Rule 1, Reinvest Your Profits
Buffet admits that he learned this early on, as early as high school. But not all of us learned this lesson so early in life, and many people have a difficult time with the concept. However, it’s true. Have you ever heard the saying, you have to spend money to make money? Reinvesting your profits back into your business in the form of marketing can help you scale as you’ve never known you could.
Rule 2, Be Willing to Be Different
Who wants to work with a company that’s just like all the others? Instead, be different. Figure out something that you can offer that stands out against your competition–something that matters to your customers–then you’ll have handfuls of happy, raving clients ready to spread your word. Be different with your marketing too–more bold and unique than your competitors.
Rule 3, Never Suck Your Thumb
This rule is about being decisive and making decisions quickly. According to Buffet, any unnecessary sitting and thinking is called “thumb-sucking.” If you hesitate and spend a lot of time trying to make the “perfect choice,” it can waste both time and money. Instead, do a little research, ask a friend, and trust your intuition and go with what feels right.
Rule 4, Spell Out the Deal Before You Start
Before selling anything–services or products–make it very clear to a client what they will get. No negative surprises mean happy, willing customers. Being up-front about how your product or services works and then meeting or even exceeding expectations will keep clients happy and help you grow.
Rule 5, Watch Small Expenses
Spending unnecessarily on the small things ADDS UP. In marketing, keep an eye on your ROI (return on investment) for each marketing strategy and piece of tech you use. For example, if you are paying $149 per month on a webinar platform with features you don’t use, switching to a cheaper option makes sense. If it’s not giving you a return on your investment, it might be time to nix that expense.
Rule 6, Limit What You Borrow
There’s a wonderful freedom to being debt-free. Many companies need rounds of funding to start up, but according to Buffet, you should be doing everything you can yourself before borrowing from a lender, or trying to get debt-free as soon as possible.
Rule 7, Be Persistent
Persistence is one of the most important traits you can have as an entrepreneur or businessperson. Some of the most successful people in the world heard “no” tens if not hundreds of times before things started coming together. You only really fail if you give up.
Rule 8, Know When To Quit
But sometimes, it’s still okay to quit. Be persistent unless something is hurting your mental health, physical health, or sucking away money with no chance of ROI.
Rule 9, Assess the Risks
Every decision you make has different levels of risk involved. Some risks have higher returns, others don’t. Thinking about what type of risk each scenario has will help you make more informed decisions. In the words of our client StratiFi, “Know Risk, More Reward.”
Rule 10, Know What Success Really Means
There are two ways to approach this. From a business standpoint, it’s important to create benchmarks and record your stats so you can measure how successful you are.
From a personal standpoint, deciding on what success looks like will help you be happier with where you’re at. Success could mean making $1M per year, or it could mean giving back to your community or having your loved ones around you. It could mean being able to travel while working, or supporting a certain lifestyle.
Knowing what success means to YOU will enrich your life and help you find eudaimonia–your own unique state of joy and prosperity.
