My Defining Moment

In life we all have defining moments… that  moment when something changes and from then on nothing is ever the same again.

Last year, on my birthday, I had one of those moments.  My mom called me.  My father was on the floor.  He hit his head working in the garden and died the next day.

That was the saddest day of my life.

I also learned something every important.  I had spent my whole life working along side my father.  I celebrated huge successes with him and helped turn around some very big failures.  Through it all, I learned something very important.  My family, without knowing it had been building Legacy businesses.  When my father passed away – the businesses continued.  They were making money for us -even as we took the time to grieve.  They weren't dependent on us to keep going.  The businesses could be transitioned to the next generation – they were lasting assets.

This point was hammered home when I drove down the street about a week later.  There was a lady in town who passed away about 2 weeks before my father did.  She owned a successful day spa for 25 years.  As I drove past and saw the padlock on the door and the for sale sign on the lawn – I realized how important it is to create businesses that can run without you.

Here is what has happened in my business as a result of that realization.

First, I started talking to you more. You are dreaming of creating a legacy business – leaving something to your children. Making a difference in the world.  The problem is, as I look into your businesses, all of those dreams are just wants.  Most people are not creating legacy businesses.

My business focus has changed from helping you to market to really helping you to create something that lasts and makes a difference.

I started with my own business.  Over the past year I have:

• Grown my team from 3 people to 8.  Each person has an area of responsibility. They create ideas for me to approve and then implement them.
• We have hired an operations manual to look at what we are doing and create duplicatable systems.  I can transition the company to someone else and they will be able to run in based on the systems.
• I spend more time sharing how I think about things so that my team can automatically choose what I would have chosen in a situation.

Are you ready to start creating a legacy business.  Here are a few first steps:

• Think BIG.  You need to create a business that is bigger than just you – so that you can take yourself out of daily operations
• Hire a team and give them responsibilities
• Be willing to take risks and put in the work to grow your business big enough to make a difference.

It is so very do-able – you don’t have to be alone any more.

On July 10, I'm going to be pulling back the curtain and showing you the first steps to creating a business that truly makes a difference for you and your family.