Black Entrepreneur Blueprint 517 - Jay Jones - A Simple Game-Changing Four Hour Hack For Business Growth

[00:00:01] Welcome to BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT, the number one podcast and resource for BLACK

[00:00:18] ENTREPRENEURS.

[00:00:19] I'm your host Jay Jones and BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT was created specifically to educate

[00:00:25] and inspire BLACK ENTREPRENEURS to launch, build and grow successful sustainable businesses.

[00:00:32] Join us as we help building economic power base in the worldwide black community by

[00:00:38] building and supporting black owned businesses.

[00:00:41] If you're currently an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur, you're invited to join

[00:00:46] us each and every week here at BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT.

[00:00:50] Welcome to the BEB family and get ready to elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:01:00] Welcome to BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT Episode number 517.

[00:01:07] I'm your host Jay Jones and today we have another outstanding and informative show in

[00:01:12] store for you.

[00:01:13] Today's show topic is titled A Simple Game Changing 4-Hour Hack for Business Growth.

[00:01:19] A simple game changing 4-hour hack for business growth.

[00:01:25] Now on today's show guys, I'm going to unveil a powerful strategy to break through the

[00:01:30] roadblocks that are holding you back as a successful entrepreneur.

[00:01:34] Now I'm going to talk about how you can use 4 hours a week.

[00:01:38] Now I know it sounds like a lot but just follow me here.

[00:01:42] I'm going to show you how you can use 4 hours per week to help exponentially grow your

[00:01:48] business and this is something that I've been doing a lot in the last year and a half

[00:01:53] and actually it's enabled me to cut down on my work because I'm more focused and

[00:01:59] more intentional.

[00:02:00] So a simple game changing 4-hour hack for business growth.

[00:02:05] Now before we jump into today's content I just want to share a few things with the BLACK

[00:02:09] ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT family.

[00:02:12] First and foremost I want to welcome all first time listeners to BLACK ENTREPRENEUR

[00:02:15] BLUEPRINT.

[00:02:17] Welcome to the BEB family.

[00:02:19] Please stick around until the end of today's broadcast and I'm going to share all my

[00:02:23] social media contact information and resource links such as the link that correlates

[00:02:29] with today's show.

[00:02:30] You can go to www.ProductivityTemplate.com so once you listen to today's episode and you

[00:02:38] need additional help in terms of using this simple 4 hour hack to grow your business

[00:02:43] go to productivitytemplate.com for more information about the template that actually

[00:02:50] coincides with today's show.

[00:02:53] You can also find the template on my website www.BlackEntrepreneurBlueprint.com just go to

[00:02:58] episode number 517 it will be on the front page all the latest episodes are on the front

[00:03:04] page of the website and there will be a link for the productivity template so you

[00:03:09] can go either place to the website or www.ProductivityTemplate.com.

[00:03:15] Now let's get ready for today's show content.

[00:03:18] Today we're talking about a simple game changing 4 hour hack for business growth.

[00:03:23] Now there are many obstacles out there guys that hinder entrepreneurs from being successful

[00:03:28] so I wanted to give you a simple hack slash blueprint to help you grow and scale your

[00:03:33] business that only takes 4 hours per week.

[00:03:36] Now I know that sounds like a lot of time but I need you guys to hear me out okay?

[00:03:41] So let me start off with a personal story and tell you how this 4 hour hack for business

[00:03:46] has helped me achieve what I'm looking to achieve.

[00:03:49] So right now guys I'm focused on becoming more efficient and intentional with my business

[00:03:53] by continuing to build my business around my lifestyle.

[00:03:58] I'm going to repeat that I want to build my business around my lifestyle not my lifestyle

[00:04:03] around my business.

[00:04:04] I want to enjoy the fruits of labor as a successful serial entrepreneur for 25 plus

[00:04:10] years.

[00:04:12] So my goal now is only to work 4 days a week and that's Monday through Thursday and I've

[00:04:17] been able to do that over the last couple of months because I've implemented this 4

[00:04:23] hour hack.

[00:04:25] So I want to start to enjoy my life more spend time focusing on my health and also

[00:04:30] spending time with my family.

[00:04:32] So I'm in that stage right now where I'm trying to work smarter not harder.

[00:04:37] And so when I figured this out it seemed counterintuitive to spend 4 hours a week doing something but

[00:04:45] in all actuality it's helped me to streamline and work more efficiently and effectively and

[00:04:51] now I'm able to only work 4 days a week.

[00:04:54] Now if I work 5 days a week could I get more accomplished?

[00:04:57] Of course I could.

[00:04:59] But the question is what's the trade off?

[00:05:02] So for me at this juncture of my life 4 days a week is perfect because it allows

[00:05:07] me to do things on that Friday that I want to do.

[00:05:11] It allows me to take more time relax a little bit and like I said enjoy the fruits of my

[00:05:16] labor.

[00:05:17] So one of the things I want to start off with is some foundational information and I call

[00:05:22] it disconnect to dominate.

[00:05:25] Disconnect to dominate.

[00:05:27] So I'm going to give you a blueprint to disconnect guys from your laptop, your computer,

[00:05:33] your phone and it's actually going to help improve your business and give it direction

[00:05:38] and help your business grow.

[00:05:40] Now I know we all have that phone or that Apple watch or whatever on our wrist or in

[00:05:45] our hand at all times and we're actually a slave to that.

[00:05:49] We're a slave to social media, we're a slave to communication and the problem is

[00:05:55] that gets in the way of productivity.

[00:05:58] But I want you guys to take four hours a week to actually analyze and review your

[00:06:04] business and I'm not saying just sit there and think the template that I'm talking

[00:06:09] about and the nine steps I'm going to give you today are actually a blueprint to be

[00:06:16] able to learn how to do this.

[00:06:18] This is something that I do every week, four hours a week and I've been doing

[00:06:22] it for a period of time and it's actually helped me in terms of my productivity and

[00:06:28] actually the scaling of a couple of my businesses.

[00:06:31] So here's what we're talking about.

[00:06:33] This is going to allow you to work without distractions guys.

[00:06:37] You'll be more creative and also you're going to be on the offensive versus the

[00:06:42] defensive and what do I mean by that?

[00:06:45] So just picture your normal day, right?

[00:06:48] You're working doing whatever you're doing trying to get projects and things

[00:06:51] accomplished.

[00:06:52] You'll get a call.

[00:06:53] All right, let me stop doing what I'm doing and let me answer this call.

[00:06:57] You'll get an email from your boss or a co-worker or a client or whatever you need

[00:07:01] to address that.

[00:07:03] That's on defense.

[00:07:04] That means you're parrying and ducking and dodging everything that's coming in

[00:07:09] at you.

[00:07:10] What you want to be guys is on offense and the way to be on offense is to

[00:07:15] disconnect from the distractions.

[00:07:17] You can call it power blocking, which I use or you can call it deep work or

[00:07:22] whatever you want to call it.

[00:07:23] But you're going to disconnect four hours per week in order to improve your

[00:07:29] business.

[00:07:30] Now, I'm going to give you the blueprint and the template.

[00:07:34] So if you actually want the template that I use, go to productivity

[00:07:38] template.com.

[00:07:40] I'm actually going to outline everything and give you nine steps today.

[00:07:44] But this template breaks everything down so you're able to compare and

[00:07:48] contrast your progress from week to week.

[00:07:51] So go to productivity template.com to get the actual template or go to the

[00:07:57] website black entrepreneur blueprint.com.

[00:08:00] Go to episode 517.

[00:08:02] Just click it.

[00:08:03] You'll see the show notes and you will see a link for the template.

[00:08:07] Okay, so the problem guys with most businesses is that they don't lay

[00:08:12] out and diagram their plan before they try to implement it.

[00:08:16] And that's something that I had a problem with.

[00:08:18] Sometimes we think so fast that we don't actually lay out the steps to

[00:08:24] actually complete what we're trying to complete.

[00:08:27] So I always say that an entrepreneur only does three things.

[00:08:30] Think, create and execute.

[00:08:33] Thinking is the easy part.

[00:08:35] Creating is a little harder and the execution is the hardest.

[00:08:39] So when you have something laid out on paper, a roadmap or blueprint or

[00:08:44] whatever, you're able to complete it better than just thinking about it and

[00:08:49] then doing it.

[00:08:50] So that problem is a problem that most businesses have.

[00:08:54] They don't lay out and diagram their plan before they try to implement it.

[00:08:57] Perfect example.

[00:08:59] If you're trying to start a marketing campaign saying email automation,

[00:09:04] you know what you want to accomplish, but do you actually sit there

[00:09:08] and write out each email in the automation sequence?

[00:09:13] You know, hey, yeah, I want to do a follow up to this customer.

[00:09:15] But do you actually go out and write down email one, two, three, four, five,

[00:09:20] six, seven, whatever if they open this, they go here.

[00:09:24] If they don't open it, I'll continue to send them this.

[00:09:27] So do we actually lay out and design the things we want to complete?

[00:09:32] And I'm not talking about laying it out on your computer.

[00:09:35] I'm talking about physically getting a notebook or this template I just

[00:09:39] talked about and writing it down with a pencil or pen that makes it stick even more.

[00:09:45] That's one of the biggest issues that entrepreneurs have because they

[00:09:50] don't diagram their plan.

[00:09:52] It's like normally you go ready aim fire.

[00:09:56] A lot of us go ready fire then aim and you're wasting a lot of time and

[00:10:01] you're not working to your maximum efficiency.

[00:10:04] Okay?

[00:10:05] Now, this is the time, this four hour block of time that you're going to take

[00:10:10] each and every week to do exactly that.

[00:10:14] And you're going to give yourself a weekly checkup on your business.

[00:10:18] Now many of us get caught up in working on the plan without actually

[00:10:22] creating the blueprint of the plan, including the steps to implement the plan.

[00:10:28] So basically what I'm saying is we have a ton of ideas upstairs

[00:10:32] and we go through haphazardly without diagramming and laying out the process

[00:10:37] and the steps to actually complete the actions.

[00:10:40] And this is what this template is designed to do.

[00:10:44] So it's going to make you think number one is going to give you accountability.

[00:10:47] And I'm going to go through the nine steps.

[00:10:49] It's going to give you accountability each and every week.

[00:10:52] Did you meet and or exceed these benchmarks?

[00:10:56] And I'll show you when tell you what the benchmarks are.

[00:10:59] If not, guess what?

[00:11:00] Your business isn't going to continue to grow and scale.

[00:11:04] So each and every week you take this template or whatever the sheet of paper

[00:11:09] you want to write everything down on and then you're able to compare it

[00:11:13] with previous weeks and over a period of time, you're going to see some trends.

[00:11:18] You're either going to be trending up for the most part or trending down.

[00:11:22] And this is what I had to do because the way my mind works is

[00:11:26] I get super excited about something and I want to start on it ASAP.

[00:11:31] And a lot of times I've done that and it's worked out.

[00:11:34] But what I realized was if I have an intentional act,

[00:11:38] do I have a process or system or a template to follow?

[00:11:43] It makes it that much easier.

[00:11:45] And that's what we're going to talk about today.

[00:11:47] So today, guys, I'm going to give you a weekly check up template

[00:11:51] to help you check the progress of your business and lay out a blueprint

[00:11:55] for the next week to help you to become more productive and hopefully

[00:12:00] hopefully more profitable.

[00:12:02] So this four hour period allows you to focus without distraction.

[00:12:06] And like I said, some people may call it time blocking or others may call it deep work.

[00:12:11] Now, what is deep work?

[00:12:13] Deep work is a state of peak concentration that lets you learn hard things

[00:12:17] and create quality work quickly.

[00:12:20] It is a state of distraction free concentration

[00:12:23] that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit.

[00:12:27] That's what deep work is.

[00:12:28] It's a state of distraction free concentration

[00:12:32] that pushes your cognitive capabilities to the limit.

[00:12:36] Now, let's talk about the nine steps that I'm going to give you

[00:12:40] to help you be able to be more productive in your business.

[00:12:44] These nine steps are actually outlined in the template.

[00:12:48] So if you want to make it easy, just go to productivity template dot com.

[00:12:53] And download the template or this is what you want to do

[00:12:57] with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil.

[00:13:00] Step number one, have you met your goal for getting sales leads for the week?

[00:13:05] So you want to build your database or your list?

[00:13:07] Guys, I tell you all the time, your database is your biggest asset.

[00:13:12] If you don't have any leads, there's no sales.

[00:13:14] There's no business.

[00:13:16] So you must have a lead generation system.

[00:13:19] So if you don't have a formalized lead generation system,

[00:13:22] this is the first thing you got to do because you're never going to be able

[00:13:25] to grow and scale. So step one, have you met your goal for getting sales leads

[00:13:29] for the week? So what you want to write down is how many leads

[00:13:33] have you added to your sales database or sales funnel?

[00:13:36] And you want to create a grid and what you want to do,

[00:13:39] you want to input the numbers you've gained versus your goals.

[00:13:42] So if your goal is 20 leads for the week and you've only gotten 15,

[00:13:47] then your mind is five.

[00:13:49] So also identify where the leads come from.

[00:13:52] So you know what method of marketing works the best.

[00:13:55] So if you have multiple sales funnels or marketing areas

[00:13:59] that that you use to generate your leads, then you want to identify

[00:14:03] where your leads are coming from.

[00:14:06] The the marketing that that's generating the leads,

[00:14:09] you want to keep spending money with that, the stuff that's not working.

[00:14:12] You want to stop spending money with that.

[00:14:15] So step one, have you met your goal for getting

[00:14:17] sales leads for the week?

[00:14:19] Step number two, have you met your sales goals for the week?

[00:14:23] So how much revenue did you generate this week?

[00:14:26] So you want to create a sales grid and you want to input

[00:14:29] the dollar amount of weekly sales versus your goal.

[00:14:33] So if your weekly goal is $10,000 and you only bought in $6,000,

[00:14:39] then you're at negative $4,000.

[00:14:42] So the first goal, number one is sales leads.

[00:14:46] The second goal is actually sales for the week.

[00:14:49] Step number three, you want to write everything down on a piece of paper.

[00:14:53] Review your sales and lead generation numbers from the previous week scorecard

[00:14:58] and give yourself a star on your paper if you met or exceeded both goals,

[00:15:03] not just the one, the both goals.

[00:15:06] So number three, review your sales and lead generation numbers

[00:15:09] from the previous weeks scorecard or template

[00:15:12] and give yourself a star on your paper if you met or exceeded both of your goals.

[00:15:17] Now, when you when you're able to look back on all your different templates,

[00:15:23] you'll be able to see the days or the weeks that you got stars

[00:15:26] and you didn't get stars.

[00:15:27] Obviously, the more stars you get because you met or exceeded

[00:15:31] your sales goals and your lead generation goals,

[00:15:35] obviously, the more money that you're going to make.

[00:15:38] So this is accountability.

[00:15:40] That's step number three.

[00:15:42] Step number four, review your current marketing and lead generation campaigns

[00:15:47] and determine if they are successful or not.

[00:15:51] As I mentioned earlier, you have may have multiple sales funnels.

[00:15:55] You may have multiple lead generation campaigns.

[00:15:58] So you want to review them and make sure that they're effective.

[00:16:02] All right. Now, if you're listening to this

[00:16:06] and you don't have any campaigns to generate leads,

[00:16:09] you need to create one right away.

[00:16:12] OK, so if you don't have a lead generation system, guys,

[00:16:16] you're never going to grow and scale your business.

[00:16:19] All right. Now, if you do have a system,

[00:16:21] you need to make the adjustments to your marketing as needed.

[00:16:25] As I mentioned, if something is working well,

[00:16:28] funnel more money or resources into it.

[00:16:30] If something is not working and you're losing money,

[00:16:33] then stop funding that lead generation source.

[00:16:37] So that's step number four. OK.

[00:16:39] And what we're talking about today, guys, is a simple game changing

[00:16:43] four hour hack for business growth.

[00:16:47] Step number five, determine the three most important things

[00:16:51] that must get done in the next seven days

[00:16:54] for you to improve your business. This is key, guys.

[00:16:58] Number five, determine the three most important things

[00:17:01] that must get done in the next seven days for you to improve your business.

[00:17:06] Now, remember, this is the same system

[00:17:09] that I've been using for the last several months

[00:17:11] that's helped me become super productive.

[00:17:14] And I've been taking off Fridays for the last several months

[00:17:18] because I'm spending or investing four hours taking the time to do this. OK.

[00:17:24] So five, determine the three most important things

[00:17:27] that you must get done in the next seven days

[00:17:29] for you to improve your business.

[00:17:30] Put them in order of importance, guys, along with a deadline.

[00:17:34] So it's not a goal unless it's a deadline.

[00:17:37] Now, for this template, we want to do things

[00:17:41] that are are capable of being done, say, within seven days within the week

[00:17:47] because you want to keep moving from week to week to week.

[00:17:50] Now, if it's something that's going to take longer,

[00:17:52] you carry that over to the following week's template. OK.

[00:17:58] Also, you want to know why this needs to be done.

[00:18:01] What's the desired objective?

[00:18:03] So a lot of times we'll put tasks up there that, you know,

[00:18:07] we'll just put Bill website. OK.

[00:18:10] All right. Build the website.

[00:18:11] We understand that.

[00:18:12] But why does that website or landing page need to be built?

[00:18:16] This landing page or website needs to be built

[00:18:18] because it's going to help me generate more money

[00:18:21] because there are going to be several offers on that landing page or website.

[00:18:25] So what is the desired objective? OK.

[00:18:30] Now, you also have to think about what tasks are required to complete the project.

[00:18:35] So it may be multiple tasks involved to complete the project.

[00:18:39] So say, for example, building a landing page.

[00:18:42] One task is the actual physical landing page itself that you have to create

[00:18:47] or you hire somebody to create.

[00:18:49] And the other task is the verbiage or the wording.

[00:18:53] What's going to be on there?

[00:18:54] What do I have a good enough message to convert visitors?

[00:18:59] So you have to look at what are the tasks that it takes to create or finish the project

[00:19:04] and who's going to implement that project or task?

[00:19:07] For example, if you don't know how to build a website,

[00:19:10] then you're going to have to hire somebody.

[00:19:12] So you want to understand, determine

[00:19:14] the three most important things that must get done in the next seven days.

[00:19:18] Understand why it's important.

[00:19:20] Who's going to do it and give yourself a deadline?

[00:19:24] Just as an example of some of the things

[00:19:26] that you may need to get done within the next seven days,

[00:19:29] it could be something like creating a new ad campaign, updating your website,

[00:19:33] creating new content, etc.

[00:19:35] Whatever you need to get done to move your business forward.

[00:19:40] Step number six, review last week's template

[00:19:44] slash scorecard and carry over any of the three most important things

[00:19:48] that you didn't complete.

[00:19:50] So I mentioned that earlier.

[00:19:51] So the three most important things, if you weren't able to get them all done,

[00:19:56] carry over the one from the previous week and write that down

[00:20:00] and put it on the top.

[00:20:01] That's your priority.

[00:20:02] You don't want to keep carrying over from week to week to week.

[00:20:06] OK, so that's important because what this does, it helps progress.

[00:20:11] It's moving you from point A to point B

[00:20:14] and that's the whole impetus behind this template.

[00:20:17] OK, step number seven, write down any new ideas you have

[00:20:22] to improve your business and use a simple mind map to jot down some notes.

[00:20:28] So mind mapping.

[00:20:29] So this is something that I use all the time.

[00:20:31] So it's kind of like a freelance type of activity.

[00:20:36] So you may have an idea and then you'll write down words or phrases

[00:20:41] about that idea, that product, that business or whatever you're trying to do.

[00:20:46] But you're just trying to mind map your writing down things.

[00:20:49] And the way I do it is if I'm doing a mind map on a new product

[00:20:54] that I'm looking to create, I'm going to do the who, what, when, why, where and how.

[00:20:58] Who's it for?

[00:20:59] What it is when I want to implement it, why I'm doing it

[00:21:04] and how I'm going to do it.

[00:21:06] So I use that as a kind of structure for a mind map.

[00:21:09] And I'll just jot things down, not in any particular order.

[00:21:13] And then when you start looking at the mind map, that's going to jog

[00:21:16] your memory and you'll be able to go ahead and implement or create what you're trying to do.

[00:21:22] So step number seven, write down any new ideas you have to improve your business

[00:21:27] and use a simple mind map to jot down some notes.

[00:21:31] OK, so ask yourself who, what, why, when, where and how.

[00:21:36] And those are going to help jog some things that will help you write that down.

[00:21:40] And you can write that down on a plain piece of paper.

[00:21:43] Once again, you can get the template at productivity template dot com.

[00:21:48] So that's step number seven, step number eight.

[00:21:51] Add any of your new ideas that make sense to your weekly template and start to implement them.

[00:21:57] Add any of your new ideas that make sense to your weekly template

[00:22:02] and start to implement them.

[00:22:04] So if you've come up with some ideas from previous weeks,

[00:22:08] then you want to start to add that to your template

[00:22:11] and then you want to eventually implement it.

[00:22:13] OK, step number nine, this is super important, guys.

[00:22:17] Take the last 30 to 45 minutes to just think and write.

[00:22:23] Take the last 30 to 45 minutes to just think and write.

[00:22:27] Once again, use a pen and a paper.

[00:22:29] I'm not talking about on your computer.

[00:22:32] It seems like people process better when they physically have to write things down.

[00:22:37] So during this time, you should lay out your weekly game plan

[00:22:41] by creating a simple written paragraph about what you need to do,

[00:22:45] when you're going to do it, how you're going to do it.

[00:22:48] It could be something as simple as a diagram for sales funnels or storyboard.

[00:22:53] But you want to write down your weekly game plan

[00:22:57] on this template or on a piece of paper

[00:23:01] because when you write it down, that's what makes it become alive.

[00:23:06] That's what makes it come real.

[00:23:08] So take the last 30 to 45 minutes to just think and write.

[00:23:13] Remember, I said entrepreneurs only do three things, guys.

[00:23:16] Think, create and execute.

[00:23:18] We think very easily.

[00:23:20] Creating is a little harder.

[00:23:21] Execution is the hardest.

[00:23:23] A lot of times when we think we don't put those thoughts down on paper.

[00:23:27] And so then after a couple of days, those thoughts

[00:23:31] or great thoughts we may have had or ideas are gone in the wind.

[00:23:35] So this this exercise is designed to help you write it down

[00:23:40] so it becomes a more permanent thing

[00:23:42] and then also gives you a game plan for the week.

[00:23:45] What is your weekly game plan?

[00:23:47] You write that down only a paragraph.

[00:23:49] It doesn't have to be the treaties or of Versailles or anything like that.

[00:23:54] OK, nothing crazy.

[00:23:56] This system process or template, whatever you want to call it,

[00:24:00] has totally transformed my business

[00:24:02] and allowed me to actually work four days a week and be more productive.

[00:24:08] I'm going to tell you guys more about that in the next segment.

[00:24:10] But real quick, let me just share all my social media contact information

[00:24:15] and resource links.

[00:24:17] Everything I'm about to tell you guys is on the website,

[00:24:21] black entrepreneur blueprint dot com.

[00:24:23] Make sure you go there.

[00:24:25] So I mentioned at the top of the show, guys,

[00:24:28] the template go to productivity template dot com

[00:24:32] for more information about the template.

[00:24:35] Instead of writing everything down,

[00:24:36] you'll have everything in a nice five page template

[00:24:39] that you can copy download, print it.

[00:24:42] And all you have to do is print it each and every week

[00:24:45] and you'll be able to use the system that I'm currently using now.

[00:24:49] So go to productivity template dot com.

[00:24:52] Also, don't forget to check out the new revised revamp.

[00:24:56] Bebe Academy.

[00:24:57] Go to newbebe academy dot com for more information.

[00:25:02] Now, if you want to get in touch with me, please anything long family,

[00:25:06] hit me on my email address, J Jones at black entrepreneur blueprint dot com.

[00:25:11] J A Y J O N E S at black entrepreneur blueprint dot com.

[00:25:16] Facebook, black entrepreneur blueprint, Twitter, J Jones zero zero one.

[00:25:21] Instagram, I have two I G accounts.

[00:25:24] The first one is J Jones for real J A Y J O N E S.

[00:25:28] The number four are E A L second one is black entrepreneur blueprint.

[00:25:34] Also linked in.

[00:25:35] Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn.

[00:25:37] Go there and type in J Jones, black entrepreneur blueprint

[00:25:40] and connect with me there.

[00:25:42] And also YouTube guys, please subscribe to the YouTube channel.

[00:25:46] I have additional content on YouTube that is not on the show.

[00:25:49] Go to YouTube, type in black entrepreneur blueprint.

[00:25:53] Once again, everything I just said is on the website.

[00:25:57] Don't forget to utilize the website and all the free resources.

[00:26:01] Go to black entrepreneur blueprint dot com.

[00:26:04] Hit the learn tab and you'll see a drop down.

[00:26:07] All types of resources on scale in your business, e-commerce, marketing,

[00:26:12] mindset, anything you need to help elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:26:17] And don't forget if you're interested in getting this template,

[00:26:20] go to productivity template dot com, or you can go to the website

[00:26:25] under episode five hundred and seventeen.

[00:26:28] And in the show notes, there'll be a link to the productivity template.

[00:26:32] Now let's get back to the last segment of the show.

[00:26:35] So what I found out guys, and I had to find this out the hard way,

[00:26:39] it's something that I knew, but I never really implemented.

[00:26:43] And once again, it's kind of counterintuitive because

[00:26:46] most people don't block off four hours per week for anything.

[00:26:52] OK, it doesn't matter.

[00:26:54] So that's kind of counterintuitive.

[00:26:56] And when I started thinking about it and I've always been a proponent

[00:27:00] of time blocking and I use that all the time, but not consistently.

[00:27:06] So over the last, I'd say five to six months,

[00:27:10] I've been consistently using this four hour hack

[00:27:14] to scale and grow my business businesses.

[00:27:17] I have multiple businesses.

[00:27:19] And the beauty of it is it's all been more efficient

[00:27:24] because I've taken the time to actually plan.

[00:27:27] You know, I've told a story on the show

[00:27:30] a couple of times about a contestant.

[00:27:33] I'm paraphrasing my dad used to tell me about this.

[00:27:36] And I don't know if he made it up or was a fable or something.

[00:27:39] There were two guys that were actually in a contest

[00:27:43] to saw the saw tree down.

[00:27:46] Same size tree, same type of saw.

[00:27:49] So one guy was going real fast, sawing his butt off just back and forth,

[00:27:54] back and forth.

[00:27:55] The other guy was sawing fast, but he would take time

[00:27:58] to sharpen his saw every period, every, you know, periodically.

[00:28:02] And so by the time they got through this, you know, big ass tree,

[00:28:07] the guy that took the time to sharpen his blade actually won.

[00:28:11] And so this is what this is kind of alluding to.

[00:28:15] You need time to sharpen your blade.

[00:28:17] You need time to focus on what you're trying to accomplish.

[00:28:22] You need time to put things in order to plan

[00:28:26] and actually implement the plan.

[00:28:28] So many times we're so busy at work working on the business.

[00:28:33] We don't work in the business.

[00:28:34] And this four hours per week, which sounds counterintuitive.

[00:28:38] Trust me, I know it does.

[00:28:40] This actually gives you focus and direction.

[00:28:44] As I mentioned earlier, how many times have you thought of something

[00:28:47] that you want to implement it, but you never put the steps down on paper

[00:28:52] of how to implement it?

[00:28:53] What do I need to implement this?

[00:28:55] When do I want to get this done?

[00:28:57] Who's going to help me implement it if I need additional or outside help?

[00:29:02] So it's planning and strategizing.

[00:29:05] So the template that I have for you, or you can just do it yourself

[00:29:09] is going to give you structure each and every week to spend four hours per week.

[00:29:15] Now, you may want to spend that four hours after work time.

[00:29:19] For me, it's part of my work.

[00:29:21] So I put it in my work time.

[00:29:23] I value my freedom and flexibility.

[00:29:25] And what I had to learn was when I started doing this,

[00:29:29] everything became a lot more clear.

[00:29:32] So now I have directions like when you write down your weekly plan

[00:29:37] at the end of the template and you write it down

[00:29:39] and you're concise about it.

[00:29:41] You have those goals, you have that roadmap, you have the blueprint.

[00:29:44] Everything is written out for you.

[00:29:46] So now you don't have to think what you have to do.

[00:29:50] Now, I also use a daily planner and I block out times for certain things,

[00:29:55] specific things and how much time I'm going to lot to them.

[00:29:58] But this four hour deep work or time blocking, whatever you want to call it,

[00:30:04] that's great.

[00:30:04] But you have to have a process or system to maximize this four hours.

[00:30:10] You don't want to don't want to be sitting there for hours

[00:30:13] and you just sit near thinking and you're not writing anything down.

[00:30:16] You're not doing a check up on your business.

[00:30:19] You're not moving forward.

[00:30:20] You're not putting down what you need to do the following week.

[00:30:23] You're not putting or listing the three priorities

[00:30:26] that you need to get accomplished this week.

[00:30:29] So just sitting down and thinking is cool too.

[00:30:32] And that's why at the end, I said the last 45 30 to 45 minutes

[00:30:37] of this four hour block, you can sit there and think and jot things down.

[00:30:41] That's what that time is allotted for.

[00:30:44] But I don't want you guys to take four hours

[00:30:47] and just be sitting out at the pool chilling,

[00:30:50] you know, thinking about things, but not putting anything into action.

[00:30:54] Thinking about the stuff is cool.

[00:30:56] Writing it down and formulating a plan is better.

[00:31:00] So if you're able to utilize this, trust me, I hope you do

[00:31:06] because I become super efficient.

[00:31:09] Another thing that helped with my efficiency is I know now

[00:31:13] that I only have four days a week to get this stuff done.

[00:31:17] So that all actually helps me too, because now I have to pack more in.

[00:31:21] Now, could I grow my business more if I wanted to work the fifth day

[00:31:25] on Friday? Yeah, I could.

[00:31:27] But it's a trade off.

[00:31:28] Do I want that freedom, flexibility and time to do what I want?

[00:31:32] When I want with who I want or do I want to work some more?

[00:31:36] So I'm at a stage right now where I put in the hours.

[00:31:41] You know, I've been a serial entrepreneur for over 25 plus years.

[00:31:45] I've laid the foundation in the groundwork.

[00:31:47] I've built multiple streams of income.

[00:31:49] So now I want to start to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

[00:31:54] Now, I'm not saying that you guys can, you know,

[00:31:56] want to start working for four days a week, you might.

[00:31:59] But what I'm saying is if you're working five days a week,

[00:32:02] or it doesn't matter how many hours you're working,

[00:32:05] block out this four hours of time for this hack.

[00:32:09] And I promise you, if you are consistent,

[00:32:13] not doing it once a month, but if you are consistent every week,

[00:32:17] I promise you, you're going to see the change in growth in your business.

[00:32:22] So remember, it gives you accountability.

[00:32:25] One of the first things that asks you is,

[00:32:27] have you met or exceeded your lead generation goals for the week?

[00:32:32] The next question is, have you met your sales or revenue goals for the week?

[00:32:37] You always want to have yes to both of them.

[00:32:40] And if you just do that,

[00:32:42] you're going to exponentially grow your business and be able to scale it.

[00:32:46] OK, so just that in and of itself is a benefit.

[00:32:50] We don't hold ourselves accountable.

[00:32:52] And that's what this this worksheet basically is for.

[00:32:56] This is the template, the entrepreneur productivity template.

[00:33:00] OK, make sure if you don't want to write everything down by hand

[00:33:04] and you want to use the template, go to productivity template dot com

[00:33:08] to download your your template.

[00:33:11] And it makes it super simple.

[00:33:13] So what I did was I was doing everything by hand first,

[00:33:16] and then I had to get it into some type of structure.

[00:33:20] And once I put it in that structure, it was easy.

[00:33:23] It was a high level of glance at what my business has been doing each and every week.

[00:33:29] And with that high level glance,

[00:33:31] I'm able to see am I moving in the right direction or wrong direction?

[00:33:35] I'm laying out the breadcrumbs for my next steps.

[00:33:39] I'm organizing things.

[00:33:41] I'm becoming more efficient.

[00:33:43] And that's the whole game, guys.

[00:33:45] You want to work at maximum efficiency.

[00:33:49] For however long you're working, if you're working seven days a week,

[00:33:53] you still want to work at maximum efficiency.

[00:33:55] If you're working five days a week, same thing, four days a week.

[00:33:59] What I'm doing now, so I'm working at maximum efficiency.

[00:34:03] And that's what this template does.

[00:34:06] So if this makes sense to you guys,

[00:34:07] you can either just follow the podcast and write everything down

[00:34:11] or go and grab the template at productivity template dot com.

[00:34:16] Now, I say this each and every week, guys,

[00:34:18] because I mean it, we get more and more downloads because of you.

[00:34:22] The B.E.B. family, I appreciate you guys so much.

[00:34:25] Please continue to spread the word about the podcast, the ecosystem,

[00:34:29] the website, all the resources that are created to help you

[00:34:33] elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:34:35] Remember, it's not about me.

[00:34:37] It's not about you.

[00:34:38] It's about us.

[00:34:39] It's about building an economic power base in the worldwide black community

[00:34:43] by building and supporting black owned businesses.

[00:34:46] Love you guys.

[00:34:47] See you same time next week. Peace.