Black Entrepreneur Blueprint 550 - Jay Jones - The Top 3 Things I Learned As An Entrepreneur In 2024

[00:00:12] Welcome to Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, the number one podcast and resource for Black 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 build an economic power base in the worldwide Black community by building

[00:00:38] 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.

[00:00:56] Welcome to the Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, episode number 550.

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

[00:01:12] you.

[00:01:13] Today's show topic is the top three things I learned as an entrepreneur in 2024.

[00:01:20] The top three things I learned as an entrepreneur in 2024.

[00:01:25] Now every year entrepreneurship teaches us hard lessons, but only those who learn, adapt and

[00:01:31] apply them can actually thrive.

[00:01:34] And I'm going to give you guys the three biggest lessons I learned in 2024 and I'm also going

[00:01:40] to show you or give you actionable steps how you can implement those lessons also.

[00:01:46] Now before we get to today's show content, I just want to share a few things with the Black

[00:01:51] Entrepreneur Blueprint family.

[00:01:53] First and foremost, I want to welcome all first time listeners to Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:01:58] Welcome to the BEB family.

[00:02:01] Please stick around until the end of today's broadcast and I'm going to share all my social

[00:02:05] media contact information and resource links such as the link to our website.

[00:02:11] Guys, make sure you go to blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:02:15] We have all types of free resources to help you elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:02:19] Make sure you go to the website, click the learn tab.

[00:02:22] There's a drop down.

[00:02:24] We have all types of resources on strategy and mindset, scaling your business, marketing,

[00:02:29] e-commerce, side hustles, real estate, everything you need to help elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:02:36] Also, if your business is not working at maximum efficiency or you're about to go out of business

[00:02:43] and you need more leads, go to my new 5-Day Lead Generation System online email course.

[00:02:52] It's 5dayleadgen.com.

[00:02:55] The number 5-Day-L-E-A-D-G-E-N.com.

[00:03:02] 5dayleadgen.com.

[00:03:04] Now, this is an email delivered course for five days.

[00:03:07] You're going to get one new email with a lesson and a workbook and you're going to have all

[00:03:12] types of tutorials to help you build a simplified lead generation system.

[00:03:18] Guys, the biggest thing that most businesses don't have, the ones that are failing anyway,

[00:03:24] are lead generation systems.

[00:03:26] They don't have to be super complicated or clunky.

[00:03:29] And I'm going to show you how to build one in this five-day email course.

[00:03:34] Now, who is it for?

[00:03:36] If your business is about to go out of business, you need the course.

[00:03:40] If you're not working at maximum efficiency or making the money that you need to make,

[00:03:45] you need to check out the course.

[00:03:47] If you're trying to grow and scale your business and you're having problems,

[00:03:51] you need to check out the course.

[00:03:53] Guys, it's super simple.

[00:03:54] No leads equals no sales equals no business.

[00:03:58] It's the number one system that you need to build for your business.

[00:04:03] You must have a lead generation system that's generating qualified leads for you 24-7, 365.

[00:04:12] So go to 5dayleadgen.com for more information.

[00:04:17] Now, let's get ready for today's show content.

[00:04:20] Today, we're going to discuss the top three things I learned as an entrepreneur in 2024.

[00:04:26] You know, being a serial entrepreneur for 25 plus years and a business coach,

[00:04:31] you know, I've learned a lot over my time.

[00:04:33] But one of the biggest things I've learned, guys, is that you never stop learning.

[00:04:38] So in entrepreneurship, there's no such thing as standing still.

[00:04:42] You're either going forward or you're going backwards.

[00:04:46] So you have to continue to learn.

[00:04:48] And even though I think I'm well-versed and pretty successful as an entrepreneur,

[00:04:53] there's always something that I can learn.

[00:04:56] So today, we have to continue to learn, guys.

[00:04:59] We learn from our mistakes and we learn from our successes.

[00:05:03] And this is part of the process to becoming a great entrepreneur.

[00:05:06] You never want to make the same mistake twice.

[00:05:10] So on today's show, guys, I'm going to give you the top three things I learned as an entrepreneur

[00:05:14] in 2024.

[00:05:16] And I'm going to give you some actionable steps if you want to use these things in your business.

[00:05:22] So every year during the end of the year, I always reflect back on the previous year,

[00:05:28] what it looks like.

[00:05:29] And also, I plan for what's coming in the next year.

[00:05:32] So I've already done my plan for 2025 and I was just thinking about what 2024 brought some

[00:05:39] of the challenges and some of the things that I need to focus on and work on as an entrepreneur

[00:05:45] to get my businesses where I need them to be and also to create the lifestyle that I want to create

[00:05:52] at this stage of my life.

[00:05:53] So today, I'm going to give you guys three tips of the biggest things that I've learned in 2024.

[00:06:00] All right.

[00:06:01] So it's going to be a pretty short episode, but it's going to be right to the point, guys.

[00:06:06] Also, if you want the show notes, just go to the website, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:06:11] And if you scroll down, you'll see the last three episodes.

[00:06:15] So you can look at the show notes.

[00:06:17] If it's more than four episodes in, just click on the link and you'll have all the actual

[00:06:24] episodes you can go to, all 550.

[00:06:27] But tip number one, guys, you're only as good as your health.

[00:06:31] You are only as good as your health.

[00:06:34] I know as entrepreneurs, many times we're working 12, 14 hour days.

[00:06:39] We're working like crazy.

[00:06:41] And sometimes when you work like that, something's got to give.

[00:06:45] And unfortunately, many times it's your health.

[00:06:48] And I'm going to talk about mental, physical and your spiritual health real quick.

[00:06:52] But your mental, physical and spiritual health, they're paramount to running a successful, sustainable

[00:06:59] business.

[00:07:00] Now, I hear a lot of these gurus and I'm not going to call any names that tell you, you

[00:07:06] know, yeah, I work 18, 20 hours a day.

[00:07:09] Nobody's going to outwork me.

[00:07:11] Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba.

[00:07:13] You know what?

[00:07:14] Yeah, that's fine and dandy.

[00:07:15] You can do that periodically.

[00:07:17] But that is not a sustainable way to build your business.

[00:07:22] You can't function off of four to five hours sleep every night consistently.

[00:07:27] I don't care who you are.

[00:07:29] So when you hear cats like Gary V, I mean, he used to say this ad nauseum.

[00:07:34] And I'm like, come on, man, you can't continue to do that and work at your maximum efficiency.

[00:07:39] It's almost like there's a parable that I heard about two guys that were cutting down

[00:07:46] a tree.

[00:07:47] One guy, all he was doing was going hard.

[00:07:49] These are big like oak trees and they were sawing them and they had a contest.

[00:07:53] One guy was going hard, going crazy and just, you know, nonstop.

[00:07:57] Now, the other guy was going hard, but he would take his time periodically and he would sharpen

[00:08:03] his blade.

[00:08:04] And so while he sharpened his blade, that allowed him to cut even faster.

[00:08:09] And even though he wasn't moving as fast as the other guy, he ended up winning the contest

[00:08:14] because he took time to take care of his tools.

[00:08:17] And your body, your mind and your spirit are your tools.

[00:08:21] So you need to take time to take care of your tools.

[00:08:25] So let's talk about mental health right now.

[00:08:28] So the definition of mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope

[00:08:33] with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well.

[00:08:39] It's a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with their stresses of life,

[00:08:45] realizes their abilities, learn well and work well.

[00:08:49] So we all know mental health is a big thing out there, guys.

[00:08:52] Some people suffer from anxiety, depression, all types of mental health issues.

[00:08:59] And it's real.

[00:09:00] You know, especially I'm talking a lot to you black men, men of color that are listening

[00:09:05] to this a lot of times, we want to poo-poo the idea of mental health.

[00:09:10] And years ago, I was one of those guys until I almost lost it all for the second time.

[00:09:16] And I really had to dig in.

[00:09:18] And I said, you know what?

[00:09:20] I need to talk to somebody.

[00:09:22] So it's no shame in that if you need to talk to somebody.

[00:09:25] I talked to somebody for about four or five months.

[00:09:27] I got my mind back on track.

[00:09:30] I got right and I was ready to go.

[00:09:33] So you need to take care of your mental health.

[00:09:35] And if that means that you have to unplug every once in a while,

[00:09:40] you know, make sure that you go and do things that are enjoyable.

[00:09:44] You know, I found myself last year going through a whole lot of different issues.

[00:09:49] And one of the things was that I wasn't unplugging.

[00:09:52] You know, I had people talking about, yeah, can we let's have this meeting on on Sunday?

[00:09:57] Nah, it don't work like that.

[00:09:59] So if you ever seen the five heartbeats, Big Red said my office hours are from nine to five.

[00:10:08] Right.

[00:10:08] So I don't work on Sundays and I very rarely work on Saturdays.

[00:10:13] And over the spring and summer, I don't work on Fridays.

[00:10:16] You know, I schedule my time to be able to get everything I need done in four days.

[00:10:21] So your mental health is paramount, guys, to your success.

[00:10:25] And I used to tell my kids this when they were little.

[00:10:28] When you can control that coconut on top of your shoulders there, anything is possible.

[00:10:33] So make sure you take the time out to make sure your mental health is in order.

[00:10:38] If you need to talk to somebody.

[00:10:40] And sometimes it's not talking to a psychologist per se.

[00:10:45] It could be talking to a group of entrepreneurs, other entrepreneurs that understand the mental

[00:10:51] stress and the strain that you deal with as an entrepreneur.

[00:10:56] And that can help you work through things also.

[00:11:00] So tip number one, you're only as good as your health.

[00:11:02] I just talked about mental health.

[00:11:05] Excuse me.

[00:11:06] Let me talk about physical health.

[00:11:08] Now, the definition of physical health is a state of well-being where your body's organs,

[00:11:13] tissues, cells and systems work properly and a person can perform daily activities without

[00:11:20] limitations.

[00:11:21] Let me repeat that.

[00:11:23] Physical health is a state of well-being where your body's organs, tissues, cells and systems

[00:11:28] work properly and a person can perform daily activities without limitations.

[00:11:34] So just like the mental health aspect, many times we entrepreneurs are so busy, we don't

[00:11:41] focus on our physical health.

[00:11:43] And I'm going to tell you one thing, guys, you need to make sure that you're physically

[00:11:48] fit.

[00:11:49] When you're out of shape, you can't do anything well.

[00:11:52] It's just like a boxer, right?

[00:11:54] A boxer could have all the talent in the world and you can get in that ring.

[00:11:58] And if you didn't train, somebody with less talent is going to is going to either knock

[00:12:03] you out or beat you because you don't have the physical capability to keep up because

[00:12:08] you're not in shape.

[00:12:09] And I know this year has been a trying year for me.

[00:12:13] I've been dealing with some health issues and some health scares.

[00:12:16] And thank God I'm back on track now.

[00:12:19] But one of the things that I had to implement was a daily regimen of working out.

[00:12:24] And I always worked out, you know, a couple of times a week.

[00:12:28] But now I started focusing on working out six days a week with a daily regimen.

[00:12:33] And it was it could be it's walking, it's lifting weights, it's running, it's doing cardio,

[00:12:39] treadmill sometime.

[00:12:41] But I had to really focus on getting myself in better physical health after I had my health

[00:12:48] scare.

[00:12:48] And so that really puts puts an emphasis when you when you can't physically do the things

[00:12:54] that you need to do for your business or even go to work.

[00:12:57] That puts a real emphasis on on your mental and physical health.

[00:13:02] You have to be able to be in the best frame of mind to get the best results, the best not

[00:13:09] just frame of mind, but the best physical condition.

[00:13:11] So if you're overweight, out of shape, you know, you're huffing and puffing, walking up

[00:13:17] the steps and, you know, well, you're going through some some physical ailments or something

[00:13:22] like I did.

[00:13:23] You know, you need to get back on track.

[00:13:26] That physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being is paramount to the success of

[00:13:33] your business.

[00:13:34] And I know everybody in the new year talks about going to the gym, this, that and the other

[00:13:39] thing.

[00:13:39] It's really a lifestyle change, family.

[00:13:42] It's a lifestyle change.

[00:13:44] I changed my diet.

[00:13:45] I changed my exercise regimen.

[00:13:47] I changed my work hours.

[00:13:49] Like I said, I don't work on Saturdays very rarely, except maybe if I'm doing planning or

[00:13:55] things of that nature.

[00:13:56] And I definitely don't work on Sundays.

[00:13:58] I need time to regroup, you know, decompress and get ready for the following week.

[00:14:04] All right.

[00:14:05] So we talked about tip number one.

[00:14:07] You're only as good as your health.

[00:14:08] I mentioned mental health, physical health.

[00:14:11] Now let's talk about spiritual health.

[00:14:14] A definition for spiritual health is a broad concept that can mean different things to different

[00:14:20] people.

[00:14:20] But it generally involves finding meaning and purpose in life and connecting with something

[00:14:26] greater than oneself.

[00:14:27] So spiritual health is a broad concept that can mean different things to different people.

[00:14:32] But it generally involves finding meaning and purpose in life and connecting with something

[00:14:38] greater than oneself.

[00:14:40] So to me, I'm a Christian.

[00:14:42] So that's my religious belief.

[00:14:45] But it doesn't matter to me if you believe in Buddha, you know, Jehovah, Yeshua, whoever you

[00:14:52] want to believe in, or if you believe in anybody at all, that's your personal opinion.

[00:14:58] But some people don't even believe in a higher power.

[00:15:01] But to me, there is a higher being.

[00:15:05] And so my spiritual health is connected with my mission.

[00:15:09] It's also connected with my likes, my dislikes, my passions.

[00:15:15] And so for me, I feel that my creator has given me certain or special gifts that I need to

[00:15:22] use to serve others.

[00:15:23] So you need to have your spiritual health.

[00:15:26] If you are into that, you need to have that in order or be aligned with what you're doing

[00:15:32] also.

[00:15:33] So for example, if you're in a business that doesn't align with your spiritual beliefs,

[00:15:39] guess what?

[00:15:40] You're probably not going to be fulfilled.

[00:15:42] So if you are a devout Christian and you have the opportunity to open a couple of strip

[00:15:47] clubs or something, guess what?

[00:15:49] That probably is not going to align with you spiritually.

[00:15:52] So you always want to be in alignment with your mental, physical, and spiritual health.

[00:15:58] And once you're in alignment, things are a lot easier.

[00:16:02] So we need to focus guys on making sure that your health is in order.

[00:16:08] So that's tip number one.

[00:16:10] You're only as good as your health, your mental health, physical health, and spiritual health.

[00:16:15] So for example, with me, what I do in the morning, I get up about 5 a.m.

[00:16:21] every morning.

[00:16:22] The first thing I do is I take time to think and meditate, maybe 15 minutes.

[00:16:27] And I do that in the bed sometime.

[00:16:30] I'm awake, but I'll think and meditate.

[00:16:32] Then what I'll do is I'll go and work out.

[00:16:34] I come back and I'll read a scripture.

[00:16:37] And that starts my day after I say my prayers.

[00:16:41] Okay.

[00:16:41] Then in the shower, I'll usually say my prayers in the morning.

[00:16:45] And then I'll also say my prayers again at night before I go to sleep.

[00:16:49] So that's my routine.

[00:16:51] I'm getting that mental in by thinking, by meditating.

[00:16:55] I'm getting the physical workout in.

[00:16:58] Like today, it was 30 degrees outside, but I still hit the track and did 2.6 miles.

[00:17:03] I can't let that bother me.

[00:17:05] And then my spiritual, I'm in my word in the morning.

[00:17:09] And a lot of times while I'm on the track or whatever, I'll be listening to word.

[00:17:14] So make sure that you take care of your health.

[00:17:18] Tip number one, you're only as good as your health.

[00:17:21] Tip number two, simplify your business.

[00:17:26] Simplify your business.

[00:17:28] Many times we have too much clutter and we can't get focused.

[00:17:32] I did an episode about entrepreneur ADD, the shiny object syndrome.

[00:17:38] Every time we see something, we're going to start going towards that.

[00:17:42] And I'm raising my hand now.

[00:17:44] If I asked y'all to raise your hand, my hand would be raised too, because I had to learn

[00:17:49] how to focus.

[00:17:50] I had to simplify my business.

[00:17:53] Not because I couldn't function a business that way, but it's easier once you simplify things.

[00:18:01] Too much clutter, you can't get focused.

[00:18:03] So get rid of unnecessary things in your business and remove the waste and clutter.

[00:18:09] Okay.

[00:18:10] And I'm going to give you a couple of examples or a couple of things that I've done.

[00:18:14] I got rid of a lot of software, man.

[00:18:17] I had software overload.

[00:18:19] I had, I was paying so much thousands of dollars a month for software, for this funnel building

[00:18:25] software, for this e-commerce software, for stuff that was overlapping things that I thought

[00:18:32] I needed that I really didn't need.

[00:18:34] So get rid of your software overload too much software.

[00:18:38] And it was too much money.

[00:18:39] So I ended up using one funnel builder and that's system.io, S-Y-S-T-E-M-E.io.

[00:18:49] So I use that to build funnels.

[00:18:51] I use Shopify for my e-commerce stores.

[00:18:54] And I use several other software platforms to help build my business, ConvertKit, Beehive.

[00:19:01] And I use several others, but I used to have about 14 different software platforms that

[00:19:07] I used each month.

[00:19:08] And I brought that down to about seven or eight.

[00:19:11] So almost cut that in half.

[00:19:13] So simplify your business.

[00:19:16] Number two, cut down on the sources that you listen to, to help you grow your business.

[00:19:22] So I say this because I had to do it.

[00:19:25] I listened to a ton of podcasts.

[00:19:27] I watch some YouTube videos from time to time.

[00:19:32] I read a whole bunch of books every month.

[00:19:34] Sometimes we can get overload.

[00:19:37] So you want to focus on sources that you know are credible because I've seen, and there's

[00:19:44] been a plethora of people on some of these super popular, and I'm not going to call the

[00:19:49] names on some of these super popular video podcasts that are having a bunch of scammers on

[00:19:56] there telling stuff that's number one, ridiculous, and number two, illegal about how to scam to

[00:20:04] get lines of credit, credit cards, and all of that.

[00:20:07] And when you have a platform such as mine, Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, you have to be sure that

[00:20:13] the people that you bring on, since when I bring somebody on, I'm co-signing them,

[00:20:18] that the content that they're giving is credible.

[00:20:21] The people are credible.

[00:20:23] My mom always said something when I was little to even today.

[00:20:28] She said, son, remember the source.

[00:20:31] That means remember the source of the information.

[00:20:34] Why is this person giving this information?

[00:20:37] What's the objective and goal?

[00:20:40] Who are they?

[00:20:42] Are they credible?

[00:20:43] So remember the source.

[00:20:45] And what I had to do is I had to cut down a lot of the sources I was getting information

[00:20:50] from, not because they were all bad, but it was too much.

[00:20:54] It was an overload.

[00:20:56] So we're talking about simplifying your business.

[00:20:59] Another tip in terms of simplifying your business, you want to eliminate problem clients or customers.

[00:21:06] Oh my God.

[00:21:07] You guys won't understand how that will change your business, especially if you're in the service

[00:21:14] business, eliminate problem clients or customers.

[00:21:17] The reason most people don't eliminate those problem clients or customers is because they

[00:21:23] don't have a consistent stream of customers coming in that meet their specifications or qualifications.

[00:21:30] So what do you do?

[00:21:31] You end up taking on anybody as a customer or a client because you need the money.

[00:21:36] But if you learn how to eliminate those people, it's going to make your business flow a lot

[00:21:42] more smooth, smoothly.

[00:21:44] So I remember when I had my first mortgage business, I had a friend of a friend, a guy that I knew,

[00:21:51] you know, pretty wealthy guy.

[00:21:54] We used to go play racquetball together and stuff.

[00:21:57] And he was getting a mortgage.

[00:22:00] And I was like, all right, Jim, no problem.

[00:22:03] I got you covered, brother.

[00:22:04] He was calling me every day about the rates.

[00:22:08] And I'm like, bro, the rates move every day, multiple times a day.

[00:22:14] I'll get a notice.

[00:22:16] Rates have improved or rates have worsened.

[00:22:18] So I said, there's no way to time it.

[00:22:20] I said, if you don't want to lock in your loan right now, lock the rate in, then you

[00:22:25] can't keep calling me three and four times a day.

[00:22:28] Either you're going to shit or get off the pot.

[00:22:30] Excuse the friends.

[00:22:31] And it finally got to the point where I'm like, bro, I don't need this hassle.

[00:22:36] Oh, well, my wife said she has a guy that can get this rate, that rate.

[00:22:41] I'm like, you know what, bro?

[00:22:43] You go ahead with that person because I don't need your business.

[00:22:47] I don't need your business that bad because I have a consistent flow of customers that

[00:22:53] are ready, willing and able to do business with me.

[00:22:56] So eliminate problem clients or customers.

[00:22:59] And this is part of tip number two, simplify your business.

[00:23:02] Another thing that I did, I identified who my best customers are and I focused on getting

[00:23:08] more of them.

[00:23:09] I fired a lot of clients in 2024 in terms of my coaching and things of that nature.

[00:23:15] If you don't fit in and my mortgage business, I had to get rid of a dude the other day and

[00:23:21] I'm like, yo, this, this isn't going to work.

[00:23:25] You know, thank you very much, but I don't need your business.

[00:23:28] So identify who your best customers are and focus on getting more of them.

[00:23:33] Another thing that I had to do was create a sales system on delivering those customers

[00:23:38] that I want to do business with.

[00:23:40] I had to tweak my sales system.

[00:23:42] And when I say sales system, don't get overwhelmed because it doesn't have to be anything crazy.

[00:23:47] But I had to tweak my sales system, my funnel or whatever you want to call it to start making

[00:23:54] people disqualify themselves.

[00:23:57] So if I'm looking to for a certain type of client and somebody goes through my process

[00:24:05] I saw my funnel, my quiz funnel or whatever, and they tell me that, you know, something

[00:24:11] that doesn't jog with what I'm looking for in a client, then they're not going to be a

[00:24:16] client.

[00:24:16] So make sure you want to create a sales system to deliver that avatar or those type of clients

[00:24:24] that you want to do business with.

[00:24:27] And the last thing under simplify your business, create systems to run and grow your business

[00:24:33] without you.

[00:24:33] You know, that takes time because most times when we start off, we could be a one person

[00:24:39] show.

[00:24:40] But you can create systems like a sales system that will make people qualify or disqualify

[00:24:48] themselves as potential customers.

[00:24:51] So I talked the other week about a quiz funnel, sending prospects through a quick questionnaire.

[00:24:58] It's not really a quiz on how much they know, but it's really you're finding out information.

[00:25:04] Do they fit your parameters of a prospective client?

[00:25:10] Do they make sense for you?

[00:25:12] So if I'm in the mortgage business, which I am, and I'm looking for first time homebuyers

[00:25:17] and somebody goes through a quiz funnel and they tell me that, you know, I have, you know,

[00:25:24] 350 credit score.

[00:25:26] That's not a qualified or optimized lead for me.

[00:25:30] So I'm not going to say, you know, forget about you.

[00:25:33] I'm going to help you get your credit straight.

[00:25:36] Here's a resource for you.

[00:25:37] But as opposed to me spending 30 minutes on the phone with somebody that's not qualified,

[00:25:43] then this system helps me speak to people that are qualified to do business with me.

[00:25:49] Like I said, not kicking the other ones away.

[00:25:52] I want to give them resources that can help them become customers at a later date.

[00:25:57] But right now you're not ready, willing and able to be able to be a customer of mine if

[00:26:03] you got a 350 credit score with no cash.

[00:26:06] All right.

[00:26:07] So you want to create systems to run and grow your business without you.

[00:26:12] And today, guys, we're talking about the top three things I learned as an entrepreneur in 2024.

[00:26:18] Tip number one, you're only as good as your health, mental, physical and spiritual health.

[00:26:22] Tip number two, simplify your business.

[00:26:25] I just went through several different things, two, four, six different things to help you

[00:26:30] simplify and declutter your business and get more focused.

[00:26:34] And the last tip, tip number three, focus on what's important to you.

[00:26:40] Focus on what's important to you.

[00:26:42] Why are you doing this?

[00:26:44] Why are you an entrepreneur?

[00:26:47] Many times we start being an entrepreneur because we want to make more money.

[00:26:51] Understood.

[00:26:52] I'm raising my hand for that one, too.

[00:26:54] But after a while, it gets to be something more than that.

[00:27:00] Okay.

[00:27:00] Why are you doing this?

[00:27:02] And so remember why you started your business and what a successful business provides you

[00:27:07] with.

[00:27:08] What do you want your business to provide you with?

[00:27:11] Do you want more money?

[00:27:12] Do you want time?

[00:27:13] You want flexibility?

[00:27:14] You want freedom?

[00:27:16] Whatever it is.

[00:27:17] So, and here's a real life example.

[00:27:20] When I almost lost everything in 2008, when I had my mortgage business, 50 plus employees

[00:27:28] doing millions of dollars in revenues for, you know, for the years, for several years.

[00:27:34] And all of a sudden you got the financial crisis hit, you know, banks were closing up, uh, credit

[00:27:41] got tight and nobody could get loans closed.

[00:27:44] And it was crazy.

[00:27:45] I almost lost my home, uh, my cars, everything blew through my savings, trying to save the

[00:27:52] business and put money back in for payroll and, and all, you know, all of the expenses that

[00:27:57] we had myself and my two business partners.

[00:28:00] And it was one of the worst periods of time in my life.

[00:28:04] And that was actually the time when I re I needed that, that mental health checkup where

[00:28:09] I had to go and talk to somebody because it was getting to the point where it was just

[00:28:13] overwhelming.

[00:28:14] But one of the things was when I was laying on my couch and I said, all right, I got to

[00:28:19] make a comeback.

[00:28:20] I'm looking at the ceiling, you know, figuring out how I'm going to pay the electric bill,

[00:28:25] hoping my cars don't get repossessed.

[00:28:28] Uh, foreclosure notice was on the door.

[00:28:30] I had to peel that off.

[00:28:31] So it was real bad.

[00:28:32] But I said, what is important to me?

[00:28:36] What do I want to focus on when I make my comeback?

[00:28:39] So here were a couple of things that I wanted on this checklist that I created in my mind.

[00:28:44] And then I physically wrote it down.

[00:28:46] So write this down.

[00:28:47] Um, if you, if you're trying to figure out what you want, I didn't want to have to go

[00:28:52] into an office every day.

[00:28:53] I wanted freedom and flexibility.

[00:28:55] I didn't want to have 50 employees that I had to deal with.

[00:28:59] I didn't want to have 10, $12,000 a month rent.

[00:29:03] I didn't want to have payroll, $100,000 a month.

[00:29:06] Plus in payroll each month.

[00:29:09] I wanted a uncapped earning potential.

[00:29:11] And I wanted to have the ability to do what I want, when I want, with who I want, without

[00:29:17] anybody questioning me or asking me.

[00:29:20] So I came up with e-commerce.

[00:29:22] And that's how I started, uh, first in e-commerce and built my first very super successful million

[00:29:30] dollar brand with flat irons.

[00:29:32] And I've talked about this on, uh, women's flat irons for their hair.

[00:29:35] I talked about this, uh, on numerous podcast episodes.

[00:29:39] So I'm not going to get into it, but in the first six months, I grossed $272,000 in sales

[00:29:46] at about a 75 to 80% profit margin.

[00:29:50] And the only thing I was running was Amazon, uh, pay-per-click, uh, sales.

[00:29:55] So I probably netted close to 200 something dollars, a thousand dollars in a six month period.

[00:30:02] And it gave me freedom and flexibility.

[00:30:04] So I ask you, why are you doing this?

[00:30:08] Okay.

[00:30:08] What's important to you and how is your business helping you achieve those goals?

[00:30:14] So one of the biggest things that I always was, was, was a family man.

[00:30:19] I wanted to be a, uh, a big part of my, my kids lives as they grew up, you know?

[00:30:25] Um, and I talked about this before I lost my son.

[00:30:28] My wife and I lost our son at 17 months old, a brain cancer.

[00:30:32] He was our youngest.

[00:30:33] So we have three children.

[00:30:35] Um, my oldest daughter, my middle daughter, and then my son, which was the youngest.

[00:30:41] So after we lost Aaron, one of the things was I always wanted to make sure that I was present

[00:30:47] in my kids' lives.

[00:30:50] And when I had the mortgage business and other businesses, I was working my ass off.

[00:30:54] The money was great, but I didn't have the flexibility that I truly wanted.

[00:30:59] So when I started in e-commerce, it gave me everything that I wanted when I was laying

[00:31:06] on that couch and said, what am I going to reinvent myself as?

[00:31:10] How am I going to come back to have my business work around my lifestyle, not my lifestyle work

[00:31:17] around my business.

[00:31:18] So you want to build your business that facilitates your lifestyle.

[00:31:22] So for example, my kids were, you know, playing field hockey, soccer, swimming.

[00:31:28] They, they were great in academics.

[00:31:30] So they had a lot of academic stuff that they were doing.

[00:31:33] And with my e-commerce business, it allowed me that freedom and flexibility to go on the

[00:31:39] trips with them, to never miss a field hockey game.

[00:31:43] Since my youngest daughter was in ninth grade and my oldest daughter was in 12th, I never

[00:31:48] missed one field hockey game.

[00:31:50] Not a home game, not an away game, not an AAU tournament game, not a summer league games,

[00:31:57] but anything.

[00:31:59] I was always present.

[00:32:00] We would travel around and, and a lot of their friends would be like, damn, does your dad

[00:32:05] work?

[00:32:05] He's at all the games.

[00:32:07] But the beauty of it was I built my business around my lifestyle.

[00:32:11] And so that's the thing guys, focus on what's important to you.

[00:32:15] That's tip number three.

[00:32:16] Your business should be built around your lifestyle, not your lifestyle around your business.

[00:32:21] Ask yourself, does your business give you fulfillment?

[00:32:25] Are you fulfilled doing what you're doing?

[00:32:28] If not, then you may need to pivot.

[00:32:30] And I know a lot of times we look for that low hanging fruit where we'll just go out there and

[00:32:35] we'll start a business because there's money there.

[00:32:38] But once you get to a certain point and money isn't that motivating factor, you may be missing,

[00:32:44] you know, your children growing up.

[00:32:46] You may not be able to spend time with an elderly parent or whatever it is.

[00:32:51] You may not be able to focus on that true passion you have, which may be acting or singing

[00:32:56] or writing or whatever, because you're chasing the dollar.

[00:33:00] Chasing paper versus chasing purpose.

[00:33:03] But I know you have to have your basic needs met roof over your head, food and clothing.

[00:33:09] And then you can start thinking about other things.

[00:33:12] But if you plan it right, guys, your business should accentuate your lifestyle.

[00:33:18] It shouldn't supersede it.

[00:33:21] It should accentuate your lifestyle.

[00:33:23] I talked about alignment early on.

[00:33:25] You want to do things for purpose.

[00:33:28] And I know sometimes it gets to a point where you're just like, yo, I need the money.

[00:33:32] I can't eat.

[00:33:33] I can't pay my electric bill.

[00:33:35] They're about to repo my car.

[00:33:37] Been there, done that.

[00:33:38] OK, so I empathize with you.

[00:33:41] I feel you.

[00:33:42] Been there and done that.

[00:33:43] But you want to get to a point, guys, where you want to be able to focus on what's important

[00:33:48] to you.

[00:33:49] And I talk about pinpoint and monetize your genius, my online course.

[00:33:54] And your genius is the intersection of your passion and your talent.

[00:33:57] And one of the blessings that I have right now is I'm able to focus on things that I'm

[00:34:04] passionate about, that I have an interest in, different projects.

[00:34:08] I'm working on different projects behind the scenes.

[00:34:11] So right now, you know, obviously my podcast, the Black Entrepreneur Blueprint ecosystem with

[00:34:18] the online courses, books, all of that stuff like that.

[00:34:22] That's a big part of my business.

[00:34:24] My brands, my physical products, brands.

[00:34:27] Also, I have digital products.

[00:34:29] I have a new newsletter that's coming out.

[00:34:32] My hot sauce business.

[00:34:33] So I'm super focused on things that are important to me.

[00:34:38] And I have freedom and flexibility with my schedule.

[00:34:42] I don't have employees.

[00:34:43] I don't want employees.

[00:34:45] I have two virtual assistants that help me out, but I don't want full time employees.

[00:34:50] So you have to focus tip number three on what's important to you.

[00:34:55] So these are the three things that I really learned in 2024 and honed in on.

[00:35:02] So hopefully you guys can use this for your business and your lifestyle.

[00:35:07] Now, before I get to the last segment real quick, let me just give you my social media

[00:35:12] contact information and resource links.

[00:35:15] Everything I'm about to tell you is on the website at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:35:19] So I mentioned at the top of the show, go to the website, hit the learn tab and get all

[00:35:25] the resources that you need for free to help you grow and scale your business.

[00:35:30] Launch, build and grow.

[00:35:32] That's what we do here at Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:35:35] Also, for all you first time listeners, we drop a new episode every Monday morning at 5 a.m.

[00:35:42] Eastern Standard Time on all your major podcast platforms and YouTube.

[00:35:47] So wherever you watch this show at or listen to it, make sure you hit that subscribe button.

[00:35:52] Also, in terms of the other resource, if you're looking to get your lead generation system

[00:35:59] built, if you don't have enough leads, if you're about to go out of business or you can't scale

[00:36:04] your business, go to 5dayleadgen.com.

[00:36:08] The number 5-D-A-Y-L-E-A-D-G-E-N.com.

[00:36:15] 5dayleadgen.com for more information.

[00:36:18] Now, if you want to get in contact with me anything long, family, hit me on my email

[00:36:23] at jjones at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:36:27] J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:36:32] I get a ton of DMs and LinkedIn messages and stuff.

[00:36:36] And I'll be honest, I don't see all of those.

[00:36:38] All right.

[00:36:39] But email, I do pay attention to.

[00:36:41] Now, Instagram, I have two IG accounts.

[00:36:44] Make sure you hit the follow me on IG.

[00:36:46] The first one is J Jones for real.

[00:36:49] J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S.

[00:36:52] The number 4-R-E-A-L.

[00:36:54] Second one is Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:36:57] Twitter or X, whatever you want to call it.

[00:36:59] You can connect with me there.

[00:37:00] J Jones 001.

[00:37:02] J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S 001.

[00:37:07] Facebook, Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:37:09] YouTube.

[00:37:10] Make sure you hit the subscribe to me on YouTube.

[00:37:12] We have additional content on YouTube.

[00:37:14] That we do on the show.

[00:37:16] So go to YouTube.

[00:37:17] Type in Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:37:19] Hit that subscribe button.

[00:37:21] Also on LinkedIn, J Jones Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:37:26] Just type that in on your LinkedIn search.

[00:37:28] And I'll come up and make sure you follow me there.

[00:37:32] So real quick on this last segment, guys.

[00:37:35] We talked about the top 3 things I learned as an entrepreneur in 2024.

[00:37:39] Tip number 1.

[00:37:40] You're only as good as your health.

[00:37:41] Guys, make sure that you stay healthy.

[00:37:45] The only way you're going to be successful in business is if you're healthy, guys.

[00:37:48] It takes a lot of mental stress, physical stress, and also spiritual stress in terms to be successful.

[00:37:55] So you have to focus on those things.

[00:37:58] And I'm a morning person.

[00:37:59] So I like to get up in the morning and handle most of that stuff.

[00:38:03] But you do it whatever way you see is best for you.

[00:38:06] But focus on your health.

[00:38:08] Number 2.

[00:38:09] Simplify your business.

[00:38:10] Get rid of the clutter.

[00:38:11] Like, for example, today I'm about to clean my office up.

[00:38:14] I got papers over here and over here.

[00:38:17] And I can't focus now because my desk is too cluttered.

[00:38:21] So I'm about to clean that off as soon as I finish today's episode.

[00:38:25] So simplify your business.

[00:38:27] Get rid of the software overload.

[00:38:29] Cut down on the sources you listen to.

[00:38:31] Eliminate your problem, clients and customers.

[00:38:34] And build a system, a sales system that's going to help generate qualified leads for you.

[00:38:41] So you can work with people or customers that you want to work with.

[00:38:45] The reason you're working with people you don't want to work with, guys, is because you don't have a choice.

[00:38:49] You want to make the money.

[00:38:51] But if you have an overflow of qualified customers you want to work with,

[00:38:55] you'll quickly throw those negative ones or those bad customers or clients out the door.

[00:39:00] And that's what you need to do.

[00:39:02] So tip number two, simplify your business.

[00:39:04] Tip number three, focus on what's important to you.

[00:39:07] Why are you doing this?

[00:39:09] Why did you start your business?

[00:39:10] Many times we lose focus once we start getting into the mix of things of why we actually started our businesses.

[00:39:18] I wanted in this iteration of Jay Jones, I wanted flexibility and freedom, unlimited income.

[00:39:27] I want the ability to work on projects and things that fulfill me, that I have interest in.

[00:39:32] And I don't want to listen to anybody.

[00:39:35] I don't want to have a boss.

[00:39:36] I don't want to have a partner.

[00:39:38] And I don't want to have any of that stuff.

[00:39:40] So I'm out here, you know, living my best life as the kids say.

[00:39:44] So I'm focused on building that and building my business around my lifestyle, not my lifestyle around my business.

[00:39:54] So that's today's show, guys.

[00:39:56] I hope you enjoyed it.

[00:39:57] If you did, please share this link with all your family and friends or your entrepreneur friends.

[00:40:03] You know, I say this each and every week, but it's true.

[00:40:06] We get more and more downloads because of you, the BEB family.

[00:40:11] So please, if you're listening to it on app or whatever, grab the link and share it with your friends or family or whatever on YouTube.

[00:40:19] The same thing we're trying to get this good word out there.

[00:40:22] Remember, guys, it's not about me.

[00:40:24] It's not about you.

[00:40:25] It's about us.

[00:40:26] It's about building an economic power base in the worldwide black community by building and supporting black owned businesses.

[00:40:33] Love you guys.

[00:40:34] See you same time next week.

[00:40:36] Peace.