One of the reasons I write articles and share on twitter and do podcasts is to document all the things I was never taught when getting into business ownership. There’s so much to learn that no one teaches you but that you can pick up along the way if you simply pay attention. One of those things I’ve learned is the three levels of entrepreneurship, which is less about doing something than about changing the way that you think.
Level 1 Entrepreneurship: Survival Mode
Congratulations, you’ve started or bought a business and are in the game. But the reality is that you probably own a job. Now, owning a job is a significant upgrade from working a job, but it’s still a way from owning a business.
At this level you might be “ramen profitable” but aren’t exactly going for weekends away at some place flashy. That’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. Unless you stay at this level.
Staying at this level leads to disillusionment and business death. Once you’ve got your bearings and you’re surviving, it’s time to level up.
Level 2 Entrepreneurship: Secret Sauce Mode
This is where your business starts to differentiate itself from the crowd. In remote local businesses I’ve often said that a differentiator can be as simple as picking up the phone! Think creatively about how to level up your business:
- Lower your costs and find efficiencies
- See if you can improve your customer service
- Take some steps to market better
The faster you can make moves and differentiate your Level 1 business, the faster you can move here.
Some have characterized this as developing a secret sauce, and I agree, to an extent, the extent being that there’s no reason to only have one secret sauce. Develop as many secret sauces as you can. Those sauces will differentiate you and prep you for Level 3…
Level 3 Entrepreneurship: Beast Mode
I’m definitely not at Level 3 yet, but I’m attempting to get there. One way to get there is to operate your business at scale, as with franchising (cough cough MaidThis Franchise) or by creating departments and divisions in your team that give you space to add the most value in your company.
In one sense this is simple delegation: get rid of time-intensive tasks that you aren’t the best person in the company to do.
In another sense, this is focusing on where you really shine. More than delegating away tasks, it’s about choosing the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks that help you create real freedom and wealth not just for you, but for your team members.
Another frame for this level that I love is, “Becoming the dumbest person in my company.” By hiring the best to lift up every part of our company, you no longer rely on your subject matter expertise in any given area, creating a single point of failure that could be disastrous should you even just get sick for a bit, which people have been getting these days.
Welcome to the Game of Entrepreneurship. Looking forward to seeing you at Level 3. And hey, you might beat me there!
Photo by Luke White on Unsplash
This article was written by Neel from MaidThis Franchise, a remote-local franchise opportunity for people looking to escape the rate race and reach financial freedom. Learn more here.
