Where would Bill Gates be if he were still writing software programs every hour of every day?

Where would Michael Dell be if he were still building computers with his bare hands?

Where could you be if you took the time to learn how to build your business by leveraging the efforts of others?

Wealthy business owners become wealthy because they build systems or processes that allow others to develop their products/services with the same quality as if they were doing it themselves. That is what the two men above along with countless other successful entrepreneurs have done to grow their businesses to extraordinary heights. There is no reason why you can't do the same in your video business. Of course I can't guarantee that you will see similar results as Microsoft or Dell, but I can, with absolute certainty, guarantee that if you make some minor and major changes in the way you run your video business, you will be able to drastically increase your profits over a reasonable period of time.

Many video production company owners are unable to grow their companies because they won't get away from the computer or out from behind the camera long enough to do so. As an owner, your number one responsibility is to sustain and grow your business. Your secondary responsibility is to produce the work. It's hard to see this when you are either just getting started and are barely scraping by or if you are up to your ears in projects that require you to work, work, work until the jobs are done. But, as many of you know, a long string of projects is almost always followed by a long string of silence......no projects or revenue coming in because you spent the last several months shooting/editing instead of marketing. This creates a vicious cycle of having thousands of dollars in receivables but not enough money in your bank account to make the car payment. So your credit gets damaged, your personal relationships get damaged and life pretty much sucks.

In 2004, after 4 years of being in business, I decided to invest all my research and daily educational reading into becoming a better entrepreneur. I quit reading as much about the video industry and started reading more about building businesses. I didn't worry about software upgrades as much as I worried about how to better manage cash flow. I also went on the hunt for business mentors that would teach me how to take the reputation I had built over the previous four years and turn my company into a legitimate business with potential to grow. The result was amazing. In the few short years that I've changed my focus to spend more time learning how to be better in business, my company has experienced a 700% growth in sales, I've enjoyed a 400%+ increase in personal income and I'm now completely debt free other than the mortgage on my house and the mortgage on a rental property that I own. This success was made possible because I challenged myself to learn how to manage and grow a business. Part of this education included how to find/hire the right people, how to create systems and processes that my employees can follow that will guarantee a quality product each and every time and how to properly manage cash flow. I graduated with a degree in mass communication and my only training was as a video producer/shooter/editor. I now consider myself a successful entrepreneur/business owner instead of just a video producer.

One of my business mentors tells me all the time that "Successful entrepreneurs become wealthy because they learn how to effectively leverage the efforts of others." Ask yourself how you can slowly grow your business by having others work together in a system or process that would yield a similar or better product than if only you were at the controls? How much would your business benefit if you were out there every day promoting your products/services and only managing your projects from the executive producer level? Here's a hint, you'll make way more money and have way more free time to nurture personal relationships or even build other businesses.

The purpose of this article is to encourage you to think about how you plan to grow. Are you in business to grow or just to survive? Do you want to experience the true fruits of business ownership or is your only motivation to be self-employed in a profession you enjoy? The key to success is learning how to be a better business-person. The wealthiest people in the world and even right in your community are the ones that know how to successfully start, manage and grow businesses, regardless of the type of business.

Commit today to learn as much as you can about being a better entrepreneur and business manager. Your results too will be staggering!

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.