Me and Emma had a bust-up last night while watching some trash TV.
‘SAS Who Dares Wins.’
Now I like to consider myself pretty resilient….
… And at the moment, thanks to some additional HiT, my fitness is on the mark too.
So as we watched these folks trudging through the jungle, I confidently declared:
“Em, I could do that.”
Her response – while laughing so loudly she nearly spat out her drink.
“Charlie, you could never be in the military. You H-A-T-E being told what to do.”
Oh yeah.
Forgot about that.
And she’s right…
… I place the highest value on freedom and autonomy.
It’s why I set up on my own in the first place.
Yet despite that, in the beginning, I got it all WRONG…
Eight years building a business that was a prison of my own making and a noose around my own neck.
Something that was killing my autonomy instead of creating it.
What I didn’t know back then, was that when it comes to this game that we call business, there are actually three things that kill autonomy like nothing else.
Three things have stood the test of time and consistently stopped men from scaling up.
So let’s break them down:
No. 1: The arsehole belief that ‘my business is different.’
As a wise man once said…
“Ain’t nothing new under the sun. Only the weather changes.”
The fact of the matter is, just like all men bleed the same, all businesses make money the same.
By selling…
…By fulfilling what was promised.
… And by creating happy customers that spend again (and again).
See “different” is a dangerous assumption to have.
It leaves you shackled by fear.
Fear of rocking the boat.
Fear of breaking the mould.
And a fear of stepping up.
It’s why a man in fear can never really be free, because fear eats autonomy and freedom for breakfast.
Which brings me onto…
No. 2: Putting customers first.
Sure you need them.
… B-U-T that doesn’t mean they are always right or should always be put to the top of the pile.
The thing is, if you give most an inch they will take a mile – meaning:
- They want you available 24/7
- They want more than what’s agreed
- They want to question the price (more than once)
… And they want to pay you late and never on time.
It’s why when autonomy is the name of the game, you would be wise to keep all customers and clients on a tight leash.
After all, it’s you’re business and you get to conduct it on your terms.
It’s also why every 3 months I ruthlessly run “The Purge.”
To squash revolts and kill any client calls for me to bend the knee.
The point being, if they don’t play by my rules, they gotta go.
…Even if they are paying me a small fortune.
With me?
Good.
No. 3: Being a slave to industry norms
American psychologist Rollo May said it best:
“The opposite of courage in our society is NOT cowardice … it is CONFORMITY.”
Arguably the biggest reason for so many failures in this game today…
Most would rather conform with competitors than succeed by standing out.
The all to common trend of the blind following the blind.
It’s why if my experience has taught me anything, it’s that nine times out of ten, if everyone is going left, you would always be wise to go right.
… Especially if you value your time and your money.
Anyway.
… There you have it.
The three things that stop autonomy and scale dead in their tracks.
And the three things that when I acknowledged, accepted and avoided now allow me to pretty much live as I choose – while still operating multiple businesses at scale.
The thing is, I’m not the only one.
Behind my closed doors, this happens over and over again.
Case in point, Chris who refused to conform to industry norms, by sacking all nine of his employees and engineers – overnight.
… While his competitors continue to clamber on as “normal,” he’s doubled his capacity, doubled his turnover and more than doubled his profitability – without any employees.
And he’s not the only one.
Last month alone there was also:
… Alan and his brother who scaled to 105k month with 30k profit in their two-man operation.
… Paul from N. Wales who scaled to 115k month for the first time ever with his small five-man team.
… John who scaled to 48k month with three employees in his irrigation business.
… And Steve who scaled to 76k month with just one other member of staff.
All while ruthlessly putting autonomy and freedom first and above all else.
So, if on the back of this, you too want more autonomy while still pushing to 1M+ then here is what to do next:
- Read the page below
- Fill in the application
- Let’s talk
https://www.theonemanempire.com/discover-more/
Make More. Provide More. Be More.
Charlie Hutton
