Don’t Be An Army of One
Can you make it on your own in business, and be outrageously successful? Heck yeah! Don’t let anybody tell you any different.
You get so much more done with teams, though, and the more people getting more done, the more fun it’s going to be. How fun would it be to play volleyball when it’s two of you against five people on the other side? What if you could have as many people on your side as possible if the rules allowed it? Would you do it?
In sports, there are strict rules to follow in terms of how many people are allowed on your team, on the field, or on the disabled list. In business, you can team up or manage or contract as many people as you see fit. For goodness sake, why would you want to go at riches alone?
Again, you can make it on your own. I made it on my own. The only distinction is to what level you can get rich on your own? In my experience, you can get a little past mediocrity and that’s about it. I’ve tried it several different ways, and trust me, putting a team together—especially as far as my own staff—is not my favorite thing in the world. But when it comes to what’s easier, it’s not even close.
If you want to get rich you will need help. You will need support. It’s a matter of energy. A lot of money takes a lot of energy! Will the wealth you want take the energy of one person, five, or 10, or 50 people?
At the beginning there’s a good chance you’ll have to do most everything yourself. However, the intention is not to just create a short term working income. The intention is for you to … say it with me … create passive income and increase the value and worth of your company!
Therefore you literally have no choice but to bring on people so the business can work without you and grow to its fullest potential.
I hear it all the time; a single business owner will say that they’re not sure that they can afford to hire an administrative assistant. Really? Once you’re up and running and have a little bit of a sales system going, you cannot afford not to hire one.
The idea is to use your strengths and delegate your weaknesses to someone else who is strong in that area. If you are handling the administration of the company and you could hand it off to somebody else—and double the time you have for marketing—what would that do to your bottom line? Even if you’re not the best at marketing and sales, lending a hand and focusing on getting and motivating the people who are good at it can make a big difference too.
Now it’s your turn! Tell me your stories of the power of having a great team, and what it’s meant to your energy level if not your bottom line. Next week we’ll talk further about the role of team in building a financial bank machine for your future convenience!
Great post, Harv. I remember at one of your seminars you said, “If you want to play a bigger game, you have to have a bigger team.” When I heard you say that it was like a light bulb going on for me. At the time I was a solo-preneur going it alone and doing ok. But I have a big vision for my company as a pioneer in using Resonance Repatterning distance healing groups to facilitate personal and global transformation. Deep down I knew that I’d have to hire help if I wanted to manifest my vision, but I was reluctant to take the next step. Hearing your words really helped.
I have to admit, that taking on a virtual assistant was a big leap of faith for me. I spent months researching outsourcing companies and sites like Elance. I realized that I was getting stuck in analysis paralysis, so I repatterned my fears and limiting beliefs, and got clear on what I wanted. I found that I didn’t want to always be putting out bids and interviewing people. I wanted to build an ongoing relationship with a competent and trustworthy professional who would get to know me, my business, my systems, and the tasks involved. It may be more expensive this way but the continuity of relationship that I have with my VA is worth it to me.
In addition to the expense, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to lead and delegate effectively. In order to make the most of my VA I have to give her tasks in advance to allow enough lead time so she can plan her work week. It took me a while to get over my resistance to this because I was used to flying by the seat of my pants. But as a result I’ve had to get more organized, do advance planning and manage my time better. I now have more time to devote to the things that I am the expert at in my business. I’m doing a lot more writing — articles, e-books, blog posts, social media, etc. I used to dread writing because I was always under pressure to get it done. Now I actually enjoy writing because I have the time, and the more I write the easier it flows. This month I am about to increase my team even more by launching my Affiliate Program.
I’ve developed new skills that I wouldn’t of have had the opportunity to develop had I stayed going it alone. Rather than feeling bogged down by administrative details, I am able to do the creative tasks that I love and this keeps me energized. In short, I would say that building a team is a way to not only grow your business, but to grow yourself.
It is a very relevant piece of advice!
Thanks T Harv this is a great post, having to change the blue print for life skills in the business sector is a worh while challenge i thoroughly enjoy!
Harv, I'm beginning to think you live inside my head!!
“Can you make it on your own in business, and be outrageously successful? Heck yeah! Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”
Like you said, yeah you can…but why would you want too? It's slower and far more laborous!
I started out operating my business as the “lone wolf” because NOBODY could do the job better than me and no one new my customers better than me Or so it seemed.
My business as a start-up went from 0 to $500k in the first year and only grew to 750k in the 2nd…by the end of the 3rd year, the “lone wolf” (me) was getting tired.
I hired and trained 2 excellent people(one turned out to be my future wife) along with some part time help and we grew the business by 6 fold at the end of the 5th year.
So having a team(good people) means being more effective and more bottom line.
Oh yeah, great incentives help too!!
Living Life By Design
http://www.joegriffith.com
I love team building, but then I usually have to put someone between me and the team, as my expectations are often way too high. Great post.
Each one of us has abilities that others do not, we need to focus on those abilities if we are every going to be extraordinary.
Josh Bulloc
Kansas City, MO
Hey Gorgeous,
I am so lucky. I recognised at the start of being an (homebased) business owner that my energy was best utilised doing what I do well & paying someone else to do what I either struggle to do or don't like doing. The universe ALWAYS provides me with beautiful staff who share my vision & keep me on track. It hasn't always been easy financially or working from home however it is paying off as we can now look at commercial premises because we're all money magnets & excellent money managers too!
This is perfectly right… 100% of one person is just 100% while, 1% of 100 people is also 100%… The more people you build, and inspire to do good, the more power you can harness in whatever business you have… I totally agree with you Harv…
PS: I would re-post this on my blog as well to share it with more friends….
This has come just in the right time! I've been debating whether I should get an assistant or not for months. Now I'm going for it.. actually I'm going to go through the classifieds right now!
There are many people who, although they desire a new position, job, cannot find anything as a result of the current economic climate. I personally, cannot find a job as an Administrative Assistant, because nowadays most people are insisting on doing everything themselves: They have their own computers, mobile phones, printer/fax/copying machines, etc. etc. they choose to work alone. On behalf of all those like me who have to face up to the reality of unemployment this is comforting: 😉 xxx
I am relaxed and calm. My mind is at rest and it is quiet and still. I take deep breaths and I am at peace.
There is one life and that life is God. God is joy and expression. God is life and fulfillment. That life is my life now. I am part of the expression and joy of life. Spirit is circulating through my life and body. I am one with the universal power.
I know and accept that retirement is just the beginning for me. I accept that my life is full of excitement, joy, and sparkle when I retire. I have wonderful things to do and the freedom I have in my life is fantastic. Any fear that I have regarding retirement are banished from my mind and replaced with thoughts of excitement. I am productive, creative, and dynamic in my retirement. I am self-motivated. I have experiences that are positive and wonderful. Money flows into my life when I am retired. Any fears that I have regarding not having enough money when I retire are replaced with thoughts of abundance. I am prosperous and abundant and have more money than I ever expected when I am retired. Money flows into my life in expected and unexpected ways. I travel when I am retired and have the money and time now to experience this. Joy is flowing through my life and I wonder why I didn’t retire before.
I thank God/Spirit/Universe for my retirement and for being able to experience the joys of retirement. I release this into the universe and trust in God to take me to higher, vigorous, and joyful days.
Keep the faith!
One huge thing that a strong team can do, is question the decisions made from the person at the top (in this case, me)
I found that surrounding myself with people unafraid to question my actions and give me solid guidance has proven invaluable.
We all grow and increase our core strengths as we continue through our lives, and having people there to help you accomplish that at an accelerated rate is AWESOME.
You're right though, Harv. You do kind of have to start things primarily on your own. But boy, does having a team make it more fun.
Thanks for your inspiration – I wrote a book right after being at your MMI seminar and the level of energy I used to write it was all your influence!
Great stuff, I am building my business with my friends and also willing to add other like minded persons.
The only problem i see when they lack the commitment need. Hope to find some solution to this problem.
The hard part of all is to find the right people for your team.
I have not had the luck to find the right team, yet. The last experiencie that I had with this is that one of my team´s members was stealing while I was gone. And to make things worse, I just started to get complains from my clients regarding this member.
So what I have learned is that it is not easy to find the right team for your business. But, I have not lost faith in this quest for getting my dream. It is part of my learning process.
Thanks Harv!
https://www.miraclesonline.com/dream.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1R42DSM3ms&feat… xx
Harv, I am a huge fan of leveraging teams to accomplish more than I could accomplish myself. I realize the power of teams from being in Toastmasters and having leadership/speaking role models that there always there to point out what I should keep doing and what I could be doing better to reach my next level; as a team we help each other become the best speaker/leaders and club we can be.
As i'm just launching my own business, I would love to hear more about the best stage in the business cycle to introduce teams or if it's just as soon as possible.
This is soo cool man, you have wordpress
Hi Ileana,
I'm glad that you have not lost faith. There are plenty of honest people out there who would love to have the kind of job you are offering. I'd love to hear what else you have learned from this experience.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
Running a team take a lot of faith on the capability of the other and the humility from the self to affirm that no man is an island as what the old cliche states. Thanks for this post.
Simply put TOGETHER – EVERYONE – ACHIEVE – MIRACLES – hmmm not sure who is this from originally but it stuck with me. Am here in South America travelling for 2 months now. Numerous times in the Amazon, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela I've seen flock of birds in V formation and thousands of ants hording their foods and shelter all in teamwork – learning so much form the birds and the bees. TRUSTING AND ALLOWING what comes naturally works.
Thank you Harv, this post help me solve my problem now. Yes, you true, you help me understand that there's no limit on my business, “in business, you can team up or manage or contract as many people as you see fit. For goodness sake, why would you want to go at riches alone?”. I am now know what to do next.
Thank you very much