If you are an investor and don't think of yourself as a business owner, think again. Those who are most successful in their wealth strategies are those who have built a business around their wealth and treat their investing activities like a business.
Many of the people I speak to are ready to stop earning their money and are ready to start building wealth to create passive income that they don't have to earn.
Think about how much time you spend earning your money.
Now, think about how much time you spend investing that earned money.
This is a challenge many people face. Most people spend at least 40 hours per week – each and every week – earning their money and maybe an hour per month on investing that earned money.
This allocation of time won't get them to their goal of passive income any time soon.
How much time should be spent on a wealth strategy?
A wealth strategy doesn't have to be a full-time job if it is done properly. This is why I say you must build a business around your wealth.
A business is one of the best forms of leverage. When wealth building is treated like a business, it is possible to see results in just a few hours each week.
What exactly does it mean to build a business around your wealth?
In any business, leverage comes in many forms, all of which contribute to spending less time “in” the business and more time “on” the business. This is key in a wealth strategy – it's what enables someone to be successful in their wealth strategy in just a few hours each week.
Here are 3 forms of leverage commonly found in a business that I think every wealth strategy should have:
Leverage #1: A clear written strategy
It's common for a business to have a clear written strategy, but it's not common for a person to have a clear written strategy for their investing. Without a clear written strategy, a business (or wealth strategy) often changes directions many times, and with each change, time and money is lost.
A clear written strategy helps reduce the amount of time a person spends in their wealth strategy because there is a clear focus. The strategy can be shared with team members so they are more efficient and focus only on those things that support the strategy.
Leverage #2: Systems
Systems are the greatest form of leverage in a business. The systems run the business. This enables the owner to spend his or her time managing the systems instead of managing the people. Managing systems is not only more efficient than managing people, it also takes less time and effort and produces greater profit.
Systems should identify the who, what, where, why and how for operating a business. Systems can (and should) touch every aspect of a wealth strategy.
For example, a wealth strategy should have systems for:
– Identifying and selecting investments.
– Funding the investments. If there is a loan process, there is a system for that.
– Managing the investments.
– Reporting for the investments.
Creating the systems can take some time, but once they are in place, it becomes very efficient to run a wealth strategy. The systems help reduce the amount of time required to manage a wealth strategy. The systems also provide better information so decisions can be made proactively and not reactively – this is also a huge time and money saver.
Leverage #3: Team of advisors
The 3 most expensive words in the English language are “do it yourself.”
Having a team brings leverage and velocity to investing which leads to better and faster results. This is what businesses do. They build a team with their employees, vendors, customers, advisors, partners and so on.
This same principle applies to a wealth strategy. The right wealth team can bring the greatest value to a wealth strategy.
Using Business Leverage in Your Wealth Strategy
The above are just 3 examples of how leverage commonly found in a business can be used in a wealth strategy. Start taking the steps today to work towards building a business around your wealth.