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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Make your small business work for you with this expert guide on entrepreneurship
In the newly revised second edition of Conquer the Chaos, celebrated author and CEO of Keap, a world-leading provider of marketing automation software for small business, Clate Mask, delivers yet another incisive and exciting roadmap to entrepreneurial success for small business owners. The book offers six non-negotiable, must-have strategies for entrepreneurs, as well as an engaging mix of stories, quotes, anecdotes, and examples that highlight businesspeople who have successfully confronted and overcome the daunting challenges that accompany self-employment.
You’ll also find:
- A brand-new section on lifecycle automation and work, as well as work-life balance as a business owner
- How to avoid becoming trapped by your business and, instead, find time, money, and freedom in your entrepreneurial journey
- Strategies to move beyond surviving in your small business and begin growing and evolving
An extraordinary take on small business ownership and entrepreneurship from someone who’s been on the frontlines of a growing company, Conquer the Chaos is a must-have resource for anyone hoping to get more money, more enjoyment, and more flexibility out of their company.
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Seitenzahl: 327
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Preface
HOW THIS BOOK WILL LEAD YOU TO SUCCESS
Part 1: The Entrepreneur's Quest for Success
1 The Entrepreneurial Revolution
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
A BETTER WAY OF LIFE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION DEFINED
THE COVID EFFECT
2 The Quest for Success
THE ENTREPRENEUR'S HIERARCHY OF SUCCESS
THE REAL DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
THE STAGES OF SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH
3 Chaos and the Dark Side of Entrepreneurship
WHAT IS SMALL BUSINESS CHAOS?
THE CHAOS CONTINUES
THE DARK SIDE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
INTRODUCING THE SIX KEYS TO CONQUER THE CHAOS
Part 2: The Personal Keys to Success
4 Mindset
CULTIVATING A MINDSET OF SUCCESS
YOUR EMOTIONAL CAPITAL BANK ACCOUNT
DISCIPLINED OPTIMISM
ENTREPRENEURIAL INDEPENDENCE
5 Vision
WHY AND HOW DOES THE IMBALANCE HAPPEN?
THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE VISION
THE FIVE PARTS OF YOUR LIFE VISION
GUIDELINES FOR LIFETIME GOALS
PUTTING TOGETHER THE VISION PUZZLE PIECES
6 Rhythm
THE RHYTHM OF EXECUTION DEFINED
THE RHYTHMIC HABITS AND SCHEDULE
START SMALL: THE THREE TRANSFORMATIVE HABITS
GOAL SETTING THE SMART WAY
WRAPPING UP THE THREE PERSONAL KEYS TO SUCCESS
Part 3: The Business Keys to Success
7 Strategy
COMPANY STRATEGY
CUSTOMER STRATEGY
THE SEVEN SECRETS TO DOUBLE OR TRIPLE YOUR SALES
8 Automation
WHAT TO AUTOMATE
FROM MANUAL TO AUTOMATED
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU AUTOMATE?
PRO TIPS ON AUTOMATION
9 Leadership
THINK LIKE A CEO
SET THE VISION
BUILD THE TEAM
GET THE RESOURCES
Part 4: Putting the Keys into Practice
10 Changing for Good
THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE
THE EGO TRAPS THAT CATCH ENTREPRENEURS
GUARDING AGAINST EGO TRAPS
11 Keep Going
THE KEEP GOING STORY
KEEP SERVING
KEEP GROWING
FINAL WORDS OF GUIDANCE
Appendix: Keap Small Business Resources
CRM AND MARKETING AUTOMATION SOFTWARE
THE SIX KEYS TO SUCCESS COURSE
SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH ROADMAP
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
References
Suggested Reading List
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
Advertisement
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 The three elements of a revolution.
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Figure 2.2 The Entrepreneur's Hierarchy of Success.
Figure 2.3 The Six Stages of Small Business Growth.
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Small business chaos.
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Our thoughts create our world.
Figure 4.2 Entrepreneurial independence.
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Life Vision.
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 The Rhythm of Execution.
Figure 6.2 The Weekly Winning Worksheet.
Figure 6.3 The three transformative habits (aka the three secrets of success...
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 The Customer Lifecycle.
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 Lifecycle Automation.
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1 Keap's Purpose, Values, and Mission
Figure 9.2 Keap Leadership Model.
Guide
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Preface
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Appendix: Keap Small Business Resources
References
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
Advertisement
Wiley End User License Agreement
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CLATE MASK
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR
CONQUER THE CHAOS
The Six Keys to Success for Entrepreneurs
SECOND EDITION
Copyright © 2024 by Clate Mask. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Mask, Clate, author. | John Wiley & Sons, publisher.
Title: Conquer the chaos : the six keys to success for entrepreneurs / Clate Mask.
Description: Second edition. | Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2024] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023047938 (print) | LCCN 2023047939 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394217380 (hardback) | ISBN 9781394217403 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394217397 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Small business—Management. | Small business—Growth. | Success in business. | Strategic planning.
Classification: LCC HD62.7 .M3797 2024 (print) | LCC HD62.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/06—dc23/eng/20231207
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023047938
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023047939
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Dimitris66/Getty Images
Author Photo: © Allie Renee Photography
To Charisse and our kids, who have seen the ups and downs of entrepreneurship as we have lived it together, every step of the way. I love you guys and I love living our family Mission together. Keep going, keep serving, keep growing.
Foreword
There is nothing more inspiring than sharing a well‐told story of transformation. Especially when it's written by the ones who experienced it as this book describes. And most especially when the transformation of the ones who experienced it led to the transformation of hundreds of thousands who benefited from participating in the outcome of that story.
This book is about such a transformation. The story of Keap.
I'm Michael E. Gerber, creator of the E‐Myth and author of the E‐Myth books—now 34 strong.
I met Clate Mask years ago, when Keap was Infusionsoft. He and his partners had come to a point in their company and their lives when the question was not only what to do, but should we?
In short, the chaos Clate speaks about here had turned into doubt. Doubt about whether their original idea was worth pursuing any longer. I've seen that doubt in the faces of literally tens of thousands of clients of ours at Michael E. Gerber Companies and E‐Myth Worldwide. Not only a state of chaos, but a state of confusion—confusion that puts everything into serious question.
It was just that state that I saw in Clate and his partners when we met. Are we in the right business? Are we doing the right things? Are we really up to this job we've created for ourselves? Is it really worth all the trouble?
I invited them and their senior managers to join me in The Dreaming Room™.
I remember their faces when they were done. It's astonishing when a Dream comes alive in one's day‐to‐day experience. Clarified with a Vision, a Purpose, a Mission. It was astonishing to see the dramatic shift in Clate's state of being, and his partners' as well.
What had brought them together to found Infusionsoft had, in only a few intense days in The Dreaming Room™, amalgamated into a new, visceral understanding that, lost in the chaos, now had somehow become clear, vital, renewing.
They told me as such when we met later on.
It wasn't as though they had discovered something that wasn't there, in Infusionsoft, before—it was that, in the chaos, they'd simply forgotten it.
In The Dreaming Room™, they told me, they remembered it. They remembered why they'd become entrepreneurs. They remembered how it felt there, at the beginning, The extreme joy of it. The extreme delight of going out on their own. The immense pleasure they shared in creating the future, of designing a business to transform the lives of small business owners, to provide their clients with the experience they themselves were living, through the technology they'd been applying so originally, so well.
It was that vitality I saw in Clate's eyes as he spoke to me about what they thought of as the new Infusionsoft. It is that vitality you'll see in Clate's story as you come face to face with your own, as you read what follows here, as you come face to face with your business's reality. As you come face to face with the truth underlying the reason you created your company perhaps not that long ago. And yes, the chaos. And the chaos that clouds it up. And the confusion that comes from that chaos.
It's not only that inevitable confusion that Clate describes so well in this book, but also the intense joy that comes from seeing through it.
There's nothing like a truly great book, I say. Enjoy what follows, because you're reading it!
—Michael E. Gerber
Preface
About 14 years ago, we wrote Conquer the Chaos to teach small business owners how to grow a successful small business without going crazy. The book was a New York Times bestseller, and entrepreneurs all over the world told us how much it helped them. We shared it with our customers and used it as the foundation of what we teach to entrepreneurs. Our company grew to over $100 million in annual sales, with over a hundred thousand users and 2,000 partners who teach and serve our customers. And yet for all the success of the first edition, it was incomplete. Furthermore, some of those original strategies have morphed and needed to be updated as the world changed.
And a lot has changed in 14 years. Digital marketing has become a necessary part of small business success. Work‐life balance is completely different in the new world, with COVID rewriting the rules entirely. And yet work‐life balance is actually tougher for entrepreneurs today than it was 14 years ago. In addition to the market changes, we've learned so much from serving entrepreneurs at Keap. Our methods have evolved. Our products have evolved. Automation has evolved. And now AI is changing everything.
Small business owners need the revised edition of Conquer the Chaos now more than ever. The world has become so chaotic. It is incredibly challenging to grow a successful business when the business dominates your life. The Lifecycle Automation method we've pioneered has been a total game changer for small businesses. The work‐life balance techniques are critical for balanced growth, with business and personal success. The Leadership section comes from years of practicing and teaching a model that creates great results in great places to work. I'm excited to share important updates to the book that will be appreciated by original readers and new readers alike.
This is no minor revision. The six strategies from the first edition have been reworked into the Six Keys to Success. There is more emphasis on the execution of the entrepreneur's life plan and how it ties together with the business strategy. The revised edition is more practical, more concrete, and more balanced in its approach to business and personal success for entrepreneurs. It is born out of lessons learned working with entrepreneurs for another 14 years since my co‐founder and I wrote Conquer the Chaos.
Speaking of my co‐founder, Scott Martineau has taken a product role at Keap so he can focus exclusively on product development for our customers. That's his passion. He liked the idea of a revised edition and he liked even more the idea of not having to co‐write it. He fully supports the Six Keys shared in the book. Scott continues to be a great business partner and friend.
I should also note that Scott's brother, Eric, the other co‐founder of our business, is back at Keap, after leaving the business for a tumultuous season. Such are the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. It's great to have Scott and Eric doing what they love at Keap: building game‐changing—no, life‐changing—products for entrepreneurs and their teams.
The bottom line is, since we wrote Conquer the Chaos about 14 years ago, we've had a lot of experience with the Six Keys to Success. We've never put together all Six Keys and taught them succinctly in one place. We've practiced them ourselves and we've worked with our customers doing the same. We have observed what works and why it works. As we've studied and practiced the Six Keys to Success, we have refined them and distilled them into actionable steps all entrepreneurs can take to improve their business and personal life. We are so excited to share these powerful keys with you.
HOW THIS BOOK WILL LEAD YOU TO SUCCESS
This book does not contain stuffy research or theoretical models that only make sense in a classroom. Each of the Six Keys to Success is based on real‐life entrepreneurship, with practical examples and stories from over two decades of living and teaching this stuff. We live and prove the Six Keys to Success every day, as do our customers and entrepreneurs everywhere, sometimes almost accidentally. Sure, we stumble at times and lose our edge with one Key or another. But we are practitioners of the Six Keys to Success. And we have experienced and seen more than enough results to know these keys work for those who use them to unlock business and personal success.
In Part 1, “The Entrepreneur's Quest for Success,” the first three chapters present the real story of small business ownership. They include the fear, the pain, the ego, the overwhelm and the emotional struggle. They also include the thrill, rewards, and triumph of small business ownership. In Chapter 1, “The Entrepreneurial Revolution,” you'll learn why millions of individuals choose to become entrepreneurs, even though they might know the struggles they'll soon experience.
Chapter 2 lays out the entrepreneur's “Quest for Success.” You'll learn about the Hierarchy of Success, the real definition of success for entrepreneurs, and the stages of small business growth.
In Chapter 3, you'll learn what small business chaos is, why it happens, and how it can block our success or even destroy us as entrepreneurs. We'll cover “The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship” and how it shows up in the extreme, as well as the more subtle ways it affects us if we're not careful. You'll come to realize we can and must conquer the chaos to achieve the success we want as entrepreneurs and we'll introduce the way to do it: the Six Keys to Success for Entrepreneurs.
In Part 2, Chapters 4 through 6 cover “The Personal Keys to Success.” In Chapter 4, we dive into “Mindset”—the one that entrepreneurs must cultivate to win. This is the mental stamina and emotional capital entrepreneurs need to rise above the chaos and discouragement that are commonplace in entrepreneurship. Successful entrepreneurs are intentional about protecting their mindset and fueling their positive energy so they can achieve peak performance.
Chapter 5 covers “Vision.” But we're not talking about the business vision. Here, we're talking about the personal vision entrepreneurs need, the Life Vision that provides meaning and direction to your business pursuits. Building a small business is incredibly demanding. Without a clear Life Vision, the chaos of the business will almost certainly knock your priorities out of whack. Your Life Vision enables you to build a business that serves others while protecting what matters most and propelling you to achieve your most exciting business and personal goals.
Chapter 6 is about “Rhythm,” which rounds out and ties together the three Personal Keys to Success for entrepreneurs. One of the amazing things about entrepreneurship is the “lab for life” the business provides to help you become your best self. This key is about creating a natural and exciting flow in your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual execution, which ties into your Life Vision, to help you become your best self.
In Part 3, “The Business Keys to Success,” Chapters 7 through 9 explore the Business Keys to Success, starting with “Strategy.” Most small businesses start with big goals and dreams, but the daily grind of running a business can douse the flames or diffuse their efforts across too many “priorities.” Successful entrepreneurs have a way of doing the right things at the right time instead of constantly running their business in a reactive, firefighting mode. They know what to say no to. In this chapter, you'll learn how to set your Company Strategy and your Customer Strategy so you can proactively build a successful business.
In Chapter 8, we hit “Automation,” which is the big time‐saver that unlocks the ability to grow the business and maintain an enjoyable lifestyle. As I always say, “The fortune is in the follow‐up.” Lifecycle Automation (LCA) is a proven method for automating the follow‐up process in your Customer Strategy so you can grow sales and save time. Simply put, it's a systematic way to get and keep customers by creating great business relationships. LCA is the great game‐changer for small businesses, making it possible to get off the “trading‐hours‐for‐dollars” hamster wheel and build a profitable, enjoyable business that brings balance to your life through the power of automation.
In Chapter 9, we cover “Leadership,” which makes it possible for entrepreneurs to have great impact and freedom and achieve their highest goals. Many entrepreneurs want to keep the business small because they don't want to lead a team of people. But that limits their income and impact. The truth is, leading your team to achieve a shared vision for the business is a skill any entrepreneur can learn. And when successful business owners learn how to go “from entrepreneur to CEO,” their success and freedom soar.
In Part 4, “Putting the Keys into Practice,” Chapters 10 and 11 show you how to put into practice the Six Keys to create sustainable success. These chapters focus on how to implement the Six Keys, with proven tips and tricks to “keep going, keep serving, and keep growing.”
In these Six Keys to Success for busy entrepreneurs, you will discover there is a better, more productive way to run your business. You'll learn that balanced growth really is possible. And you'll discover that by implementing these Six Keys, you can conquer the chaos, making it possible to find the time, money, control, impact, and freedom to live life on your terms. That's the joy of being an entrepreneur. Let's get started!
Part 1The Entrepreneur's Quest for Success
“The difference between the great and good societies and the regressing, deteriorating societies is largely in terms of the entrepreneurial opportunity and the number of such people in the society. I think everyone would agree that the most valuable 100 people to bring into a deteriorating society would be not 100 chemists, or politicians, or professors, or engineers, but rather 100 entrepreneurs.”
–Abraham Maslow
1The Entrepreneurial Revolution
Mike Callahan is a great entrepreneur. Right out of high school, he started a landscaping business and poured his heart and soul into it. After the normal struggles in the early stages of any business, he began to produce income at levels his friends and family envied. His business was succeeding by all accounts. Soon he married his girlfriend and life was going great.
As the business grew, it demanded more and more of Mike. Not just his time—it demanded his energy, creativity, and passion. He was happily growing the business, feeling a rush of excitement that's hard to describe if you haven't started a business that's succeeding. Most people have no idea what it's like to pour their energy, their finances, and their very identity into a business that struggles early on, starts to show promise, and then produces the cash and satisfaction the entrepreneur always hoped for. It is thrilling!
Mike was living the entrepreneur's dream. But things were out of balance at home. His wife was feeling neglected. So Mike did what most entrepreneurs do when wearing many hats in the business and running a juggling act in their personal lives. Mike did his best to be there for his wife as the business continued to grow. And yet important events were slipping. Little moments and opportunities were lost. Life was all about the business. Hobbies, friends, and personal interests had faded to the background. And Mike's marriage was going downhill.
On Valentine's Day, Mike got the devastating news. His wife was done. She was leaving him, feeling betrayed by Mike and the business he loved. No amount of apology would change her mind. They got divorced, both of their hearts broken by the growing and successful business that was taking more of Mike's time and energy than he ever anticipated.
Unfortunately, Mike's story is not unique. More and more people are drawn to entrepreneurship, as we will discuss in this chapter. They pour their blood, sweat, and tears into creating a successful business. Meanwhile, they are juggling all the responsibilities in their personal lives, trying their best to make it all work.
For some, their struggling business is overwhelming them, causing them to feel trapped and controlled by the business. For others, their successful business is almost an addiction, seducing them to spend every possible moment on the business. Most entrepreneurs are somewhere in between the struggling and successful ends of the spectrum. Nearly all feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. And so they make trade‐offs and sacrifices that flirt dangerously with their health, relationships, and other personal priorities.
There is a better way. This book is about building a great business and a great life, in a balanced way. Too many of us entrepreneurs get caught up in the pursuit of success. And let's be clear: the success is so fun and exciting! And the struggles are demanding and unavoidable. Which is why we entrepreneurs need a guidebook to navigate the Quest for Success.
After 20 years of living it, observing it, and coaching it, this is my heartfelt attempt to guide entrepreneurs through it. If one entrepreneur reads this book and is helped by it, this book will be worth it. My hope is that many will be helped by it, achieving their business dreams in a way that serves and supports their personal lives.
Mike's story has a happy ending. In his sadness and resolve to find a better way to run his lawn care business, he found the Keys to Success. Sometimes he found a key by providence, sometimes by perseverance. It took time, but he found them. And the Six Keys allowed him to become an absentee seven‐figure lawn care business owner and eventually sell the business as a turnkey operation that didn't revolve around him.
Today Mike is killing it in business and his personal life. His new business is coaching landscapers to run a successful business of their own, teaching them these very Keys to Success that he discovered on his journey. He's happily remarried, with the money, time, control, and impact—the true freedom—that entrepreneurs dream of.
Good for Mike! Let's spread that goodness to you and other entrepreneurs as we conquer the chaos using the Six Keys to Success.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
This book is for the entrepreneur who went into business looking for freedom and instead found chaos. This book is for entrepreneurs who feel great tension between their business and their personal life. It's for entrepreneurs who feel trapped, controlled, and consumed by their business, not achieving the success they dreamed of. This book is also for entrepreneurs who are running a successful business but whose personal lives are out of balance. The purpose of this book is to help entrepreneurs build a great business … and a great life.
If you see yourself in this picture, know this: you're in good company. The vast majority of small business owners are either struggling in their business or they're struggling in their personal lives as they pour their energy into a successful business. All the while, entrepreneurs put on a happy face, finding satisfaction in the many wonderful aspects of business ownership. But too often they are sacrificing what matters most—health, relationships, values, and other important life interests.
Over the past two decades, I have become well acquainted with the success and struggle of entrepreneurship. I have personally battled through the trials and celebrated the triumphs. More importantly, I've been fortunate to see up close and personal the stories of countless entrepreneurs—customers, partners, and small business owners around the globe winning in business and life. This is not easy stuff, but it's worth it, if—and that's a big if—the entrepreneur pursues success with a balanced approach.
As the CEO of Keap, I love entrepreneurs, and so do our employees. We love your tenacity, ambition, work ethic, innovation, and creativity. We love your grit and guts to cast aside fear and criticism in order to go out and do something bold and daring that will create a ton of value, bring satisfaction to your souls, and produce opportunity for yourselves and all those you employ. At Keap, our purpose is to “liberate and empower entrepreneurs” so they can strengthen families, communities, and economies.
We love helping entrepreneurs succeed! And we hate seeing entrepreneurs fail. We hate seeing entrepreneurs close their doors. We hate seeing them lose hope. We hate seeing their confidence squashed, financial lives ruined, and relationships shattered. We hate seeing entrepreneurs' creative fire doused when their business or personal life falls apart.
We hate it because we have been there ourselves. And we have shared in the tragedies of far too many entrepreneurs. We feel a tight bond with the entrepreneurs working each day to find the freedom and success that motivated them to start their businesses in the first place.
In the early days of our business, we experienced all of the monumental trials. We felt like quitting nearly every day. We were on the verge of personal bankruptcy, with health and relationship challenges that seemed too much to bear. But gradually, we began to discover the Six Keys to Success. It didn't happen quickly. It actually took many years. But once we discovered and practiced these keys, our business took off. And as we refined the keys over the years, we began teaching them to our customers, finding great satisfaction in their success. We want to spread that success to you.
A BETTER WAY OF LIFE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
In addition to our own experiences, 20‐plus years of working with small business owners brought us to some simple but significant discoveries. We watched the same mistakes being made over and over again. We saw how small businesses achieved success as they applied the Six Keys. And we saw “success” on the outside covering up struggles on the inside. Sure, we saw the triumphs. But we also saw the trials and tragedies brought about by the chaos.
We call the personal tragedies “The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship.” Unfortunately, the nature of business is that it frequently whips the entrepreneur around, creating chaos that often leads to ugly results in the business and personal lives of entrepreneurs. These aren't just unfortunate business consequences.
The personal consequences are dangerous and sometimes tragic: leading in the extreme to death, divorce, or destruction, and more commonly to depression, drinking, and drugs to cope with it all. Think I'm being too dramatic? Perhaps. Just know that, almost always, there is imbalance, neglect, and regret with respect to personal health, relationships, and finances. That is not okay and it needs to be addressed. Entrepreneurship is awesome. And we want you to enjoy it without experiencing the heavy toll it can take when the entrepreneur does not have life balance.
We've all seen ultra‐successful entrepreneurs—from a business standpoint—who are not “winning” when it comes to family, friends, health, and personal balance. Well, it's not just the high‐profile entrepreneurs who suffer from this problem. Sadly, it's common across the millions of entrepreneurs in the world. This imbalance is why I'm so passionate about the revised edition of Conquer the Chaos.
Over the years, we have learned that the keys to conquer chaos and build a successful business and life are not unique to one industry, company, or business owner. Success is determined by practicing predictable, repeatable, simple actions. But not just any actions—the right actions.
We also learned over the years that success in business doesn't really matter if the entrepreneur's personal life is a mess. What's the point of more time, money, and control if you don't like yourself or your family resents you or your health is lousy? Balanced growth. Business and personal success—the kind of success that brings great fulfillment to the entrepreneur. That's what we want for entrepreneurs. Because if it's just about business success, well, it probably won't last long. And even if it does, it's not worth the personal regret that comes with it.
I've lived this balancing act as we grew our business from zero to over $100 million in annual sales. I've been in countless masterminds, user groups, and conferences observing the very real struggle for business and personal success, brushing up against the Dark Side of Entrepreneurship too many times. I've made my share of mistakes in the balancing act, trust me. I've seen far too many friends err on the side of business success. And I know there's a better way. I know it. It is my mission in business to help entrepreneurs find that better way. This is why I'm so passionate about sharing this book with you.
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION DEFINED
I'm also passionate about this because so many more people are joining the ranks of entrepreneurship. They need guidance to conquer the chaos and avoid the Dark Side of Entrepreneurship.
By the time you finish reading this chapter, 190 people will have started their own business. If you read the entire book straight through, another 2,200 business owners will have started a business. And that's in the United States alone. Entrepreneurship is exploding all around us. Once considered a profession for a few rare, risk‐taking, perhaps eccentric souls, entrepreneurship is now a widely respected profession.
Certainly, as an entrepreneur, you've noticed the growing interest in business ownership. You have friends who are entrepreneurs. Perhaps a brother, aunt, or cousin has started a business. Your neighbor down the street owns her own business. And it seems like nearly everyone has a side hustle of some sort, gearing up for the point when they can quit the day job and go all in on their business.
At the time of this book's first publication 14 years ago, the entrepreneurial revolution had clearly started. But today, the revolution is in full force and has completely changed the landscape of the business world. What's driving the revolution?
For any revolution to occur, three factors must be present. (See Figure 1.1.) Within the last few years, the same factors that led to political revolutions made their way into the economy, creating fertile ground for the entrepreneurial revolution. These three factors are:
A loss of security
A power shift
The promise of something better
ANY REVOLUTION
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION
Loss of Security
No Representation
Corporate Distrust
Power Shift
Continental Congress
The Internet
Promise of Something Better
The Declaration of Independence
The Overnight Success Story
Figure 1.1 The three elements of a revolution.
The Loss of Security: Corporate Distrust
In generations past, many folks spent their entire careers at a single company, retiring after 40 years of dedicated service to someone else. To these folks, long‐term employment with the company was the safe, wise, stable thing to do. If you wanted to get ahead in life, you worked nine to five in a predictable and stable environment, your employer took care of you over the course of your career, and you received a nice retirement plan when it was time to call it quits.
Now, however, the days of loyal employment are over. Working 40 years for the same company is practically unheard of. College graduates don't expect to work for the same company their whole lives, and workers of all ages want a variety of opportunities and career challenges. Corporations simply don't provide the safety and stability perceived by generations past. Furthermore, bad corporate behavior has created corporate distrust. Stories of corporate scandals, shareholder fraud, and downsizing are the norm, sowing the seeds of distrust and breeding cynicism toward corporations.
As a result of this corporate distrust, more and more workers are seeking ways to create their own stability. They start businesses from dorm rooms, spin up side hustles, and scan the market for opportunities to generate extra income. In short, due to corporate distrust, more and more workers are leaning toward entrepreneurship. And the second ingredient needed to create a revolution is what gives them ample opportunity.
The Power Shift: The Internet Age
If you had to sum up the one big thing driving the entrepreneurial revolution, it is the age of the Internet. In the past 20 years, the Internet changed everything, igniting the revolution. And now advanced web technologies on our phones are accelerating the revolution, completely shifting power to the individual.
The Internet:
Allows people to work from anywhere
Gives open access to information and artificial intelligence
Connects people and opportunities through social media
Makes it possible for anyone to profit from their expertise
Puts the power of automation in the hands of the little guy
Lets entrepreneurs transact online, anywhere, anytime
Opens up a global market our parents could never have imagined
And those are just a few of the ways the Internet age is shifting the power to the individual. For the entrepreneur, this shift in power puts small business ownership more easily within reach. It opens up a world of possibilities that simply weren't possible in the past.
So we love the Internet age. We love the value and opportunity it provides entrepreneurs. And we love the entrepreneurial revolution that is happening all around us because of it. But before we get carried away praising the Internet age, I'd like to issue one word of warning. As much as we love the Internet age, its technologies are a massive contributor to the chaos. More on that later.
The Promise of Something Better: The Overnight Success Story
Before we jump into the promise that sparks the revolution, let's do a little lesson in United States history. Trust me, this history lesson applies to the entrepreneurial revolution and it also applies to your specific business as an entrepreneur.
The Fourth of July, celebrated as Independence Day in the United States, is not the day the United States won its freedom. The American Revolution had only just begun on July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. We celebrate the declaration in the United States, even though that declaration occurred long before independence was actually won.
