Technology and AI have made it easier than ever to become a millionaire. Most people still don’t go about it strategically.
My companies have done over $115M in sales. The way I think about a first million is simple: it’s not one goal. It’s four. $1,000, then $10,000, then $100,000, then $1 million. Each one is unlocked by something different.
Stage 1: The first $1,000 is about skills
I disagree with entrepreneurs who tell you not to get a job. Keep a normal job while you start out, and pick one that builds the skills you’ll need.
Business takes work ethic, people skills, confidence and an understanding of psychology so you can read people. People buy from people they know, like and trust, and nobody trusts someone without confidence.
I learned a lot as a server: teamwork, juggling multiple tables, efficiency and reading customers. Then I sold security alarms door to door. Both built confidence and sales ability.
The first $1,000 depends more on the skills you build than on the business itself.
Stage 2: $1,000 to $10,000 is about the offer
This jump is about as hard as the first $1,000, but your confidence is higher after that first sale. The key now is the right offer at the right price.
My early fitness packages were underpriced. I averaged about $3,000 a month, and $47 sales barely covered meals and gas. Aim for an offer that at least doubles your current monthly income.
Finding your offer
Pick a niche in health, wealth or relationships. People don’t want a trainer, a coach or a therapist. They want to be in better shape, make more money or have better relationships.
If you think you have no skills, list:
- Skills you have and what you’ve achieved in the last five years
- What comes easily to you but is hard for others
- What people ask your advice on
- What you’d tell your younger self
- Challenges you’ve overcome and problems you’ve solved
- Topics you could talk about all day
My clients run businesses doing at least $10,000 a month in writing, storytelling, public speaking, muscle building, coding, blogging, building computers, overcoming addiction, social media growth, filmmaking, email marketing, guitar, investing, mindset, sales coaching, job placement, drawing, SAT and ACT prep and dating. Teach something you actually know. If you have nothing yet, learn a skill on Udemy or Alison.
Make the offer compelling
Use the $100M offer equation: dream outcome times perceived likelihood of achievement, divided by time delay times effort.
Compare two ways to lose 20 lbs. A fitness program has a lower chance of success, takes three months and takes real effort. Liposuction is guaranteed, instant and effortless. That’s why it’s easier to sell. Make yours as strong as you honestly can without promising the impossible.
Price it right
Aim for at least $1,500 per sale. Higher prices mean you need fewer customers and can afford to lose a sale or two. I made about $10,000 from roughly six high priced sales. At $47, I’d have needed 212 sales for the same money.
Low prices and thin margins are how people end up on Shark Tank with loans they can’t cover.
Stage 3: $10,000 to $100,000 is about speed
You don’t add new activities here. You do the same ones faster.
Without a big following, outreach is the realistic lead source. My math:
- Send about 20 messages an hour to avoid spam blocks.
- Out of 100 messages to your followers, expect about a 30% response, which turns into about 5 calls and 1 close at $3,000.
- Messaging strangers, expect closer to a 10% response.
Then there are three ways to scale it, each with trade offs:
- Send every message yourself and work more hours.
- Hire someone to send messages.
- Run paid social ads that send prospects straight to your inbox.
Stage 4: $100,000 to $1M is about leverage
This is the easiest stage, but only once you replace yourself.
I was working 16+ hours a day on messages, sales calls, fulfillment and website building. I burned out. That’s when I realized I had to learn hiring and move from working in the business to working on it.
Leadership is the most important skill at this level. Hire and train well and the business grows without you. My three step hiring process:
- Application. Screen for experience. A replacement with no experience creates more work for you.
- Interview. Check culture fit and hire people who share your work mindset. My early mistake was trying to accommodate everyone.
- SOPs. Build a standard operating procedure sheet for every role, with walkthrough videos and step by step instructions.
The takeaway
Skills get you the first $1,000. The right offer at the right price gets you to $10,000. Doing the same outreach faster gets you to $100,000. Replacing yourself gets you to $1M.
Know which stage you’re in and work on the one thing that unlocks the next.
The mistake I see most is people working on the wrong stage. They try to hire a team before they have an offer that sells, or they chase new tactics when they should just be sending more messages. Every stage has one job. Do that job, then move up.
Want to know what’s capping your business right now? Take my free 90 Day Ceiling Plan. Answer 18 questions and get a written plan, built on your own numbers, that names the one thing holding you back and what to fix first.
