When most entrepreneurs think about getting into business, they’re driven by the idea of making more money and being able to control their own schedules … and now there’s a myth in the entrepreneurial community that entrepreneurs are more successful when working less. It’s something of a myth perpetuated by the 4-Hour Workweek.

Heck, this used to be me too.

I hired outsourcers from the Ukraine, Philippines, India and China who took care of several business tasks while I enjoyed the consistent income I had been accustomed too.

But there was a big problem.

It stopped working.

You see, much like what happened in the “good ole’ days” of the early 2000s, almost any marketing strategy you threw at the wall seemed to make money.

So people got ‘fat and happy’ and took it for granted that the economy would continue to spit out money.

We completely ignored the things we should be doing.

We stopped:

• Testing and measuring our marketing performance
• Creating new marketing strategies
• Reaching out to our past customers for new ways to add value
• Giving our customers an even more compelling reason to do business with us (instead of our competitors or choosing an alternative)
• Finding new ways to increase the lifetime value of our customers
• Understanding our client and their needs/wants
• Maximizing the value of our relationships, assets and opportunities

We stopped thinking strategically!

So when the economy turned, it took most of us by surprise.

Then I realized, the biggest takeaway from “The 4 Hour Workweek” isn’t about working less, it’s about working less on the stuff that’s not profit producing (like bookkeeping and administrative activities) and spending more time on the stuff that’s most important to your business. The 4-Hour Workweek is NOT just about working less.

Successful people find ways to maximize every second of everyday by leveraging as many resources as possible so they can be even more productive.

And part of this comes down to marketing strategies and systems.

Just one properly executed marketing strategy can bring in more leads, convert more sales and generate more profits with less time and effort than you may have otherwise believed possible.

Marketing is leverage.

And the greater the leverage, the greater the stronghold you have over your competition.

What are you doing today to increase your leverage?

In your corner,

Charlie