Consultant, Freelancer, Entrepreneur vs. Building a Business

Filed in archive Start Up on March 29, 2007

Michael from Small Business Branding has an interesting article titled "Forget Freelancer. Think Savvy Solopreneur." The part I am pulling out to comment on is:

You don't have to start big, but you do have to start thinking that you're building a business that has real value. A business that someone, someday may want to pay you for the opportunity to take off your hands. A business that you can pass on to your children when you're ready to retire. A business that will be here long after you've left the party.

There is a huge difference between being a freelancer, practitioner, entrepreneur and building a business. Building a business is a lot of hard work and is completely different from making enough money to pay the bills as a consultant, freelancer, or entrepreneur. A business can survive your exit whether it be by retirement, death, or disability. Whereas a practice is what I call a small, small business created for the sole purpose of employing yourself. Without you the business is not sustainable.

Other Options

A popular thing in the online community these days is to "productize" yourself to create passive income. To create videos, CD's, books etc. that you can sell. While that is a good thing to do not every service can be transformed into a product. There are other options, for example:

• Get Your Own 'Apprentice': You do not have to be Donald Trump or have a prime time TV show to find good people. You can hire a protege, someone you feel has long term potential and are willing to train to slowly take over your business.


• Leverage Your Experience: Hire and train others to do what you do, then you make money or an override on what they sell. If things go really well they can take over 80% of your business, you enjoy retirement while you maintain a small but select clientele.


• Transform the Business: Another proven tactic is to reinvest your profits into real estate or a building that you house your business within. You build assets and wealth in your real estate holdings.

Before you write and suggest that this sounds like the kettle calling the pot black - since it would appear that I have 'productized' myself via books - you need to understand my intent. My life goal is to make a difference in the world and one of the ways I do that is through sharing what I have learned in business through my books. Writing books will not make anyone really rich. It is what I have learned about myself as a result of writing the books, which is going to make me rich.

Stay tuned and lets see how it all works out. :)

Q. Need the number of a business coach that "get's it?"

A. Download Greg's contact info for future reference.