Building your ideal business isn’t easy. How do you separate yourself from the competition? How do you rise above the countless options available to the market?
If you’re looking for the easy route – there isn’t one. But there is a simple and direct approach: the 10X Approach. It’s not some magic bullet, but it will almost assuredly guarantee your success.
Success isn’t easy. But you shouldn’t want it to be easy. You shouldn’t want everyone to be able to do it; that just makes it ordinary and average.
The 10X Approach:
- 1. You must commit to delivering 10 times the fee in the value you provide for anything you sell.
- 2. You must be willing to work 10 times harder and smarter than your competition.
- 3. You must be willing to set written goals 10 times loftier than you ever have before.
- 4. You must commit to being 10 times more knowledgeable than the competition.
- 5. You must get 10 times more done than the competition.
If you want to accomplish something that most people never will, you must be willing to do things that most people would never even consider doing.
The foundation of the 10X Approach is the first principle: You must commit to delivering 10 times the fee in the value you provide for anything you sell. If you charge $500, then you have to do your best to deliver $5,000 in value. Sure, I know that most people wouldn’t pay you $5,000 for something where the market rate is $500, but that’s not the point. The point is that you relentlessly work to deliver $10 in value for every $1 you charge. You give more personal attention to your people than anyone else does.
You constantly strive to do better work. You send cards on birthdays and you give gifts at Christmas. Spend some time everyday looking for ways to deliver just a little more value and to make the experience that you provide just a little better. Keep in mind that people either want the cheapest or they want the best, and this is how you become the best.
The second component of the 10X Approach is simple, but it will weed out 99% of the people who own a business: You must be willing to work 10 times smarter than your competition. If you embrace this, it’s a competitive advantage that the others in your market won’t step up to match. I didn’t say that you have to work longer – just smarter. When your competition is searching online, trying to find ways to avoid work, you work. When they think they know enough, you study. You’re either getting better or worse – every day. Spend most or all of your day getting better. Take pride in working smarter.
The third component of the 10X Approach is one that every mediocre business owner ignores: You must be willing to set written goals 10 times loftier than you ever have before. Most business owners make every day like the movie Groundhog Day. They get up and do the same thing over and over. They have no real goals that drive them forward. If you’re building your ideal business, you can’t make this critical mistake. Why settle for mediocrity? Why be comfortable with being average?
Building a business is hard work. I’ve been there. I remember not having enough money to fill up my gas tank when we were getting started. I remember having to go on Craigslist to try to find discounted tickets to be able to take my son to a local amusement park because we couldn’t afford them at full price. Nevertheless, having lofty goals was the carrot out in front that kept me motivated, and it keeps me striving to learn and get better every day. Most people won’t set those types of goals. You must.
Component number four is a gamechanger: You must commit to being 10 times more knowledgeable than the competition. The best don’t get there by accident. They already know how to deliver amazing results, and still they’re the first ones to keep studying. They know more about business than the rest of their industry, but they are the first to dive in and keep improving. Being the best means always staying one step ahead, and part of that is being a lifelong learner.
The final component: You must get 10 times more done than the competition. Ultimately, no one cares what you know, how much potential you have, or how talented you are. They don’t care about your good ideas or the countless projects you start. They don’t care about the promises you make. They care about what you do and what you accomplish. Build your ideal business – one that provides a great experience for your clients while giving you personal satisfaction, wealth and freedom. Don’t focus on activity, focus on achievement.
Are you up to the task? Are you one of the rare professionals that wants to be great and build your ideal business that is in the top 1%? If you are, start with the 10X Approach.
