I remember it like it was yesterday.

The husband and wife business owners at the workshop I was attending, dissolved into tears, even though from the outside their business looked like the picture of profit.

Because what they had to do to sustain their “successful” business had turned their life into a nightmare. And they saw no way out.

What happens when the money has become a monster? And what you have to do to make it (and keep on making it) isn’t worth the trouble?     .

I know for a lot of you this might seem like a great problem to have. Trust me … it isn’t. And way more entrepreneurs than you will ever know find themselves there. But how?

The story usually begins like this:  Your favorite success maven has just revealed the secret to how they made it big. And because you want to be just like them, you try to do it just like them.

But there’s a slight problem:
You’re not just like them.

And while their advice is often great to get started, and you can make it work for awhile, what’s required to sustain it often steals more time, energy and sanity than it gives you. And leaves you in one of two places:

  1. You end up with a business that makes money. But takes everything you have to keep it there. OR …
  2. The very fact you’re trying to succeed with someone else’s business means no matter how hard you try … you don’t get anywhere.

The reason you’re struggling isn’t because you’re not good. You’re very good.
The problem is, you’re trying to be very good at someone else.
Instead of being very good at you.

Those guru secrets that seemed to work so well for them, or worked for you for awhile, are turning your life into hell.

But there’s a way to hop off that train. Make tons of money. And enjoy it every step of the way. And it involves three simple but life-changing steps:

STEP ONE:

Understand if you’re starting out, job one is getting money flowing into your business. I’m sure you already know something north of 80% of businesses fail in the first two years. And your first job is to make sure you’re not one of them.

STEP TWO:

The way to make this happen is to use proven pathways that bring in money quickly. For most of us, this means person-to-person connection: Speaking, Networking. Referrals. Because while it can take me weeks or months to build the trust and the audience to make $3,000 using the internet, I can walk into a networking event and walk away with a $3K client.

Yes, this might be outside your comfort zone. But here’s the key: You’re not going to do this forever. Because once you get cash flowing in you will do the one thing that makes all the difference:

STEP THREE: Your Personal Perfect Profit Model

What’s that? It’s a model that at leverages what you are ALREADY good at, instead of what your guru is good at. (Imagine that!) Because what no one told you is you can find a marketing avenue that leverages something you excel at and enjoy, instead of a shoe that’s two sizes too small.

Unfortunately, here is the way most of us do it:

Imagine for a moment you have a child who is 7-feet tall. Who really enjoys playing basketball. But because your favorite marketing guru comes out with a course that says “The best career path for your child is ballet!” you try to make them into a ballet dancer.

Now … isn’t that silly?

But that’s exactly what you’re doing with your business! You’re forcing yourself into pathways that don’t leverage your own abilities, and driving yourself insane because of it.

The key is, once you have momentum in your business and money coming in, switch over to an avenue that accelerates your momentum and revenue and is perfectly suited to who you ALREADY are. And what you’re already good at!

  • Are you a nerdy geek who loves her pocket protector and hates networking? There are marketing avenues that allow you to ride your nerdiness all the way to the bank.
  • Are you a larger than life personality who owns the room the moment you walk in, loves the spotlight and hates techie stuff? Yep, there are avenues for you as well.
  • Are you a creative, a living breathing mile-a-minute content machine? That turns heads with every word out of your mouth? Yes, there’s even a path for you.

Because success isn’t merely about bringing in money. It’s about mastering a profit model that keeps it coming in AND allows you to enjoy the process.

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The problem is after most folks do what they need to get their business up and running, they NEVER shift into their Personal Perfect Profit Model. So their business takes way more than they bargained for. And the outward appearance of success never matches the inside feeling that something’s wrong.

A business that puts you through hell to get the clients and make the sales to keep it going simply isn’t sustainable. Because it takes away way more than it gives you.

The best way to reverse that is to be clear on what a Personal Perfect Profit Model looks like for you. So you can shift into it when its time.

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