As professionals and top executives, we have to understand that no matter how brilliant we are in our professional area, we are not superheroes and we cannot do everything by ourselves. So during the planning process for your own business, try to understand what skill sets you need, then build your team. You might think this would cost a lot of money. Not necessarily. There are a lot of people out there who would love to collaborate, so dare to share your ideas and exchange resources.
Let’s recap what we learnt about levers in school. In physics terms, a lever is something (usually a long bar) which is pivoted on a fulcrum. The lever helps you move or open something. Now, imagine a business lever. The object you want to move is your goal, you want to take your dream from the ground up. You are the fulcrum and the lever is centered on you. The lever itself consists of the people and resources you have at your disposal. As a general rule, the longer the lever, the easier and faster it will be to achieve results.
Leverage comes when you are able to take advantage of other people’s work, time, experience, ideas and money in order to progress in your business. Taking advantage of these things does not mean that the other parties are at a loss, but just the opposite. You and your team must be able to work on the same goal based on your vision and each person can contribute. Alone, you will never be able to do in two hours what two people could do in one hour. The more people you add to the mix, the greater your leverage when you can combine these skills and resources into achieving one common purpose.
Leverage is the key to speed in business. This is also why it is often quicker and easier for big businesses to make a change than it is for smaller ones. Yes, business decisions take longer in big businesses but when something needs to get done, they have the resources, workforce and experience to be able to do it quickly.
If you try to work alone, you will always be limited by your own skills and expertise. Successful entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford understood the power of leveraging off of those around you. Ford said: “I am not the smartest, but I surround myself with competent people.” The founder of the auto manufacturer understood that he could not achieve his dream alone. He invested in other people and leveraged off of their talents. Today, Ford Motors is one of the largest global auto manufacturers as a result.
Business guru and motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Spending time with talented people increases your “average” and thus also your likelihood to succeed and succeed faster.
This is also how I started off my business Fiesta Wedding: I actually knew nothing about wedding planning, but one day I met an accountant friend who holds various wedding planning qualifications; he asked for my collaboration, and I said, “why not?” I could leverage his expertise and skills in doing the wedding coordination while I focused on sales and marketing to attract the brides. So we filled one another’s gaps and shared the wedding profit. This was also a great opportunity to grow my jewelry business by setting up a bridal collection.
You can also leverage your existing circumstances and resources. For example, the internet provides a tremendous amount of leverage. If you are online, you have access to thousands of people who could become potential partners, employees or clients. You have a huge leverage over somebody who may not have an internet connection and is thus limited to his/her physical reach and surroundings.
Another powerful leverage tool is having a mentor. Someone who has been where you are and tried to establish a business will know the pitfalls, struggles and obstacles. They will be able to guide and advise you so that you can avoid common mistakes and achieve success faster.
From the above, we can deduce that there are three forms of leverage – a team, network and a mentor. These three types of people provide different forms of leverage which can together fast track your path towards success. Have some names of people in mind already? Shoot them an email and leverage as much as you can. You’ll be amazed at how many people will step forward to offer assistance; that’s how you can grow your business.
