The First Real Iron Man And How To Change Any Game With Consistency

Cal Ripken Jr. played major league baseball for a very long time.  There are a lot of people who can make this claim.  What no one else in the world can say is that they played in 2,632 straight games.  Ripken did not miss a baseball game for the equivalent of 16 straight seasons.  He showed up daily regardless of injury, illness, or personal circumstances.  His career is synonymous with the term consistency.

Even if you don’t like baseball, you have probably heard of the streak.  What a lot of non-baseball fans may not know is that besides being an ironman, he also changed how his position was played.  At the time, most shortstops were small and fast.  Ripken, coming in at 6’4” and 225 pounds, added the dimension of the long ball.  He paved the way for all of the power-hitting shortstops who would have careers after him.  

Ripken’s ability to consistently show up with excellence changed the game in more ways than one.

What Every New Business Has In Common

At game 1 of Ripken’s streak, no one had any idea that he would be able to play another 2,631 games but we still talk about him because of his amazing consistency.  There is no telling how many other guys have tried to complete streaks of their own.  Even if we did, they wouldn’t get talked about.  There is no history to look at with admiration.  Failed businesses are like that as well.  Forgotten, with no track record to speak of.

Did you know that 95% of new businesses fail within five years?  One of the biggest reasons is because, by definition, they have to go from zero to one.  They don’t have a track record to help persuade other people to purchase their product, experience, or service.  

Unfortunately, you can’t just go out and buy a track record if there isn’t one.  It has to be built day in and day out, just like Ripken’s streak.  Once a history has been established, however, it becomes a huge asset that can be bought or sold.  Most new business owners fail to understand the importance of this simple concept and the consistency it requires.

The Three Reasons Businesses Fail

A successful track record requires three things: testimonials, product sales, and a customer base.  What most people don’t realize is that it takes a huge effort to get momentum in even one of these areas, let alone all three.  If you have never done something before you will make mistakes.  This is true for new business owners as well and results in inefficiencies for the building phase.  If you are not incredibly mentally tough, it is very easy to become inconsistent.  This is one of the core reasons 95% of businesses fail within 5 years.  

Some people get discouraged by this.  I get excited about it because I know that although I can’t control how talented I am, I can control if I show up every day.

Once you settle that you have to be consistent, the big question then becomes the best place to apply your efforts.  If I know that creating a track record from scratch is a high-risk strategy how do I mitigate it?

Buy Momentum

If I buy a business that has been profitable for 5 years my chances of success go way up.  In order for me to buy a business, the momentum has to already be there and there must be a history of making money.  I still have to be consistent but in different areas.  First, I have to show up and manage people.  The good news is that there will already be a great team in place if I have done my research properly.

Once the team is in place, I then can focus on growing the business by improving the sales and marketing side of things.  Remember, you are only maintaining what the business is doing and making adjustments for it to grow.  This requires a much different approach and mindset than building from scratch.  The momentum is already there, that is what you are buying.

There has never been a better time to buy momentum.  The “silver tsunami” that I have talked about before is in full swing with 75 million baby boomers retiring over the next decade.  There will be over 13 million businesses that will be forced to have a change in ownership.  That is over ⅓ of all small businesses!

This is only one of the reasons why the core of my wealth accumulation strategy is to purchase small businesses.  I have put a video together with the rest of my thoughts on why buying is better than building.  You can take a look at it here: 

The more you understand the power of buying a business the easier it is to be consistent in building your portfolio.  As always, if you want to compress time frames and have me coach you on every part of the process, book a time to chat with me here: Calendar. 

Have a great rest of your week!

Ben, I Want to learn more…

If you feel that you are constantly working "in" the business instead of "on" the business and feel that your goal of financial freedom has led you to a prison of your own design.

You are not alone, I used to be there as well.

I have 6 companies and counting and work less than 20 hours a week on them - COMBINED.

It is not rocket science and I can help you do the same for your business.

Choose a time on my Calendar and we will get to it.

Onward,

Ben

PS - Coaching compresses timeframes. If you want help on finding the perfect deal for you, book a time on my calendar here to explore becoming an Acquisition Ace: Calendar

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