Are You a Slave to Your Business? | How to Create a Business That Truly Exists to Serve You | Knowledge Bomb

Audio Transcription

Throughout my career and in route to building several multimillion-dollar companies. I have met many, many business owners that have had success in terms of financially they’ve had success, they haven’t failed. And that’s a good thing. If you think about this, I mean, nine out of 10 startups fail according to Forbes, right now, think about this. Roughly 9% of the American population is going to go out there and start a company during their lifetime, but nine out of 10 startups fail. So that means if you are successful financially as a business owner, you are in that rare category that I would call just 0.009% of the population, less than 1% of the American population will go out there and actually start a business that does not fail. But what’s the point? What is the point? What have you built a business that creates tons of money, tons of responsibility, but zero time freedom and financial freedom for you to do what you want to do or what have you.

Create a business that creates financial freedom, but you don’t create time freedom. Here at the thrive time show, we believe that you can have both and we believe that you need to design a business that exists to serve you and your family. And so at the last, uh, October workshop, at the in-person thrive time show two day interactive business conference, which by the way, you can buy tickets to today by going to thrive time show.com and clicking on the word business conferences. That’s the word, thrive time show, click on the word business conferences. Um, you can buy tickets to that, to attend that event. Um, at the business conferences. Occasionally I will ask my wife to come up and speak my wife of 18 years. And at this business conference, many of the attendees had questions about how to set boundaries with your schedule and how to create true financial freedom model. Listeners wanted to know how do you set boundaries in your schedule and time blocks so that you can create both financial freedom, but you can also create the time freedom needed to enjoy the fruits of your efforts. And so now, ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, we’d go back to the audio from the most recent in-person thrive time show business conference,

grabbed the duct tape and mentally prepare yourself for yet another mind expanding knowledge bong from America’s number one business coach. Clay Clark.

Yeah. Clay, I’ve heard you say that a, the business exists to serve the owner. What do you mean by that, Vanessa? What do we mean by that?

Well, um, you just have to know the goal you’re going for as an individual or if you’re married as you’re is a family. Because in the beginning, I do think that much of the business, we were kind of slaves to our own business, serving our employees, serving

everyone

else but ourselves. And we had to kind of look and say, how did we get into the situation and what, why are we even doing this? So it’s pointless to have a business if you’re doing it all, to make sure that your employees have a cushy life. Yes, you want them to be growing and like your business and enjoy what they’re doing but not, you don’t want to be a slave to your business. And when you’re in DJ connection, you know it provided well for us, but it got to a point where every single evening and weekend holidays other than Christmas day, didn’t have my husband. And so at a certain point, why are we doing this? So the business exists. You’ve got to get really clear as a family about what your goals are and what you’re trying to achieve. And for us, that’s for my husband and I always to be going closer to each other, closer to God for our kids, they grow up knowing and having a relationship with Jesus.

Note, I would not have ever changed my schedule if I wasn’t afraid of her. I’m being serious because no, is this true? This is true. We built a DJ business. We were winning all these awards, doing thousands of weddings and every single day at six o’clock or five a voicemail would come in red bite. Remember the red line on the voicemail? Remember the voicemail, you’d see the red light. So I’m like looking, Oh, that’s a red light. So I’d hit it. Boom. Clay, this is Amanda. I have one last song request. I know the deadline was this morning, but my father and I want to dance to, we want to dance to Frank Sinatra and my friend Ashley told me you could remix it and,

and we’d have to drive because you couldn’t get it from the internet. You’d have to go drive to best buy. See if they had it

at my house on a Monday night at 10 o’clock remixing a song.

The thing is we would go do this all together before we had kids at once. We had kids, I couldn’t go pick up and drive with him. So, but knowing clearly what your goals are,

she freaked out at me. I had to come in for like five or six, seven years, 10 years, lot of years. And, but I’m just saying is you’re going to have to have that moment like right now, like that kind of intensity where you wake up because if you’re not careful, all your employees will call in sick except for you. You got to get to a culture where no one calls in sick. There’s got to be that kind of thing. Vanessa, Charles had a comment?

Yes.

Do not crank up your speakers right now to hear the following audio. It’s audio from the conference. That’s going to be a little bit more quiet than I would prefer, but do not crank it up where your speakers will [inaudible]

and Amber [inaudible]. They are all different States that we’ve got people at. He creating the Bible really sustainable. We everybody who got a corporate week for four hours and so, but he helped me

and she helped me so it’s like the triangle. Not, no, no helped Charles because she helped you and you helped him. It’s like the transitive property or something like that. There’s algebra clay. Good job. Tangle has like corner. He’s one. He says, okay, we get it. You did it. You use your out draft. Okay. I just would like for you, Vanessa to share. How did you make us make that change? Cause again, knowing it, but you made us do it.

Well, I think just again being, um, really getting clear on what are we trying to do. Okay. And for us, you know what, I, I have to have weekends, I have to have evenings. I want to have that as a family. It’s gonna make no sense to grow this business and not have any, you know, have a poor family and relationship. Right. So, um, that’s why the business exists. So we want to be our financial goal so clay can have free time and be with us, but a lot of his free time, he is a creative person that is his highest and best use. I love nothing more than if he is down in our basement producing. Um, you know, like the video you saw, the TD Jakes video, the one he loves that I love when my son goes down there to join him in those things.

They’re both very creative and he needs that time. I see the business conferences and creation of his content as his highest and best use because he loves it. And I do believe he’s born to do that. He’s a, has a teacher’s heart. So in those ways, we need to, if he, if he’s working so much doing other things that he can’t spend time, um, doing his highest and best doing these business conferences, having you guys out, being able to teach this to groups of people that we believe it’s not too big, but where you can get that.

We had 11 events in one month and I was at a hotel and Canada and we traveled together to every event and one of my salespeople intentionally booked me. He called me and he said, Hey, I talked to your wife.

They were all, they were all supposed to be to talk me to talk to me so I could make sure that the schedule was clear because I would always go with him to an event and one of our children would.

So he called me and said, Hey, I got it cleared with your wife. You’re going to Toronto after you go to San Diego. And I’m like, are you sure? It was. Absolutely. So then the week of it comes, I’m like, Hey babe, I’m good. You get your tickets for Toronto? And she’s like, no, I didn’t know about it. And I’m like, Oh I’m scared. Oh. And so that was kind of, we had a conversation and how my wife communicates is like this very calm, very calm. Aubrey, you know this and then what happens Abra, once you go past that level, what happens? She goes crazy and then it’s like, Oh cause she’s like you are in Toronto and I am not there. And I’m like the young guy who booked the event is with me in the hotel. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to be, you know Paul’s weeds.

So he’s thinks this is the end of our marriage, the end of our life. And he’s like, when are you talking to? Like you are in sales guy who? I go down to the bar down there [inaudible] here’s like, how are you? I’m like kind of crying or something. I’m so scared. I’m scared of landing the plane and getting back. Then we get to Canada in the Mountie who’s there? He says, why are you guys here? Oh, why are you guys here? And the funny sales guy says, Oh, we’re just up here, you know, smuggling in stuff. Just joking. So he puts us in detention. Yeah,

clay cog. He’s like, we can’t get out. They were stuck

in a, in an interrogation room. No kidding. Just a white room. Couldn’t get out. It’s locked. He’s got the little things on it and I’m there with the Mounties who are asking me for ideas and my background and why I’m here. Then they put us in two separate rooms. He says he’s here for online education. I say, I’m here to speak. He says, you have conflicting stories for an entire day. Then we miss all of our flights. Then I come back two days later. The whole time, like, I mean I’m thinking of, I’m looking for a backup plan. I’m like, [inaudible] are you gay? You wanna bet your backup plan. I mean, I’m looking for something that it’s over. I’m trying to find a backup plan. I’m like, Oh, I need a backup. Aaron’s always been my plan B. I love that guy. But no, seriously. I’m like, and then putting it, Vanessa is always like, she draws the line. She might seem like the the one who’s more, I think she’s just the toughest one. And you have the little verse, you talk about the phrase about peace comes through the sword. Can you explain what you mean on that please?

That’s crazy. Yeah. Um, well, so forever, I think most people would describe me as a peacemaker. Feels like, Oh, she’s such a peacemaker. She’s such a peacemaker. And I think I had been for a lot of my life. And then I realized, you know what? Blessed are the peacemakers. And I just started really thinking about that and that and piece comes through the sword. Like there was no peace when we had that time when I didn’t see my husband on nights. I didn’t see him on weekends. And when he was traveling so much, if there wasn’t peace. And so once we were able to draw lines and set boundaries and I say, what do you want? Do you enjoy doing these events? No, I hate it. I hate traveling and then I have to speak on not what I want but what they want. And I just spoke to the government group and I didn’t agree with what you know. So I said we just really thought, okay well what, what would you like? You like speaking though and you’re gifted at speaking and you have so much to say. So he thought I’m going to have people come to us. So setting those boundaries, yes it might’ve been a difficult process but we would still be living doing what we did not like um, and not not blessing people and living in our purpose. Yes he be using his gift of speaking but not from

I was a business comedian. Yeah I got paid to be funny. You know it’s like whole foods groups was going to fire me and they’d say quick thing though, make sure you don’t mention merit based pay cause the union right now is not into that. And I want to make sure you don’t say anything about getting up early. Cause our S we have employees and you know, they’re all lazy so we don’t want to make sure that, you know, Mike,

every talk was whatever they wanted, which is fine. He was great at delivering that. But anyways, peace comes to the sword. Just determining what your boundaries are and what you want for your life and then go get that. Otherwise you’re going to end up somewhere completely different where you didn’t intend on going and not enjoying it. And so, especially when you have your own business, create it to, to serve you in your life and the life you want to create for you and your family.

I would say married her cause she’s SU, she’s gorgeous, but she’s super smart. That was like, we weren’t going on dates in college. I was like, she said the word Sage one time and I’m like, what is this word that you speak of, Sage? I’m not kidding. I would go back. But we had dictionaries. I’d write it down and I’m like flipping through Sage one with wisdom. Oh, I’m like, or she would just wear it. And she mentioned concepts like people want what they can’t have. And I’m like, Oh. I was like, I’m dating like a hot Yoda and do time teach you. I will. And I’m like, Oh she’s so she does all the accounting and finances and she really has the toughest job in my opinion. We’re going to take a break here. It’s 11 o’clock when a break until 1110 that way clay stairs has 50 minutes to teach you guys how to hire great people, find great people, how to hire, inspire, train and retain great people coming back here. And 11

she got about eight minute break. Come back at 1110 thank you Vanessa. Let’s hear from my wife.

Would you take my call when it stopped too quick but your rescue me

and now without any further ed too. Have you ever dreamed about starting your own successful business? Have you started the business that just seems to be perpetually stuck. If you want to know the secrets, the systems and the strategies that dr Zeller and I have each used to build 13 multimillion dollar businesses between the two of us. My name is clay Clark and I encourage you to buy your tickets to the world’s best business workshop at thrive time. show.com. Again, it’s thrive time show