3 Types of Business Owner, which one are you?

Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on October 28. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.

I spoke at a conference this weekend; it was a naked audience.

I call them a naked audience because that’s what they were to me.

They actually had clothes on, but they’d never been let loose on me, nor I on them.

I’m frustrated at the moment, so I was all in.

I let loose with my opinions on entrepreneurship and the economy.

Why not? I think we’re making terrible economic decisions as a country right now, and frankly, I feel like an aggrieved farmer—I feel like joining them on strike when they pile their tractors into London.

I don’t need to be in a pub for anyone to listen to me; I’m wild with anger at the decisions being made and feel like street corners may be an option if we keep going.

Only two weeks ago, I found out I had two new shareholders in my business: Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer.

Listen to this deal and tell me what you’d do: I put in all the money and take all the risk, while they get all the cream and leave me, and probably you, with tuppence ha’penny.

I’m over the moon about it. I’m sure you are too, said Mr Irony.

Back to my naked audience. After all, the government has pulled our pants down and ripped the shirts off our backs…

The audience wanted to know how we could move the dial of success in our favour.

That’s the secret sauce that this congregation of 400 people demanded, and I wanted to deliver for them, even if my outlook is less rosy than it was a mere few weeks ago.

The medication for great success? Here it is…

How we think really is so important - more important than you may realise.

This thought was thrust to the forefront of my mind by the questions asked of me during the keynote.

My thinking is probably why I get ahead.

One of my points from my swagger on stage was this:

“The bigger you think, the more distinct advantage you gain.”

Most people just think too small, looking for shortcuts and quick results.

They don’t exist, other than maybe Ozempic, which seems to be going around more than cups of tea these days.

(this really does work—I met a friend for coffee the other day; he used to look like John Candy, now he looks like Celine Dion. I was waiting for him to bust out a hit as he stood behind the microphone stand, but I could no longer see him—yes, it worked that much).

People will do all they can to avoid toughness - employment and team building being firmly in position 1.

My solution to this catalogue of tax rises is to get bigger and better.

Grow your way out of this—same as always.

Find brilliant people and get them on board.

The questions flow as they always do: “James, how do you manage to do all these things you do?”

The answer is—I don’t.

I live by the mantra “who, not how.”

I think—who can I get to help me with this, who’s better than me, whose 10,000 hours of mastery can I incorporate into my orchestra?

I’m really a conductor—nothing more.

To back up my thinking, I received a chart from a close friend this week on how people think, or more importantly, how they behave.

I applied this theory to my understanding of business owners and the levels I think they can rise to. I call this theory “The Entrepreneurs Pyramid.” Anyone who comes to my seminars will know that I want people to rise up the Entrepreneurs Pyramid and reach the top 5%, which I refer to as “Investorpreneurs.”

I dislike the lower, middle, and upper-class analogy commonly used; however, there really are three types of business owners, too:

1. Solo-preneurs
2. Entrepreneurs
3. Investor-Preneurs.

Depending on your habits and behaviours, that determines where you land.

Eighty percent do the same thing day in, day out, never employ anyone, and therefore are solopreneurs.

Entrepreneurs in the middle, usually middle-class, manage money and typically turn a lot of it.

Wealthy people—or as I prefer to call them, Investor-Preneurs—use money to invest and make profits with the intention of investing.

See the behaviour pattern?

Let’s try another.

Social status:

Solopreneurs - say a plumber or a hairdresser—desire inclusion.

Entrepreneurs - Builds a hair salon and employs people seeks self-sufficiency as a social status.

The Investor-Preneur - Builds a chain of hairdressing salons with a brand, that's a commercially profitable enterprise that works without them in it, they exclude themselves from worrying about what others think; they tend to have a tight circle of friends.

And lastly - Destiny.

The bottom of the pyramid relies on fate; the next level, the entrepreneur makes a choice about what they desire.

The step up, is that wealthy people at the top, have changed their thinking to expect it and will make it happen at a higher level.

Recapping here: Fate vs Desire vs Expectation.

Make your expectations higher, and you will have more.

My expectation is to help more people become super successful against all the odds they face.

I’ll be disappointed if I don’t help more people.

My expectation is that I will succeed in helping you.

Lastly, I’ll tell you what’s close to my heart at the moment: my left lung.

James,

PS. If you’d like to come to my next event, I’m doing a whole day on buying companies. You can get your tickets here.

Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on October 28. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.