year #4!

 

[Get Right]

Would you mind talking about the businesses that failed as well? What made you conclude that each of them "failed"? I feel like this would be extremely valuable to a lot of people on this forum.

Happy to, thanks for the nice post.

Failure report:

Business #1 - Service biz B2C, violated Time in a major way. I literally couldn't get out of being "the" guy. Clients didn't want to deal with my employees when they had my phone number.

Business #2 - Service biz B2B, violated Time again. This was a remote business but eventually the clients found out it was mine. They preferred to call me directly instead of going through the remote business.

Business #3 - Ecomm B2C product, violated Scale. Great products, market was too small.

Business #4 - Ecomm B2C product, violated Need. Nobody wanted the product.

Business #5 - Ebook B2C and B2B, violated Need, Scale and probably everything else. I followed my "passion". That road led to nothing. Don't do this please, worse failure to date.

Business #6 - Service B2B, violated Entry and eggs in a basket (my new NESCT commandment ). Woke up one morning and my biggest client went with another company. That client was big enough to take the whole company down.

I kind-of wear these "failures" as badges. Maybe like a battle scar.

 

[Get Right]

My 2nd TMF Anniversary is right around the corner (45 days) so time for an update.

In my initial post(s) you saw that changing my mindset was the priority for year #1. My priority for year #2 was to try building true CENTS fastlane businesses. I have now built 7 businesses since reading TMF. 6 failed. But 1 hasn't.

I've affectionately named it "Lucky #7" (I hope you all know how luck happens by now)

...and there are some interesting things about "Lucky #7". First, it does a pretty good job with CENTS. But how it fits NESCT is a little different than you might think. For example:

Need - Our clients know they need this product...but they have always purchased it as part of "grouping" of products. Never separate. Our product pulls this component "out", polishes it and sells it direct. Our clients are very receptive to this method because it solves a pain point (having to buy a lot of stuff in order to get one product).

Scale - Our market is huge so the Scale component is there. The interesting thing about this business is that is also involves magnitude. My previous attempts had very little magnitude. Not that bigger is better...but let me tell you, magnitude can make big things happen quickly. When you sell big products with big margins you can Scale on a whole other level.

Entry - We are all pretty familiar with how Entry works. But there are some methods of Entry we don't look at often. Lucky #7 has one such Entry gate. That gate is "nobody wants to do this work". Ha! What if you were selling a product that your competitors actually wanted to not sell! Nobody really wants to clean toilet drains, deal with OBGYN insurance or pick up garbage but that leaves a great vacuum for us entrepreneurs. And I love it.

Control and Time - Nothing extra special to note here but they are adhered to.

So is Lucky #7 going to be the one? I don't know. I just know that each business I build makes the next one better. And I'm starting to suck less

 

[Get Right]

If I told you it would take a year to see results. A year of hard scary work with no immediate gratifications. A year of others doubting you. A year where mentors, banks, family and friends don't take you seriously. A year where you don't "see" your path (or any path). A year peppered with failures. A year that absolutely proves that there are no shortcuts. A year that you can't describe, mark with achievements or see in your bank account.

Would you still do it? Would you still put that first foot forward? Would you get real with yourself, find and fix the broken parts? Would you sacrifice?

If you were willing to do it, what would stop you? Would you let excuses stop you? Would you let other's opinions stop you? Would you let a failed mentorship stop you? Would you let some other company/bank/competitor stop you?

For me, a year was worth it.

...what's it worth to you?

 

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[Vigilante]

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The "Mexican Fisherman" said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The "Mexican Fisherman" asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

- Author Unknown

 

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[Get Right]

Well guess what? My 4 year anniversary on the forum is today! It's becoming a tradition to let you know what has been happening all year so here we go!

This year found me sticking with my fastlane plan of building spec houses (thread link in signature below). Last year (2016) this company grossed $479k with a net around 10% ($48k). This year (2017) is on track to gross 1.1M with a net closer to 20% ($220k). 2018 should see significant scaling.

I'm having a great time with this company. I work when I want to and have a lot of creative time (which I personally need). It's not "passive" (nor would I want to be at this phase) but there are systems/people in place to make it hands off when I am ready. Check out the last completed house:



My mindset this year was pretty solid except for dealing with the Desert of Desertion...again. I have to keep reminding myself that this is part of a much bigger picture and that each desert DOES have an end (if you just keep walking). Feel free to PM me if you need a desert survival pep talk

Another reminder I got this year is that nothing is going to be easy. You have to push to make gains. For instance - I hired a realtor to help sell one of my houses. For 6 months this guy talked and talked about what he was doing to sell a house...but he never did. I trusted him the whole way and it cost me 6 months...I learned that I needed to manage my realtor as well as my subs. No one gets a free pass. They now have to earn freedom from my oversight.

Unscripted . This is an epic book @MJ DeMarco . It took me a week to read it (I usually read a book this size in 2 days). I chuckled as I remembered what it was like unraveling these ideas prior to the book. If you haven't read the book yet, stop and do it now. Leave an Amazon review if you want to help give back.

Looking forward. Year #5 should be the first year I start to see substantial financial rewards from this company. This will come at the same time that cash preservation might be paramount. I will have to negotiate the coming potential housing bubble (exact timeline unknown). I'm seeing an uptick in local copy-cats also. The brighter side of this is that my success is leading to more investor money being offered. How I plan and react to all of this will ultimately determine how good I am at this "game".

As always, thanks to each of you for your encouragement, help and time! Here is to year #5!!!

 

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[Get Right]

I am following this thread to see year 4 I hope its the year when you announce you are a millionaire.

Cool, I hope there are some things in this thread that help you along your way.

I know everyone is yearning for an epic millionaire post from me validating TMF. The EVENT subject has been talked about on the forum for many years. In almost every case the EVENT really isn't that big a deal. It's hard to understand but the PROCESS is the special part. The PROCESS is the real gold. The learning. The conquering. The struggle. Those are the real epic pieces.

For a brief period I was a paper millionaire prior to TMF. But yet I still was looking for something that led me to find TMF. I already had an EVENT. A business I built worked out well. But it wasn't sustainable. You know why? The PROCESS to get there wasn't right. I used to toil late nights, away from family, lots of employees, lots of stress, no vacations and not a lot of happiness. So really, the EVENT wasn't special at all.

TMF forced me to look at the PROCESS. HOW was I getting where I was getting? This started the 3 year journey that you see in my threads. I'm learning how to sculpt a PROCESS that is repeatable. The EVENTS don't even really get me going. In fact, the only reason I post my events is to give thanks to MJ, validate TMF and maybe give some fastlaners a little motivation.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Awesome to hear of transformations underway. Thank you for sharing your experience.

The 7 year anniversary of the forum is in just a few days as well!

 

[Get Right]

when would you be able to determine you're being a bit too hard on yourself?

Thanks for the nice reply. I can tell when I am being too hard when I stop enjoying the process. Some typical "clues" that it might be happening are:

• Get "snappy" with loved ones
• No longer care about goals you once had
• Don't enjoy getting up early to work on something
• Start considering "shiny object syndrome"

You may also find that 1 day off won't cut it. It may take longer. As you get further down your entrepreneurial path that time will shorten (bounce back quicker from the punches). I firmly believe that if you sit on the accelerator too long you will have to pull over and replace the turbo a few times.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Some people register here, post epic 1AM excitement induced rants, and never log in again as their Subway Sandwich Artist career flounders.

Yet another group registers, racks up a significant post count, zero speed/rep bank, and stays for years. If I owned the place, I would bounce them out much like you might a 29 year old child still living in your basement.

A third group comes in here talking the talk, but not walking the walk. They may get some rep, and even have some good posts, but later you learn they're actually pizza delivery drivers. Much like a kid that grew up in the church, they might know the right words to say, but don't really get the theology for themselves. They just regurgitate what they heard.

Then... there are people like YOU. YOU are who MJ wrote the book for. YOU are who MJ built the forum for. YOU are the reason people like me hang out here.

Courage. Transformation. Guts and determination. You'll get there. You are an [HASHTAG]#ActionTaker[/HASHTAG]

Dude is on a roll. No one stop him please.

 

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[Get Right]

but i fell way off my 1st year expectation in my first venture.

Ha! I know that feeling.

I fell in love with the process so I don't waste time with expectations anymore. Much less stress, much more deliberate action.

 

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[Get Right]

Happy 5th year forum anniversary to me!!

It's been yet another incredible year thanks to @MJ DeMarco , the newly released book Unscripted , the Fastlane Summit and all you forum friends!!

I'll start it off with the Fastlane Summit 2018. Wow, wow, wow. This was my 4th forum event and possibly the best. I got to play golf with my forum friend @SteveO on his own golf course to start it off. Simply amazing what he is doing out there. Followed it up by MJ letting me present to the group! First time I have been nervous mainly because the talent in that room was extraordinary. I got a bunch of northern friends to say "y'all and grits" so it was a win for me! I bet I had 50 conversations that weekend and learned from all of them. BTW - I tracked my sleep for those 5 days...a shade over 18 hours....total.

My fastlane business has gone well this year. I started with just a few spec houses and now I'm looking at a real company making a real difference. It's fun when people stop you and already know what you do. The future looks pretty good for growth even though I will probably see a buying dip next year. I already have a strategy in place to handle it. Finishing this house up now:



My freetime has been astronomical. I can run my life semi-autonomously now...and for me that started to bring problems. I hadn't forecast what it would actually be like to live the fastlane so I wasn't ready for it. I actually found myself "unhappy"! Can you believe that! Neither could I.....but I neglected a few things while pursuing the fastlane. The main one being personal happiness...and I didn't know how to get it back. So I enrolled in Yale University....haha (online course) "The Science of Well Being". I'm learning that I work best and happiest when I slow down just a little. It's a tough lesson but its working and as I write this I'm getting back closer to my "norm".

Problem #2 was my habits slowly started changing. I can sleep whenever, I can eat whenever...time didn't really matter anymore in a business/conformity/Scripted sense. I found myself physically lazy but mentally on fire. That's a tough position. I'm reaching out to @Kung Fu Steve in this post to possibly give me some direction for improvement.

Looking forward - This next year will see me growing my business and formulating my exit strategy. I've sold 2 businesses before but I want to take this one a little further. I want to see if I can make it to the VC funding (venture capital) level. It's the last step before a major buyout or IPO level. It's not an ego or money thing, it's a "Is this even possible" thing. I'm basically proving to myself so that I can feel confident advising others at this level.

I hope the last year treated all of you as well as it did me! As always, reach out if I can help you on your journey.

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

Happy 5th year forum anniversary to me!!

It's been yet another incredible year

You've accomplished so much in such a short time -- congratulations, brother!

I'm reaching out to @Kung Fu Steve in this post to possibly give me some direction for improvement.

I'm honored you thought of me. You know deep down in your heart what you what -- and I can't tell you the secrets you keep in there... but maybe I can share a couple ideas I've seen along my own path...

My freetime has been astronomical. I can run my life semi-autonomously now...and for me that started to bring problems. I hadn't forecast what it would actually be like to live the fastlane so I wasn't ready for it.

"Retirement" isn't the goal... if you re-read The Millionaire Fastlane , 4 Hour Work Week, Rich Dad Poor Dad -- none of them said "make enough money so you can sit on your a$$ all day"...

Here's the thing: we are meant to be employed. Not in the modern day sense everyone thinks when they hear the word "job" -- but in the sense that you have to meet our two spiritual needs: growth and contribution.

We all meet our basic needs. Whether we have to drink or smoke or lie to ourselves -- we'll find a way to meet those needs because they are a necessity.

But those needs of the spirit... those are different...

If you look at nature -- what happens to something that doesn't grow? If a plant doesn't grow, what does it do? It dies.

We as humans, we climb or slide. We either age like a fine wine or a stinky cheese...

But why does anything on this planet grow? So it can contribute. Somehow, some way, everything must contribute or it gets eliminated.

Let's bring it back down to earth for a second:

Progress = Happiness.

The problem with achieving our goals is most people say "is this all there is!?"

You MUST have the next goal, the next step, the next journey before you achieve a goal -- otherwise you feel this void... why? Because it's not getting the goal that matters... it's who you become in pursuit of it.

Let me clarify for a second though: when I say we need to be employed -- I don't mean a job. I mean something meaningful you do consistently that meets your needs, causes you to grow, and allows you to contribute in a meaningful way (to you).

The goal is not to NOT work... just get to the point where you don't HAVE to work.

Now that you've hit this goal -- it's time to find a "job" that gives you joy, pleasure, excitement, growth, contribution... maybe that's in a non-profit sense? Maybe it's time to donate some time? Maybe it's time to start a new business?

I actually found myself "unhappy"! Can you believe that! Neither could I.....but I neglected a few things while pursuing the fastlane. The main one being personal happiness...and I didn't know how to get it back. So I enrolled in Yale University....haha (online course) "The Science of Well Being". I'm learning that I work best and happiest when I slow down just a little. It's a tough lesson but its working and as I write this I'm getting back closer to my "norm".

When I sold the dojo, I didn't have enough to live on for the rest of my life but I was good for a couple of years to do whatever. In addition to a few consulting gigs -- I had more than enough money... but... I never felt closer to death in that moment.

Something weird happens when you no longer have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. When there's no reason to go out and do things you find yourself in this awkward position where you're lacking identity. "Who am I now? What am I about now? What is life about?"

You can't hide from those questions anymore.

Problem #2 was my habits slowly started changing. I can sleep whenever, I can eat whenever...time didn't really matter anymore in a business/conformity/Scripted sense. I found myself physically lazy but mentally on fire. That's a tough position.

That's why I used the term "employed" ... something that drives you, creates a schedule, gives you some sort of certainty.

We all need adventure, excitement, and change.... but we also need some kind of stability and security. However you decide to accomplish that (that's up to you) but as silly as it sounds the "routine" of a job is why most people stick to that without every building a business.

Looking forward - This next year will see me growing my business and formulating my exit strategy. I've sold 2 businesses before but I want to take this one a little further. I want to see if I can make it to the VC funding (venture capital) level. It's the last step before a major buyout or IPO level. It's not an ego or money thing, it's a "Is this even possible" thing. I'm basically proving to myself so that I can feel confident advising others at this level.

I hope the last year treated all of you as well as it did me! As always, reach out if I can help you on your journey.

Reasons why are always more powerful than what or how...

Love ya brother keep it up!

 

[Get Right]

Do I think they are going to sign the deal? Not really. But they didn't forget who I was at least I'll let you know what happens either way, ha!

Awww, dang it. They shopped my proposal and found a cheaper source (who will crash and burn because they have no experience). At least they had the guts to tell me in person

I still recommend putting yourself on the line like this. Shows you what you are capable of. Do it enough times and maybe you get the paper to prove it.

 

[Get Right]

Wow. I did not expect you to go through and list every single business. Thank you man. This thread has now become gold.

A follow up question: did you stay within the same market/industry for businesses #1-6? Or did you initiate them based on a need that you discovered?

Business #1 and #2 were in the same industry. They were spin-offs of my "job".

Business #3 was a totally new market/industry and my first entry into Ecomm. The business was "handed off" to me from a friend, so no research. It met a few CENTS commandments so I jumped in.

Business #4 was my first attempt to build a fastlane e-comm biz, different market/industry that was determined by a process (that needed refinement).

Business #5 was a different market/industry than the others. "Need determined by passion"...and yep that quotation/thought was about as dumb as the business.

Business #6 was a spin off of #1 and #2

Lucky #7 was a semi-related industry to #1,#2, and #6 but built specifically around CENTS. It caters to a totally different market.

 

[Get Right]

Happy 6th Year Forum Anniversary to me!!

What a ride! It's hard to believe that 6 years are in the book. I had to re-read some of my posts just to digest this roller-coaster. As always, I have to thank @MJ DeMarco first and then all you guys and gals!

This year has been dedicated to growing the spec-home business (see thread in signature). We are rocking the sales and are only limited by the amount of houses we can build. So my new job is to improve our systems so that we can handle more.

Currently I have 1 spec home for sale, 2 under construction (already sold), and 2 custom houses in permitting. We have grown to 4 full time employees along with a handful of contract and temporary workers.

Back to the systems issue. As we have grown it has become more important to have a lot of well documented systems. Currently we spend too much time re-figuring out what we already know. Our plan is to have every system documented and used every time a certain issue comes up. This should help with unnecessary communication and on-boarding of new hires. It is tedious writing all this down but I believe the long term payback will be immense. If you are interested, this is one of the books I am using to help me understand it better (Work the System by Sam Carpenter).

My mental game is pretty strong currently. I worked out most of my "happiness" kinks. In addition to the prior posts work I have been enjoying re-reading @eliquid post about Fulfillment. It really helps fine tune why you feel certain ways. If you can start looking at your emotions/issues from an outside perspective they tend to not weigh you down as much.

Looking forward: you will see me start to devolve myself from the day-to-day running of the spec-home business. This will be the test to see if my model is truly fastlane. I know it can run without me but can it grow without me? If you read between these lines you can see that I am starting the very long exit process. It will probably take 6-8 years to attempt this exit. The first step starts Wednesday. I am making myself unavailable to my team for a whole week. Should be fun and I know they can handle it.

Thanks for checking out my journey and ask anything you like!

 

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[Get Right]

Could you please elaborate on the "arch"-category?

Sure thing! The "Arch" category is for income generating tasks that plow more money into your fastlane vehicle. For instance "Journey" is a consulting gig I picked up. It should throw $7k ish into my spec house company. As long as these tasks don't slow your fastlane down, they are very beneficial.

Thank you for doing this thread. After reading a actually made some changes in my own life which will bring me closer to my goals.
I also would like to ask if you can explain the WIN box a little bit more or maybe you got a link for us where we can read it up if you haven't created the system yourself.

Cool, glad to hear about the changes.

The WIN box is a tool I use (not sure who invented this idea, I'll try to look it up) to track achievement of goals. I simply list a goal (can be tiny or big) that needs to be achieved to better my life and/or fastlane project. Put it in the ToDo column, achieve it, put it in the WIN box. The psychology is it lets you see the steps you are making. For instance - one of mine was "cars washed". This was a tiny task that I just couldn't get around to (actually no code name here, our cars were nasty ). I kept putting business tasks in front of this task. One night I just committed. Cranked out the fastlane work, ran outside and washed the cars in the dark...and it felt great! It's a WIN!

So what did writing "cars washed" in the WIN box teach me?
1. If a task gets put in the ToDo category it's going to get done! I WILL do it!
2. My ToDo list got shorter so more important tasks can fill it up again.
3. I get to "celebrate" a WIN by moving that item over. Good for momentum
4. Months later I have a huge WIN box where I can see everything I chose to overcome.

So really, after you convince yourself that anything you put in the ToDo list will be accomplished...how big of a "something" are you willing to put in that list?

 

[Get Right]

Wow guys, thanks for the encouragement! A GOLD thread, I'm humbled.

Can you expand a bit on your third point about the income producers. What was the ultimate point where you crossed the line from being fearful about losing them to ultimately saying "Screw this"?

Sure thing. I had a small Ecomm business that generated $1-2k a month in a somewhat passive manner. I didn't spend much direct time on it but mentally I was always thinking "I should make a new ad or I should be contacting my customers more". One day I just got real with myself and said "I have no interest in growing this business, so why am I wasting time thinking about it". The ultimate point was when I convinced myself that "I can easily make my new venture profit an extra $1-2k a month by spending the same amount of time as the Ecomm biz".

Given your experiences with the previous 6 businesses, would you say that satisfying not so much the time criteria but more the scalability criteria of a fastlane business would be very difficult with a service business, especially if that business relies heavily on the relationship customers/clients have with you? I'm thinking in particular of professional service businesses where there is a huge trust element, where you may know almost their entire financial life and you can only spread yourself so far.

Happy to help. I wasn't able to get my professional service businesses to comply with either the SCALE or TIME portion of CENTS. If you think about it, there aren't many ways for this to work. It's probably why I've never met a rich Architect. Now if you take that service business and figure out how to pivot to a more "repetitive business model" you might have a chance. It's the one-off custom stuff that kills you. Always creating, never profiting.

Another example of this would be an ER surgeon that treats whatever illness/situation happens to come into the ER. Every patient is something new to figure out. He would do well financially but take that same surgeon and let him create a repeatable procedure he could license throughout the world. Who makes more and has time to spend it

 

[Get Right]

People familiar with the entrepreneur roller-coaster will have a chuckle at this:

Guess who called me to set up a meeting next week?

I found the edge of my comfort zone. I sat in a developer's office a few months ago with a proposal that would put 1.2M in my pocket immediately and another 7M+ over the next 5 years. I put 3 months of work in the deal and about $100k. I almost threw up when I walked out of his office due to the excitement/fear or whatever. I wish I could bottle that feeling. (BTW - he didn't sign it so no gold rolex pictures today, ha!)

Do I think they are going to sign the deal? Not really. But they didn't forget who I was at least I'll let you know what happens either way, ha!

 

[Get Right]

I'm afraid to ask what constitutes a "failed mentorship".

Well, I outpaced one of my mentors...he asks me for advice now. Another mentor (65+) "fully retired" from all contact with just about everybody. I greatly appreciate what they gave when they could. I didn't get the fairy-tale mentor relationship (not sure it even exists) but that's ok. You can learn it on your own through nuggets people gift you.

 

[Get Right]

So guess what happens in 11 days?

 

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[The-J]

Actually I look for markets first (took me a year to figure that one out). Needs second. Product third.

Man if people knew this there would be a lot fewer 'how do i find a niche/idea' threads...

I'm looking forward to your next anniversary update. A lot can happen in a month and a half.

Also I'm getting you back for that check thing you pulled last year at C+B. Somehow.

 

[Nathan Douglas]

Congratulations on a fulfilling year. People who come here in hopes of being filthy rich are clueless to what TMF really is. Sure, being rich and well off in life is a majority goal. But having freedom to change your mindset, to focus and hone in on your family and nature, to really get to know who you are as a person is the real wealth. Unfortunately we live in a world where money drives our short little lives, but being free from the system to focus on life and knowledge is the most enticing thing that drives me to keep pushing forward.


@Get Right I raise a toast for you. One life changing year with many more to follow. Cheers.

 

[Dami-B]

If I told you it would take a year to see results. A year of hard scary work with no immediate gratifications. A year of others doubting you. A year where mentors, banks, family and friends don't take you seriously. A year where you don't "see" your path (or any path). A year peppered with failures. A year that absolutely proves that there are no shortcuts. A year that you can't describe, mark with achievements or see in your bank account.

Would you still do it? Would you still put that first foot forward? Would you get real with yourself, find and fix the broken parts? Would you sacrifice?

If you were willing to do it, what would stop you? Would you let excuses stop you? Would you let other's opinions stop you? Would you let a failed mentorship stop you? Would you let some other company/bank/competitor stop you?

For me, a year was worth it.

...what's it worth to you?

Congrats, on the anniversary, wish you many many more happy returns...

Someone once advised me on this forum, in his direct words: "I dare you to fail for a whole year"

And I did. I wasn't planning to, but i fell way off my 1st year expectation in my first venture.

An experience I once considered a disaster, is now a learning experience and not that much of a big deal

Aim for the top, Gun for success, Fail Fast, keep on going.

There are no shortcuts, No sweat-less victories.

 

[Vigilante]

So guess what happens in 11 days?

You better have some knowledge bombs to drop. I just put it on my calendar.

 

[happybhoy]

Entrepreneurship!
Turning six failures into six lessons.