Introduction

Most of my business coaching clients are appraisers and fall into four categories:

1. Still working for someone else but wanting to go out on their own
2. Have gone out on their own but still in the early startup phase
3. Past the startup phase but still not a significant business
4. Solid middle stage business looking to break through

I've been in each of these categories and have, thankfully, found the keys to success. I will share a lot of them here in this newsletter. I share even more in my business coaching. Here are the keys to your kingdom and some resources (books and software) to help you along your business-building journey.

 Keys to Your Kingdom:

• Time - Your Most Precious Resource
• Leverage - How To Buy Back Your Time
• Exit - Start With The End In Mind
• Hiring - Good Talent Begets More Good Talent
• Leadership - Build A Professional Management Team & System
• Wisdom - Knowledge + Experience = Success

 Books to Read:

•  Build A Business Not A Job: Grow Your Business & Get Your Life Back by David Finkel and Stephanie Harkness
•  Run Your Business, Don't Let It Run You: Aileron's Practical Guide For Helping Businesses Grow by Clay Mathile

Time: Your Most Precious Resource

You can never get back a second or a minute of your time. You can lose a house and still be able to buy another someday. You can lose your mate and still be able to find another someday. You can lose all your money and still be able to earn more someday.

But, no matter how hard you try, you can't bring back one second of time. If you waste your time doing the wrong things, that is truly a terrible waste!

 Book to Read:

•  Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire by Dan Martell

Leverage: How To Buy Back Your Time

After reading "The Leverage Equation", I'm on a "leverage kick" these days. There are 6 types of leverage you can use to break through the constraints that limit your success:

1. Financial Leverage - Other people's money so you're not limited by your own net worth.
2. Time Leverage - Other people's time so you're not limited to just trading your time for money and only having 24 hours in a day.
3. Systems Leverage - Other people's systems where you set up a scalable business model ONCE and your systems do the work thousands of times.
4. Communications Leverage - Access other people's audiences through newsletters, podcasts, and social media to communicate with millions of people.
5. Network Leverage - Expands your reach to include other people's connections so you're not limited to your own.
6. Knowledge Leverage - Employs the expertise of others so you don't have to learn everything yourself.

Book to Read:

•  The Leverage Equation: How to Work Less, Make More, and Cut 30 Years Off Your Retirement Plan by Todd Tresidder

Exit: Start With The End In Mind

What person buys an airplane ticket and does not consider where they want to go and their final destination? What parent would raise a child and not consider the day they leave home as an independent, fully functioning adult? What home builder would build a home and not consider the day they need to sell that home on the open market?

Why is it then that so many professionals turned business owners don't really consider a possible exit from their businesses someday? Whatever the case might be, my strongest advice to small business owners is to build a business that is both valuable and sellable, whether you actually sell it or not.

Look around at the most wealthy people on the planet.  Most of them became rich by building successful businesses. Some ended up selling their businesses for millions or billions of dollars. Others continue to run theirs passively. In either case, they truly built successful businesses that were extremely valuable AND sellable.

You should do the same! If you're not, you're missing the boat to true financial independence and time freedom! It's much easier to build a successful business that is valuable and sellable than an unsuccessful business. Trust me: I've been on both sides of that coin, and the former is much better and easier than the latter.

So, how do you go about building a truly valuable and sellable business?

Books to Read:

• Built To Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow
• Cash Out, Move On: Get Top Dollar -- And More -- Selling Your Business by John H. Brown

Hiring: Good Talent Begets More Good Talent

Most important key to success: Adopt a Strategic Business Owner "CEO Mindset." Second most important key to success: Focus on hiring really good people. You've heard the old adage: "Hire Slow and Fire Fast." 

Nothing is more important to the success of your business than the people you hire. Notice I said "hire" NOT "contract" with. I'm talking W-2s NOT 1099s! Name me one billion-dollar company that doesn't have employees.

How do you learn how to hire, onboard, train and retain great people?

Books to Read:

• Who: Solve Your #1 Problem by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
• Hire Train Retain: How to Get the Right People in the Right Roles Doing the Right Things by Michael Matalone
• Topgrading: The Proven Hiring and Promoting Method That Turbocharges Company Performance by Bradford D. Smart
• Performance Management: Changing Behavior that Drives Organizational Effectiveness by Aubrey C. Daniels and Jon S. Bailey

Recruiting Software to Leverage:

• Manatal - $19/month
• Zoho Recruit - $25/month
• 100Hires - $99/month
• JazzHR - $75/month

Leadership: Build A Professional Management Team & System

When you grow your business from 6 to 12+ people, you'll most likely have the beginnings of a management team. At this stage, one of the keys to your growth as a successful business owner is to "let go of the vine." Stop trying to do everything yourself and, instead, delegate and trust your team to help guide and run things. Initially, you're going to need manager's over three main areas of your business:

1. Marketing & Sales
2. Client Fulfillment
3. Administration

Later on, if you grow big enough, you will need a COO or General Manager to help you actually run your company. Regardless, as soon as possible, you want to form your own leadership team and start doing strategic planning. You'll want to have annual and quarterly strategic planning retreats and weekly leadership team meetings for traction and accountability. You'll want to establish key metrics (KPIs) for your business and go over these weekly and monthly.

How do you learn how to implement a professional management system into your business?

Books to Read:

• Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman
• Get A Grip: How To Get Everything You Want From Your Entrepreneurial Business, a fable by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton

BOS Software to Leverage:

• Ninety[dot]io - A cloud-based "business operating system" (BOS) software platform

Wisdom: Knowledge + Experience = Success

You'll note that I recommend a lot of books for you aspiring and entrepreneurial professionals and small buisiness owners to read. I also suggest some software systems you can leverage to great effect. However, what you really need to succeed is wisdom. Confucious said you can learn wisdom three ways:

• First, by reflection, which is noblest,
• Second, by imitation, which is easiest, &
• Third, by experience, which is the bitterest.

Most of you reading my newsletters are either in business for yourself or want to be. Building a great business is the hardest thing I've ever done. It will likely be the same for you. You can go about building a great business in basically two ways:

1. The "school of hard knocks," or
2. Learn from others that have gone before you and succeeded.

Besides reading business books and applying what I learned, the single most important key to my success was the business coaching I invested in to help me grow as a leader and to help me grow and improve my business.

I've spent thousands of dollars and read almost every business book you can think of. I've also spent tens of thousands of dollars on software systems and consultants to help systemize, automate, and professionally manage my business. I've also spent over $100,000 over a 10-year period of time on the most expensive, high-end business coaching programs that were available out there:

• Level 7 Systems
• The Goldhill Group
• EMyth Coaching Program
• Aileron Coaching Services
• 2X.co (Systemize & Scale, LLC)
• Maui Mastermind Business Coaching

If you have the money and time, each of these coaching programs could provide terrific value for you and your business. If you have an interest in business coaching, research them all and make the best decision for you based on your time, financial budget, and stage of your business. However, if you happen to be in the real estate appraisal and valuation space, I may be another great option to consider.

Over 12 years, I scaled my appraisal business from low six figures to  a healthy seven-figure revenue. I also helped co-found, grow, and systemize Valbridge Property Advisors into one of the largest real estate appraisal organizations in the U.S. Most importantly, I was very successful creating a very valuable and sellable appraisal business. I ultimately sold my appraisal business for seven figures, all cash, in late 2022 and retired successfully.

So why then, you might ask, am I spending my hard-earned time freedom in my 70s building a new online business? Great question! It's NOT for the money or to earn more plaques to put up on my mantle or wall space. The truth is, I have a true passion for helping struggling appraisal business owners build great companies and be more successful.

If that describes you, or if you are contemplating going into business yourself as a professional services provider, I can help you! I'll bet you there aren't many (if any) problems or issues you're struggling or challenged with that I haven't worked through myself successfully.

Three things I can guarantee you. If you invest in business coaching with me:

1. You're going to have a much better business in 2 to 4 years than when you started.
2. You're going to have more time freedom and less stress than when you started.
3. You're gong to have a much more valuable & sellable business than when you started.

Conclusion

Are you building a great business that's going to ultimately set you free? Or are you building a glorified job that's sucking the life out of you?

What will you invest to improve your business and your life? To create a valuable & sellable asset that can truly set you free?

How much time will you commit to reading and applying what you learn? How much money will you spend on books, software, and business coaching?

The Keys to Your Kingdom are listed below. Are you really prioritizing what's most important? For your business? For you and your family's lives?

1.  Time - Your Most Precious Resource
2. Leverage - How To Buy Back Your Time
3. Exit - Start With The End In Mind
4. Hiring - Good Talent Begets More Good Talent
5. Leadership - Build A Professional Management Team & System
6. Wisdom - Knowledge + Experience = Success

= = = = = = = = = =

If you need help growing, scaling and systemizing a great business, I can help you two ways:

Go to www.CalvinCummings.com and...

1. Click on "Subscribe Now" for my weekly newsletter.

2. Go to the Coaching page and click on "Book a Consult" for a free 90- to 120-minute coaching session.

Let me help you solve one key challenge or major issue you're struggling with via Zoom in 90 to 120 minutes, FREE! Try me out for free!  What do you have to lose?

See if our Appraiser2X or Founder2X Coaching Programs might be a good fit for you and your appraisal or professional services business.

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I successfully scaled my CRE appraisal professional services business from 6 to 7 figures and sold it in 2022 for 7 figures, all-cash.

That sale of my appraisal business set me totally free financially and gave me the ultimate reward: true time freedom!

If you are willing, able, open-minded, and, most importantly, coachable, I can help you do the same.

Don't wait! Reach out! I truly care!

Calvin Cummings - MAI, Non-Practicing

Email: Calvin at Appraiser2X dot com

Appraiser2X Business Coach