I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: These Are My Top Tips for Building Wealth in Business
Written by
Cindy Lamothe
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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Everyone wants the secret formula to building a successful business. But with so many tips online about how to build wealth in business, it can be hard to know which path to take.
Luckily, GOBankingRates spoke with two self-made millionaires — Will Mitchell, the founder of StartupBros, and Ollie Smith, the CEO of ExpertSure — to find out their secrets for building wealth in business.
“As a self-made millionaire, I built my wealth from the ground up by bootstrapping my company and leveraging a strategic mix of resourcefulness and innovation to outpace competitors,” Smith said.
Below, both he and Mitchell share the most impactful wealth-building strategies that transformed their journeys and their businesses.
Also see five ways to build wealth quickly, according to Warren Buffett.
Create Value for Your Audience
“My No. 1 wealth-building strategy is providing massive value to my audience through education and community,” Mitchell said.
He’s built multiple successful online businesses by identifying problems aspiring entrepreneurs face and creating resources to help solve them. “For example, I launched a blog, courses and conferences teaching people how to find and source products to sell online,” he said.
Over time, he said this has generated millions in revenue and helped over 300,000 entrepreneurs start their own businesses.
Diversify Income Streams
Another key strategy for Mitchell is diversifying income streams. “I never rely on one product, platform or traffic source. If something changes, I have other avenues to generate revenue,” he said.
For instance, when Facebook made algorithm changes impacting traffic, his email lists, communities and search rankings helped minimize the impact. “Spreading risk across many streams creates stability and the opportunity for growth,” he explained.
Build the Right Team and Systems To Scale
Another insight Mitchell highlighted is building a team and systems to support scale.
“When my businesses started growing quickly, I struggled to keep up. Hiring remote staff and implementing automated processes let me focus on high-level work,” he said. “For example, I have staff handling customer service, product fulfillment and technical issues. Automated email campaigns, sales funnels and membership sites run largely hands-free.”
Smith also prioritized building the right team. “I was aware from the get-go that one of the basics for consistent growth is bringing in the right people,” Smith said. “I looked at if potential hires could fit the company culture and thrive within the organization instead of just looking for rainmakers. Such helped to form a workforce that was not only able but also willing to succeed on the company’s goals.”
With the right systems and team in place, rapid growth is possible without needing to micromanage every detail, according to Mitchell.
Focus On Systems, Not Just Goals
According to Smith, one crucial understanding that contributed to his success in his venture was a transition in thinking from setting goals to building systems. “Instead of fixating myself on some sales quota, I built frameworks that could be implemented in a reasonable manner,” he said.
That, in turn, meant he wasn’t chasing after ephemeral success but was laying ground for long-term income generation. He did so by automating and outsourcing, reinvesting in growth, and building a winning team.
From the beginning, Smith focused extensively on automating and getting rid of noncore in-house account tasks. “This gave me the ability to invest my time and efforts on growth-oriented activities, like acquiring clients and forming partnerships,” he said.
Additionally, instead of taking out profits in the early stages, Smith put back nearly every dollar into the business. “This made it possible for us to grow quickly and capture most of the market before rivals responded,” he said.
Creating Wealth in Business
When looking for wealth creation, Smith said it’s important to look beyond just the setting of immediate monetary targets.
“Instead, one should seek out creating and implementing a self-sustained system that would enable you to scale up your efforts and output without exhaustion,” he said. “It is indeed worth it to pursue the accumulation of wealth not by virtue of achieving one major financial target but by perfecting mechanisms that propel further expansion and growth in revenue.”
Smith added that his path to building wealth was focused on education, connection and value. “My wealth came from helping others build wealth. By educating, connecting and providing value to aspiring entrepreneurs, I was able to build multiple companies generating over $10 million in revenue and helping thousands of people start their own businesses,” he explained.
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