You will limit your business’ growth by being overly self-reliant. As amazing as you are, sis, you can only do so much so well. There’s only one of you.
Let’s face it: For all the things that need to get done to grow and scale your business to seven-figures, you’re hardly the right person to do them all.
There are consistent traits I see in Million Dollar Badasses who have achieved and scaled beyond seven-figures. Along with boasting clearly defined intellectual property (that differentiates them as an expert in their field) and an unequivocal identity (that distinguishes them in their industry), these CEOs have embraced implementation methods that ensure they aren’t relying purely on their own instincts and skillset.
Successful CEOs have learned to trust their own self-reliance and instinct in tandem with creating and employing a system for their own business.
The findings of a 10 year Harvard Business Review study (The CEO Genome) are consistent with my assessment of what makes a Million Dollar Badass. It’s not Ivy League education or postgraduate degrees or following the traditional models of success. Being a charismatic extrovert is actually less of an omen for future success than being a quiet introvert. The stereotypical image that comes to mind when we think “CEO” is outdated and boring as hell.
Million Dollar Badasses show three distinct behaviors.
- They’re decisive. In order to be decisive, you need to understand your goals, both short and long term, clearly. You must be able to make Million Dollar Decisions and surround yourself with “no people.”In order to scale your business to a million+, you have to make million+ decisions today—not when you’ve hit a million in revenue. Today.
Who is guiding you to make those uncomfortable choices you must make as an entrepreneur? To be a business rockstar, you have to surround yourself with people who believe in you. They are the ones who will tend to your ideas, defend you to Instagram haters, and prop you up when entrepreneurship gets you down. They’ll tell you that you need to think BIGGER, to speak LOUDER, to be BOLDER, to shine BRIGHTER.
These are your YES people, too. Whatever crazy, ballsy, hopefully brilliant idea you throw out there, they’re gonna be like “YES! Do it! That’s amazing!”
You have to put yourself in the company of those who are operating at a higher revenue level than yourself. These people can also become your “no” people. In a study of coaching in entrepreneurial environments, it was found that 80 percent of business growth comes from the experiential learning of working with a coach. Finding a coach who has the relevant experience that you need to learn is paramount, and knowing how to navigate the process to maximize your decision making skills will allow you to stay on track.
- They’re impact driven. To focus on impact, you need a clearly defined identity and a system for voicing your big, effective ideas.
If you want your clients to be all in with their bank accounts, their time and their focus, you need to be all in with your confidence that your offerings will change their damn lives.
If you aren’t convinced of your own brand, model, and services… Why should anyone else?
Nobody wants to buy a maybe. Not when it comes to life transformation or business guidance or legal advice or ANYTHING. And if your life transformation offering can’t actually transform lives, maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board. You must be focused on the impact you’re offering.
Because when you have something that you KNOW is transformative and will make an impact, when you’ve poured all of your knowledge and your insight and your heart into creating a service or offer of value, you won’t be afraid to say: This shit works. Once you’ve distilled your genius (the shit that works) down into a model that can be used as training material for future employees, marketing for potential clients, and teaching touchpoints for all future offerings—you should be EAGER to share that model with the world.This is why I’m basically obsessed with Beyoncé. Not only is she one of the most successful and influential women of color in the world, she also isn’t afraid to be controversial. To speak her mind. To stand out from the crowd. She’s a reminder of the importance of being unforgettable.
How many people are doing exactly what you’re doing? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?
This is why you need a system to become unforgettable.
-
-
- By saying shit that everybody else is too afraid to say
- By sharing my personal stories and vulnerabilities even when it scares me
- By being my silly, funky, not-always-polished self
- By making mistakes and copping to them
-
-
- Want to have an impact? Be memorable.
- They’re adaptable and reliable. In order to be truly adaptable and reliable, you must have systems in place that allow you to be responsive rather than reactive AND to take time off, time away, and time to think.If you decided to shift your business today, would you be able to? Or are you trapped by the need for the revenue you’ve established, without the ability to hire, fire, or pivot? If you’re unable to adapt, you’re cutting yourself short as the CEO of your business. You need systems in place that allow you to pivot and adjust without affecting your revenue and your profit margins.
You also need to be able to take time off—for surgery or maternity leave or your son’s school play—without shutting down your business. Are you so hands-on in your business that you think if you step back, everything will fall apart? Or if you truly take time off, you will be falling behind or “missing out”?
This is why you must hire NOW. Hire before you need the help. Set up recurring revenue models and plan for the future. You need a system for that.
These behaviors of successful CEOs require don’t require that they step OUT of their business, but rather that they’ve stepped up and IN. In everything, a Million Dollar Badass understands the need for systems and has a fierce desire to learn and grow.
Shifting from pure self-reliance to the support of systems, learning and growth, and community is essential for scaling to seven figures.
“Right now it's about trusting myself and knowing that I have a group of people who say, ‘yes you do know what to do. We're going to give you some ideas—we're going to give you some options—but at the end of the day, you are in control of how you want your business to grow and making those tweaks and implementing those changes that best work for you.’ It's really about coming back in and stepping into my own strength. You can't just throw money at somebody and have your problems be solved. Putting the money into MDB is motivation to work hard to get that money back, and then some. I come in with a lot of logic—I'm very left brain, like ‘tell me what to do and how to do it!’ And I do get that from MDB, but I also get this reminder that I do know best. And that has been hugely helpful.”
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, Financial Therapist and MDB Member
Not every entrepreneur is ready to scale their business, but if you are ready to embrace a system that will help you successfully execute while also working hard from a self-reliant standpoint, you may very well be ready to become a Million Dollar Badass.
xo,
R
P.S. Are you ready to become a Million Dollar Badass? Then download my free guide: Million Dollar Behavior. In it you will learn the ten behavior shifts you need to make to build wealth, claim power and have an impact.
I’ve learned how to play the game of success by my own rules. And in this guide, I’m going to lay out the Million Dollar Behavior required for you to define your own success and chase after your goals—on your terms.
