Financial freedom and time freedom are expressions that are more commonly talked about now, and often our personal goals come down to these two in some way. Post Covid-19 this is even more prevalent amongst our client base as the importance of personal freedom has become more apparent.
You might want to relocate (like I did) and take a lunchtime walk along the beach, or be able to spend more time with friends and family, travel and tick off those dream destinations or experience all the different things that you love.
Often I’ve seen people start a business from a point of focusing on what they don’t want to do – no commute, no boss, no 9-5, no travelling to clients, no staff meetings, and less on what the actual why is. This can lead to frustration and entrapment by not looking towards where they are going to next, and instead looking back on why they are leaving where they came from.
What is your why? What motivated you to start your business and what do you ultimately want to gain from it? These are important questions to be clear about so you’re continually striving towards your ultimate vision for your life.
Both time and finance ‘freedoms’ help each of us achieve a greater impact in our own lives as well as our families, communities and wider afield.
What’s important to always bear in mind is that what is displayed by others as financial and time freedom – especially across social media – is never the whole picture. There was a journey to get there and there is a journey to maintain or grow it. It can be equally empowering, exhilarating and exciting as it is lonely, exhausting and stressful – it takes more than just being ‘remote’ to get the freedom that you want.
I often get asked about how I set up a fully remote business whilst relocating internationally with my family, and if it can work for anyone or any business.
Some businesses will inevitably require more manual input, office and location time than others, but if you’ve got time and money freedom goals on your personal roadmap, here are some of the things I learnt on my journey that I hope can support you in yours.
9 Things You Should Do In Your Business To Reach Your Freedom Goals
1. Always be on the analyse-learn-action curve
Trends and tech change. While it’s important to remain focused and not be distracted by ‘shiny new objects’, there’s an organic, consistent growth within all businesses found in feedback, data and results. Learning from others who are doing what you want to do too keeps you connected and growing, as Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend most time with”. Connect and learn from those who inspire you and don’t get stuck in being too remote or lonely.
2. Automate and delegate now
Know your value – your time can service revenue so delegate low value tasks as cost effectiveness and mind freedom from these tasks (they are distractions from your most important work). Switch out standard support for the right support, in your tech and in your team. Whether that’s the right VA, supplier or business partner, the right support makes a huge difference to how you move forward and up – and how quickly this happens.
3. Some days you’ll want to give up. Don’t
Know when you need to rest and when you need to push through. One leads to burnout, one leads to a breakthrough. A good thing to do is an outlet that calms you – mine is the beach walk.
4. Sort out the little (or ugly and difficult) things as they come up
They nearly always lead into the big things and are the ‘pebble in your shoe’ (in the wise words from Muhammad Ali). As Brian Tracy also famously said in his book Eat That Frog!, “If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.“
5. Know what ‘season’ you are in
This helps you know how to navigate. Are you in spring, creating something new or maybe in autumn where you’re having a re-frame and striping back? Is it winter, and you’re delving deep into your business development, or is it summer and a time to cut back on the big projects and enjoy more time outside of work?
6. Learn to say no quickly
Not all business is good business. Saying no in business can be the right thing and going with your gut feeling never leads you to something bad – but not going with it could (and often sends you down the wrong path). It also supports you in utilising your time to work mostly on the things you enjoy and care about.
7. Keep it simple.
Some of the most successful businesses were launched around 1 clear and simple idea. Air B&B, Uber, Amazon. This keeps resources, headspace and energy in one lane, rather than split over many – and gives you what you need to get it done rather than spread too many projects out (also spreading yourself too thin) and never finish. Although simple, this one is the dark horse when it comes to lifestyle freedom success.
8. Don’t get stuck in the “How do I…?” loop
What often leads to overwhelm is being the do-er, keeping you working in the business instead of on it. When you get to the how, find the right people with the right expertise when you aren’t sure. This covers all business areas such as IT, legal, tax, HR and accounting. As with automation and delegation, investing in the right support is key to bringing in more revenue.
9. Utilise your business assets in different ways
Be on the lookout for creating opportunities and avenues towards passive or semi-passive income. This enables consistency, stability and growth in your business for the long haul – this is largely where most business owners get that time and financial freedom from.
The Nuvem9 Business Freedom Journey
Building a business that works fully remote was not just a freedom point and dream goal for me, but quickly became a passion to help others do it too.
It was when I was on the beach and deciding on a company name that I was inspired by the clouds in the sky – or os nuvem, if you’re speaking Portuguese and in Portugal, like me – I realised I wanted to be on cloud9 and that the cloud accounting ecosystem was the mechanism to help me deliver that. And that’s where Nuvem9 came in.
What’s your cloud9? I’d love to hear your story – please feel free to reply and share yours with me over in our slack community here.
Are you looking for a business model that supports your freedom goals?
Nuvem9 are more than (just) accountants. We understand that finance is the lifeline in a business and our goal is to look after your lifeline and look after your business growth.
Get in touch to to speak to us about your business goals, your freedom lifestyle plans and how we can support you to make your clould9 your reality.
