EP 029: Building Wealth When the Economy Sucks

Earlier this week I got a phone call from a friend and fellow business owner in panic.

“It’s all going to shit.
Have you seen what is happening?
Are you selling off everything?”

They had just signed the contract on an investment property.
They now wanted to pull out because of what is going on in the economy.

I listened intently and then asked:
“Who have you been spending time with?”

They replied:
“I caught up with some friends and family on the weekend. Why?”

I then asked:
“Do you want to end up like them?”

They replied:

“No”

I said:
“Then stop listening to them!
What makes them qualified to have these views?
If they don’t have the results you want in your life, ignore them.
Go find the people who have the result you want and see what they are doing.”

And I hung up the phone.

The next morning I got a text message that had one word on it.
“Thank-you”

It was a huge reminder that we need to be careful of the inputs in our life.
○ Information
○ People
○ Food

Poor inputs = Poor outputs

If you put the wrong fuel in a car you wouldn’t expect it to run well.
The same is true for us.

In this week’s episode:
○ Building wealth in challenging times
○ Building emotionally fitness

Prefer to listen or watch?

You can hear Grant and I discuss these topics in more detail on the podcast
Click here to tune in: https://linktr.ee/businessandinvestingcom

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COMMUNITY QUESTIONS

How to build wealth in challenging times?

Something that really concerns me is that most business owners think they can only make money when the economy is good.

If it’s a bull market then it’s okay for you to make money and have a thriving business.

But, If there is a recession or a downturn it means they must have a recession also.

Really important point.

What’s going on in the WORLD economy and what is going on in YOUR economy do not have to match.

What surprises a lot of people is that recessions are often when the largest transfers of wealth happen.

It’s often when market share is taken by those who are paying attention to the economic environment.

Let me give you some examples.

1) On the back of the 2008 GFC (Global Financial Crisis) many restaurants struggled as people cut back on spending.

But, Mcdonald’s thrived by offering “budget-friendly value meals.”

2) In 2020 an accountant in my local area shifted his strategy when he noticed that small business owners needed help getting access to pandemic government grants.

He could see that getting new accounting clients would be tough in the environment.

So, he shifted to being a specialist in Government grants.

His office is now twice the size it was the year before.

When the environment changes, so do what works!

It’s kind of like the seasons.

In summer it makes sense to use the A/C to keep your body temperature comfortable.
In winter if you use that strategy it will only make things worse. (much worse)

In winter it’s a far better idea to use a heater or thermal clothing to keep your body temperature comfortable.

The strategy you use to keep your body at an ideal temperature changes based on the season.

Bull markets, bear markets and sideways markets are just different seasons.

The strategies your business uses need to change as the economic seasons change.

One thing we know is that the seasons will keep on changing.

A better way to approach things is by developing the skills required as a business owner to do well in any season.

Not only that…

It pays to make sure you are informed of what season we are in and where we are heading as an economy.

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COMMUNITY QUESTIONS

How to become emotionally fit to run a business?

This topic hits home.

The first few years I was in business I wasn’t emotionally fit to be a business owner.

I was a hot head and an absolute mess when it came to managing my emotions.

When things were good in business I was ecstatic and excited.
The best person to be around.

When things were not going good…
I was not good to be around at all.

I was on the emotional rollercoaster.

It was hard on those around me also.
My wife, friends and teammates all paid a tax for having me in their life.

It got to the point when I had to say enough is enough.
I didn’t like who I was becoming and could see it was limiting my success.

I decided to hire a personal development coach.
Someone to mentor me and guide me on becoming emotionally fit.

My desire was to be one of those people that it doesn’t matter what’s going on around me, I will always be the coolest-headed person in the room.

Never reacting and only responding intentionally to the situation at hand.

Kinda like Gus Fring from the TV series “Breaking Bad”.

After 12 months of intense training, the payoff was huge.

The emotionally fit version of myself was able to reach much higher levels in business and with my wealth.

Even today, people often quote how calm I am in challenging times.

Here is one of the key concepts that helped me.

I hope it is helpful for you also.

In every perceivable bad situation, there is GOOD.
And in every perceivable good situation, there is BAD.

Something the 20-year-old version of myself had not considered.

Here is an example:

When a key team member resigned from my company I was gutted.
I felt betrayed and pissed off after investing so much in training them.

Where was the loyalty?

However, their resignation got me to level up my recruiting skills and I was able to get someone better for the role.

3 months later we are doing better than ever + I have improved a key business skill.

So was it really a good or bad thing?

For me, the realisation that I need challenging times to become the level of business owner I want to be was a big shift.

A challenging time might be the very thing that leads to a big breakthrough in your own success.

I strongly encourage all business owners to work on their emotional fitness.

If you want to hear more on this topic and learn some of the other concepts that helped me…

It’s worth listening to the podcast episode as I go much deeper.

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BE ON THE LOOKOUT

Investment Breakdowns

In the coming weeks, I am going to do some more investment breakdowns on the podcast.

As both Grant and I have been making some moves that others are asking about.

But, more on that another time.



DISCLAIMER:
All information we share is NOT financial or investment advice and is purely intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. Always seek professional advice before acting on any financial decision https://linktr.ee/businessandinvestingcom