This blog post is the second and last part. If you haven’t read Part 1, I suggest you to do so to follow the background story of what I’m presenting you here :)

I start Part 2 with a couple of case studies to pump you up…

How appealing is owning your business and have it on autopilot (at least semi-automatic): Case studies

Firstly, let’s explain the owning-a-business concept with the new Bill Gates – He is now active in his non-profit organisation, while his Microsoft empire is running on autopilot. He hires a CEO and other important figures to run Microsoft and rake in millions of dollar with his presence only plays a small role.

If Bill Gates is a figure that is not so down-to-earth (he is the richest man in the world), here’s another example that can fire you and I up:

A contact of mine is running a network of web businesses that earn him six figure income annually. Here’s how he does it – He set up websites in finance niche, market them properly, and have the sites to send leads to a finance company he partner with. He only need to answer prospects inquiry (a few a week) and repackage the leads to be forwarded to his partner. That’s it.

If that’s not envious enough, here’s another one: He runs some web directories which one of them is an 11-years-old authority web directory. Website owners can submit their website links for a one-time review fee of $19.95, all done in an automated system. He gets this kind of submission about 5 a day, which means he is making $3000 a month – on autopilot. His real works is only taking 2 hours daily. The rest – Pursuing his interest in car tuning and finding new business opportunities (largely for fun.)

How’s that for owning your business without running them on an 18-hour work day?

How to migrate from running your own business to owning your business

To be honest with you, to answer this you need to buy Tim Ferriss’ 4-hour Workweek and read it thoroughly. But unfortunately I’m not selling his book right now :D – So I’d like to offer you a thing or two that I learn from Tim’s experience (and modify them, so that they work in my situation) about transforming your role as Owner-Manager into Owner-only:

• The goal is not to make multi-million-dollar business and sell it later on or release it to public in an IPO – The goal is to minimise your working hour in such a way that you are becoming, indeed, a passive business owner. Focus on this end goal and have your mindset, well, set to achieve this goal (And yes, 4-hour workweek is very well achievable.)
• You need to outsource the most unproductive business process of your business, yet essential for its survival. In my case, SEO and link building are some of my top concerns that are measurable and needed to be done, yet resource intensive.
• Do you need to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA)? Although it’s a good idea, but you must analyse your situation – Will hiring a VA help me or, on contrary, drain my business’ cash flow with no comparable return?
• Your business or your work is not your life. Your business is just a vehicle to allow you achieving what’s far more important to you in life. Owning a business properly will allow you to have near-passive income that enables you to pursue your passions (I don’t take “But my passion is my business” reasoning – Trust me, when your passion or hobby is becoming your business, you’ll eventually lose interest in it.)

Of course, migrating from “YOU = YOUR BUSINESS” to “YOU = YOU” is coming back to what you want in your life. No matter how doable this migration idea is, your mindset is all that govern your decision.

If you said, “But I love managing my business,” so be it. I agree that this blog post is pointless to you :) But if you said, “I love my money-making business, but I don’t want to be trapped inside,” so this blog post will excites you.

Yes, all in all, entrepreneurship is all about mindset. Do you feel guilty not working 18 hours a day? Do you see entrepreneurship as a way to create yourself a job? Your answers determine the end goal you want.

Ivan Widjaya
I’d like for my business to run without me, please…
Image by PinkMoose.

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