What’s the best way to learn to swim?

Someone once told me that you can’t learn how to swim by reading a book.

People have their preferred learning styles.

Some people like to watch videos.

Some people like to read

Some people like to teach.

There are untold numbers of ways to learn a topic.

By far, the best way to learn is by doing.

Until one does something, one cannot gain mastery of a topic.

There is a reason why many people that learn from the school of hard knocks often dismiss those that preach from the ivory towers of academia.

When I realized that I had a sacred duty to teach my daughters business, I realized I needed a framework for my daughters.

A framework is a system that provides structure, order, and simplicity.

Without a framework, chaos ensues.

More than 11,000 books are published about business every year.

That’s almost 1,000 books a month.

That’s about 333 books a day.

To read all the new business books published each year, you would need to read 14 books an hour – every hour of the day.

This means you would have no time to sleep.

The reason I bring this up is that shiny new objects constantly barrage us as humans in the modern-day information age.

Too many people fall victim to shiny object syndrome where they get distracted by the newest, latest, and greatest, sexy, fool-proof thing that will revolutionize their business or lives.

It’s easy to become distracted by shiny objects.

Why wouldn’t we be distracted?

I mean, they are shiny.

And they are objects.

Having a solid framework increases focus on the core fundamentals that will lead to mastery.

A solid framework simplifies complexity.

When things are simple, it makes it easier for us to act.

Here’s what Albert Einstein said about simplicity:

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

The framework gives us a simple template.

Let me give you an example of a good framework.

We all have a body.

Our bodies are extremely complex.

However, we can simplify the body by looking at some of the following functions that exist in the body:

• The respiratory system controls breathing
• The digestive system controls energy transformation
• The circulatory system controls energy and waste distribution
• The skeletal system controls stability

The framework gives structure to the many systems that work together.

The business framework I’ve developed over the last twenty years of real-world business experience groups a business into the following four systems:

Sales System

The Sales System is responsible for attracting, converting, and retaining customers.

A customer is the most valuable asset any business will ever have.

A customer gives us money for what we are selling.

The first priority of any business is to serve a customer.

The business is rewarded when it solves customer problems.

Successful businesses improve customers’ lives by creating solutions for their customers’ problems.

Operations

Operations are the way a business fulfills solutions to its customers.

Operations takes a set of inputs or ingredients together and combining those inputs to create something of value for customers.

The best way to think about this is every business is a manufacturing business.

Even if you’re primary business is a service business, you still have a manufacturing business.

Money

The money system is the scoring system in our business.

The money system provides the best real-world data for a business

Everything in business is theoretical until money exchanges hands.

People are not customers until they give the business money.

The money system lets us know if what we are doing is working.

Leadership

John C. Maxwell said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Building a running a successful, profitable business is not for the faint of heart.

To be successful in business, we must take 100% responsibility for our success.

Business owners live lives without a safety net.

Business owners commit their lives to serving their customers.

Business owners must do the right thing when nobody is listening or watching.

The best business owners are leaders.

Why is leadership so important to business?

No matter how good your business systems are, growth will dismantle and destroy your best systems?

Why?

Every system has a limited capacity.

As the business grows, the system that worked amazingly at one level will not work at the next level.

It’s painful when systems break down.

Leadership guides us through the valleys of heartbreak and despair to progress and fulfillment.

Putting It All Together

This framework of business systems provides simplicity for building and growing a business.

When I look at a business, I want to understand what is working and what is not working in each of the four systems.

As I find something that works well, I create a system that will replicate success.

When I find something that isn’t working, I become a business detective.

My job as a business detective is to peel back the curtain and discover what’s broken.

Once I learn what is broken, then I can apply a remedy to the problem.

Then I develop a system to prevent the problem from recurring.

As I go through this iterative development process, I’m constantly looking for ways to make incremental improvements to each business system.

Now that I’ve shared the business framework and systems, let me explain to you how I’m using this to teach my daughters how to be business owners.

I’ve given both of my daughters Norah and Claire have one objective.

To spend the next few years, creating a business that generates enough monthly income so they can support themselves when they turn 18.

They spent time researching how much it will cost for them to live each month, and now they know the minimum amount of money their businesses need to earn.

Now Norah and Claire will need to figure out what type of customers they want to serve.

Next, Norah and Claire will discover what their customers are willing to pay for a solution to their problems.

Then Norah and Claire will sell a solution to those problems and earn money.

My girls will face rejection and have to exercise their problem-solving muscles.

They will learn to build a business by building a business.

After all, you can’t learn to build a successful, profitable business by reading a book.

Before I forget, if you’re looking to grow your business profits and having more cash in the bank, send me an email at damon@idealmoneylife.com with “PROFIT” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!