Happy belated 4th of July! I just got back from vacation with my family, but I spent a lot of time reflecting on how blessed we are as entrepreneurs to do literally whatever we want. A lot of people work for themselves because they want to be their own boss and have more control over their lives. It is important to remember, though, that there are other benefits to being a business owner. All the way down to choosing exactly what we do and don’t do, who we work with, and when we work. This is true freedom. When you start your own business, you can do whatever you want with it. You will never have another person telling you what hours or days you need to work again. But I want to discuss how to use leverage to your advantage in business, and life to create true freedom.

What is Leverage?

When it comes to your personal life and business, leverage is all about using  what you already have to create more. It’s about using what you’ve got and multiplying it by 100%.

Financial leverage: The art of leveraging your business for freedom entails using other people’s money to obtain rewards. A business can use two financial tools, debt financing and investment, to increase its leverage. By leveraging your capital, you stand to make more money but increase your debt. Your best bet is to keep a low financial leverage ratio for greater stability.

Operating leverage: The business owner can operate with a higher level of independence in some cases by leveraging their operating expenses. To understand the impact of fluctuations in revenue for your business, divide your fixed costs by your variable ones. Low operating leverage means you lose less money overall even when revenue decreases.

Time leverage: Time is the scarcest resource – yet we all trade it away every day when we go to work. Time for what? We need time to think, time for markets, and more importantly time with our family. In order to attain true freedom, time leverage is one of the most important types of leverage to consider. It means using other people’s time to do your work, and thereby freeing up more hours in the day. Getting better at utilizing other people’s time and technology can increase your time surplus.

Personal leverage: One way to improve your personal freedom is to leverage the relationships you have. When you hang around the right people long enough, they might just help you get things done!  A good place to start is by leveraging your personal network. A strong social circle can be the best access point for getting what you want in life, and many of them will have their own networks that they can leverage as well. This type of relationship-based business strategy often builds more trust than just a cold call.

Leverage is something that you already have within yourself. When you leverage your resources, they grow and multiply. This defined leverage facilitates momentum to the top, where you’re able to achieve anything you want.

Benefits of Leverage

Leverage is a strategy that maximizes the effectiveness of your achievements and minimizes the cost of your mistakes.

Build Your Wealth: Leveraging your business for freedom means building wealth in a sustainable way so that you can have the financial security to do what you want. If you need to get more for less, then leverage is the way to go. Investing can provide a return on your money, but leveraging your investments means that you can sometimes use one investment to create multiple results.

Grow Your Business: Leveraging your business can free up more of your time and money to find efficiencies, get new information, and grow your company. 

Increase Your Productivity: Leveraging your time, connections and more helps you be more efficient, boost productivity and achieve your goals faster.

What You Can Do to Use the Power of Leverage in Your Business

People who are able to use their skills or knowledge for multiple tasks will be much better off than those who work at a single job all day long. Leveraging your business is about using what you have to get more of it.

The best way to do this is by investing in yourself and your business – something that can provide opportunities for income generation as well as growth potential.  For example, if you want to increase the time available for your family or friends, consider measuring productivity away from time-based activities to task-based activities, so that you can complete more in less time. Plus, this frees you up to receive bigger rewards as well.

Marketing expert Jay Abraham promotes leverage marketing as a foundational principle of business success. The main goal is to maximize your company’s performance. How does this work in practice? A fundamental strategy is to focus on the key drivers of exponential results, and then you can improve your competitive advantage by leveraging:

• Marketing – One of the best ways to implement the concept of leverage in business is by creating a world-class marketing strategy. With the right marketing strategy, you can use the same amount of effort to have a larger impact. When looking for inspiration for your new approach, take a look at other companies and teams doing similar things.
• Business Plan – Your business plan is an interactive tool to get you from point A to point B. To find success as an entrepreneur, set clear goals and anticipate any challenges that may arise. Remember to be flexible and adaptable so you can react to change appropriately.
• (Human) Capital – The business capital of any company comes from three main sources: human, intellectual and financial. Understanding how to leverage these relationships is essential for staying afloat not just in the world but also with your company.Invest in the people you employ, both your staff as well as your customers, with a customer-centric focus. Ensure that they have the resources and training to do their jobs passionately. Foster a culture of innovation that values relationships – this will result in higher profits.
• Business Model – Your business model is your strategy for engaging your target market. It’s an important part of leverage because a business model allows you to have a major impact, no matter how small the change may be. Evaluating a business model can be challenging because it entails an analysis of both the external environment and your own needs.
• Your Products and Services – Flexibility is king. In order to run a successful business, do whatever needs to be done in terms of adapting product or service for customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

The best way to be free is by leveraging your time, connections and more.  It’s all about using what you have to get more of it – investing in yourself and your business will result in higher profits as well as an increased sense of freedom.

Are you ready to learn how to leverage the resources at your disposal even better? Schedule a breakthrough call today.