It's No Secret... There's Money in Small Business - Earn More. Work Less. Enjoy What You Do Each Day.

INTRODUCTION

You and I had a choice: to be an employee, or start our own business. And if you’re reading this book I’m assuming you chose the latter, or you’re at least considering it – and I believe that is the right decision. There’s nothing more fulfilling than working for yourself and being your own boss. But, at the same time it can be a little scary, and you may even have some doubt, but don’t be concerned… that’s perfectly normal.

I always knew I wanted to work for myself, and I started my first business at 22 years of age. Like many business owners with no experience, I made a ton of mistakes, but I never let that deter me or scare me into thinking life would be easier if I worked for someone else. Instead, I used it to inspire me.

It’s no secret…there’s money in small business – in fact, there’s a lot of money in small business, but having a high IQ or being a master of your trade or profession does not give you a right of passage to business success. This is a skill that must be acquired.

“There has never been a better time, in the history of time, than right now to start a business.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

I’m sure there are business owners who will tell you that small business is tough, and they’re correct: it is tough. But the one thing most small business owners forget is that every big business was once a small business, just like you. Nike, Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald’s, Apple and Microsoft all began as small businesses; in fact, some were so bad they probably should have thrown in the towel after the first year, but they didn’t.

Coca-Cola was started in 1886 by Pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton, and in the first year of trade they averaged nine drink sales per day, adding up to a massive $50 for the year. In that same year they spent $73.96 on advertising, so it was definitely not a financial success in the first year. Most businesses do it tough in the first few years, and as you can see Coca-Cola was no different, but move ahead 131 years and Coca-Cola is selling more than 1.9 billion drinks per day and has a market capitalisation of $188 billion. Could you imagine if Dr. Pemberton decided to give up after one year, because it was too difficult?

Nike’s early beginnings were no different. In 1964, University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight teamed up with his coach Bill Bowerman, and together they sold a Japanese shoe called Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS) from the boot of their car at athletic meets, and in their first year they made $8000, a far cry from what Nike as a company does today.

If you let history be your guide, many of today’s billion-dollar companies had tough times in the early years and at some point looked like they were not going to make it, but they did. Even Apple did it tough in the late eighties and early nineties, but they rebounded and are today one of the most valuable brands in the world. Who doesn’t own an iSomething?

“You can’t be big without first being small”

That’s the way nature works and that’s the way business works. Getting big all starts with changing the way you think. If you think like a big business, you’ll start to behave like a big business, but this doesn’t mean you must become a big business if you don’t want to. But there are certain things big businesses do that every business should do if they want to be successful. And I’m not measuring success by how much money you make. Success means different things to different people – success for you could mean more time with your family, more holidays, or doing more for charities.

The most common small business mistakes

So where do small business owners most often go wrong? Firstly, they fail to delegate and try to do everything themselves. I’m not sure if they do this because they’re control freaks; this may be the case, and I know I have been guilty of this myself. Or, maybe they’re trying to save money by keeping the size of their team to a minimum. For most it’s probably a combination of both.

Secondly, small business owners fail to invest money in their own education. I know when you’re starting out in business or if you’ve had a few lean years you may not be flush with cash to attend conferences and tradeshows, especially if there’s travel and accommodation involved, but if you’re serious about being successful in small business you need to find a way to attend these events.

However, if you seriously have no money there is an alternative. You need to invest your time. Go online and start educating yourself. Start reading blogs, articles and listening to audio recordings, podcasts and watching videos. There is so much free information available online it’s ridiculous, so there’s no excuse for not doing this.

I listen to a lot of podcasts myself, and on 30 August 2016 I started the 365 Hour Mental and Physical Challenge. Basically I walk for one hour every day, and while walking I listen to a podcast, and then I shoot a short video sharing at least one takeaway point. I edit the videos and then post them on Facebook, YouTube and other online platforms. If I miss a day, it has to be made up, so the goal is to stay on track for the whole 365 days. By the time you read this I will have finished my first 365 hours. I say “first” 365 hours, as I may keep going.

The reason I tell you this is because I’ve learnt so much from podcasts, and I know you can do the same. Listening to someone talk about their mistakes and errors in business can make you feel so much better about your own stuff ups, and it makes you realise you’re not alone. Not every podcast has to be about business either. I listen to a huge array of podcasts. Some are focused on personal development, and others are for pure entertainment and fun, but I still manage to learn something. Listening to podcasts even gave me the desire to start my own podcast series, which is called It’s No Secret with Dr. T.

Here’s the secret sauce though: when you invest in yourself things always change for the better, never for the worse. Now investing in yourself does not mean attending get-rich-quick seminars; it’s about becoming a better version of your current self. Regardless of the type of business you own, it can always be improved upon, and this can only happen by opening your eyes and being prepared to learn. Become a student of business and life. You may need more knowledge about your products, your processes, or understanding your people. The goal is to keep your mind open for learning opportunities.

“Education doesn’t just take place in stuffy classrooms and university buildings, it can happen everywhere, everyday to every person.”

Richard Branson

To own and operate a successful small business you usually need to have some prior knowledge in the industry, and normally it takes years of training to become proficient, so it makes sense that if you want to have a successful business, you need to also be prepared to dedicate an adequate amount of time to acquire these new skills.

I’ve always had an interest in business, which is why I was reading Making Money Made Simple, by Noel Whittaker, in my spare time at university and not the usual textbooks other students were reading. Did this mean I cared more about making money than anything else? No, not at all, but I knew if I was going to work for myself one day and have a successful business, I had to learn more about business. Universities, TAFE colleges and apprenticeships are a great place to develop your skills and learn about your industry, but a terrible place to learn about running your own business. None of them prepare you for self-employment; they merely prepare you to be a competent employee. If you’re serious about owning a successful business, you need to be prepared to understand the fundamentals of business.

I believe everyone deep down wants to be successful because the opposite of success is failure, and no one wants to be a failure, however only a small percentage of people are prepared to do what’s necessary to achieve success. I once read that if you took all the wealth in the world and divided it equally among everyone, in five years’ time the rich would be rich, the middle class would be middle class and the poor would be complaining about all the rich bastards that ripped them off and stole all their money.

The truth of the matter is, if you never learn how to make money, you’ll never keep it. The rich would become rich again, not because they ripped off the poor, but because they know what it takes to become rich again and also how to do it. It’s like riding a bike: once you know how, you can’t unlearn this skill. Business and life skills are exactly the same.

If I had everything taken from me tomorrow, within 12 months I would rebuild because I know exactly what to do, because I’ve done it many times before, and I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to rebuild. Business success doesn’t occur by osmosis, it’s a learned skill and it’s a skill you need to master.

I think it’s important to point out that I didn’t go to an expensive private school, instead I went to one of those public schools you read about in the news – for all the wrong reasons. However, my school did have some good attributes that many are unaware of. In one particular year my school held the record for the highest teenage pregnancy rate and also had one of the best football teams in the Brisbane district, so if you were male it was a great school. Seriously though, where you come from is not a...