Rupal Y. Patel
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When I was starting my first business ten years ago, my partner and I held a board meeting and set out targets for the year ahead and the ten years ahead. We decided that in our first year we wanted to acquire ten properties, and that in ten years we wanted a portfolio valued at £10 million.
They were nice round numbers with an element of symmetry ("10 in 10"), they were big goals, and they were goals that terrified and energized in equal measure. We didn't obsess too much about the "how", but armed with the "what", we started on our way, steeped in the faith that we'd get started with what we had and figure things out - and learn and adjust and plan and tweak - along the way. And exactly ten years later, our portfolio value is £9.81 million. (Yes, for the accountants among you, I know this is a bit "short" of £10m, but I used conservative values, so I say close enough!) And the reason I am sharing this with you is because I want you to know that whatever your biggest, scariest goal is, you can achieve it too. Of course you can. But you have to get started, and there are a few simple things I learned on my road to ten million that can help you too: 1) Go slow to grow fast - Remember that Year 1 target we had of buying 10x properties. Wellllll... our grand total at the end of that year was closer to - wait for it... - two. Yes two. But instead of throwing in the towel and wallowing in despair, we kept going. Because we acknowledged that... 2) ...Success takes its own time - And all deadlines are basically arbitrary. For the sake of our egos we like to achieve in "impressive" soundbites ("10 properties in one year!"), but reality has no stake in conforming to our timelines. Things take time. And sometimes they take their own time. 3) Persist and learn... and stop watching the clock - Because things take their own time, and because sometimes the "how" can seem a bit out of reach, it's important to persist and learn along the way. Too many people give up inches (or months or days or a few short years) from achieving what they want to achieve. And there were many, many, MANY times I wanted to quit and give up and throw my hands up in defeat. But after some time-bound wallowing, I dusted myself off, learned, got smarter, asked for help, and kept going. And I reminded myself that we should - as one of my favorite quotes puts it perfectly - "Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it takes to achieve it. The time will pass anyway." 4) BE SPECIFIC - When we set that intention to have a portfolio valued at £10 million in ten years, we weren't specific enough. Because we didn't factor in things like interest rates, and lending, and mortgages. So while our property portfolio is worth £10 million now, OUR portion of that value - our equity - is not £10 million. If we could go back to 2012, I would have tweaked our goal to be "A property portfolio with a NET equity value of £10 million." It sounds a bit pedantic, but when you set a goal, you have to make sure it is the goal you want. That it is specific. No detail is too small. Because you WILL get what you want. So make sure it's exactly what you want, and nothing slips through the cracks. My friends, we all overestimate how much we can achieve in one year, and underestimate how much we can achieve in five years or ten years. And ten years after setting myself what felt like a genuinely impossible goal, I accomplished it. And if I can, you can. So get started. Because the time will pass anyway.
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Many years ago when I was starting my first business, I made a decision that unlocked much of the success that came after: I hired a cleaner. No, not a personal assistant, or a head of sales, or a lead negotiator - a cleaner.
You see, every Saturday, my partner and I would spend hours and hours cleaning our house. And those were hours and hours I could not spend building my business, working on my fitness, seeing friends and loved ones, or simply recharging. As a bootstrapping founder, I was throwing every hour of the day to my business's growth - and weekends were being wasted with a dustpan. So we hired cleaners. And reclaimed our precious time. And symbolically, that made all the difference in the world because now I wasn't just telling myself that I was a boss, I was behaving like one: I was spending money to make time, instead of spending time to make money. And this is a mindset shift that too many of us delay making. We hold on to being Chief Everything Officer in our work lives and home lives, and then we struggle with burnout and frustration and resentment. We strangle ourselves with The Perfectionist's Creed. And we tell ourselves we can - or should be able to - do everything (even the laundry!) when that's simply not true. Time is the one thing that everyone says they never have enough of, but we can all create time by letting go of the low-value tasks (business admin, house chores, email, etc) that clutter our lives, instead of clinging to them out of habit, or out of a sense that we're not worthy of the investment or because we've internalized the social pressures that expect women to be Martha Stewart, Mother Theresa, and Madeleine Albright all at the same time (enforced martyrdom is a plague, ladies, but we don't have to succumb). Whatever your dreams, your ambitions, your vision for your life, you can't get there by doing it all and under-valuing your time. To be a boss, you need to boss your time. It might start with something small, sure - for me, hiring cleaners was the first step, not the last! - but the mindset shift around valuing our time and buying it back can help us get to the top of wherever we choose to go. And that is anything but small. I have a confession to make: I am a people pleaser. I always have been. I was that kid in school who always got gold stars and straight-As. I was that annoying smarty-pants who would jump up and down in my chair with my hand thrust into the air to answer any question the teacher posed. I loved being the "teacher's pet" (and I was really good at it!), and that chronic-pleaser-syndrome has never totally gone away.
When I was starting my first business, I never had enough hours in a day for myself, my health, my business, or my loved ones but I was saying yes to endless requests for help or guidance or advice from others, often total strangers, because I didn't want to disappoint them. What an idiot! But after years of giving indiscriminately, I started to design boundaries into my business. I thought hard about how I could say no but still help as many people as possible in a way that felt sustainable and generous instead of leaving me feeling vulnerable and exploited. So I built generous giving into my business model: I do lots of free articles, You Tube videos, and webinars so I can help lots of people at the same time, and I do a set number of pro-bono hours to help a few budding entrepreneurs each year. And then, my one-on-one time is devoted to private paying clients who I can help in a very targeted and tailored way. Saying no wasn't easy and it sometimes made me feel like a jerk, but I finally started to acknowledge that having boundaries wasn't mean or selfish - it was realistic. Yes, it took time, and thought, and some uncomfortable conversations for me to get comfortable saying no, but now I am having a far greater impact on a far greater number of people because I am choosing carefully what I say yes and no to. And saying no has allowed me to help more people and be more focused. Win-win. So what can you say no to? What should you say no to? What boundaries can you establish so you can say no to some things and yes to others? What amount of no-saying is right for you and your business? Warren Buffet didn't become hugely successful by investing in every business brought before him. He says no as a rule, and sparingly uses his yes's. And while I can't promise that by saying no you'll become the next Warren Buffet, I can guarantee that when you get better at setting boundaries and saying no, you and your business will become more focused and disciplined, and focus and discipline are two of the most essential ingredients for success at anything. So the next time you feel yourself tempted to say yes to something, take a minute and ask yourself if you should simply say no instead. |
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