It feels like All my Life I wanted to be an Entrepreneur and I didn't even know what one was and when I finally became one I thought "Oh My God what Have I done !!"

I don't normally tell this story but it all started randomly one Sunday afternoon sitting in the back of my Dads car, I feel around 8 years old.

Dad loved driving and loved to go for Sunday drives as a way to chill out before starting a new stressful week in his job

Now at 93 he loves talking about "The Good Old Days" and how he loved every second of his Job but I remember vividly him needing those Sunday trips out and one such Sunday we were driving down a Country lane and coming up to a junction we had to stop so he could assess the road and I looked out the window and I remember looking at this beautiful cottage that was derelict and it such disrepair it made my heart sad and ...

This thought popped into my head

'I wish someone would give me unlimited money to renovate it back to it's former glory or better'

I don't have many memories as a child but I remember this. Maybe the age was a bit shaky but I know it was before senior school because that event shaped how I approached school

I didn't know at the time like I didn't know what Entrepreneur’s were that people who design and redesign houses were called Architects but once I did I wanted to be one

But not just any Architect. I saw myself. Something else I did inadvertently "Visualisation". I visualised myself being Freelance, Living in London (somewhere I had never been but longed to go) swanning around with a large portfolio full of my designs and people loving my work and wanting to hire me. I saw where I lived and what I wore and I can still see it now and that cottage that sparked it all.

So I "Visualised" Being a "Self-Employed" "Architect" Living in London before I knew the Terms Visualisation, Entrepreneurship or Architects but in reality none of that actually happened because of bullying and people pleasing my way out of my own desires

Then fast forward to not so long ago. I learned about the Law of Attraction and how we can change our lives by changing our thoughts and Manifesting and I created a Goal Card saying
"I Am Successfully Self-Employed. Loving What I Do and Doing What I Love"

And then miraculously not long after miracles began to happen and there I was. A small business owner "Trading Time For Money" yet I didn't fully understand at the time that is what I was doing.

I just knew I got up early. Usually wrapped parcels with clients orders in, to post, if I hadn't done late the night before. Print off the labels. Drop them to a local shop to be collected. Drive to my shop usually 90 minutes before opening to set myself up for the day both Physically and Mentally by finishing my Morning Routine I started when I woke up.

Then work on orders. Create new stock. Talk to customers and potential clients desiring bespoke designs. Hand paint everything sometimes in minute detail.

Answer messages on social media. Order Materials. Create social media posts. Posts the posts. Respond to enquires triggered by the posts. Note down new orders.

Deal with issues like disorganised clients who always left it to late to order but told me how busy their lives were and how they meant to make an order and they were desperate for ie: a wedding set for Saturday on a Thursday !! And would beg me to fit it in.

Or the client who didn't take into account the colleague who was leaving had accrued holiday and now they wanted the order a week earlier because they were taking that annual leave bringing their living date earlier and can they have their order tomorrow instead of next week and I would stay late and come in early to do it and it never went to plan and took longer than expected causing massive stress as the person was due any minute

Or the person you sent multiple messages going backwards and forwards helping them bottom out a design only for them to tell you they couldn't afford it and didn't realise a bespoke order would cost that much and they thought it would cost this much (the price they saw on a basic item in my window that I create as what I called readymade to buy and take away that day)

And this was not just one client. This was multiple clients

Because I was a one man band and there were only so many hours in a day to generate income I was always worried money would run out so there was never any actual down time because I would create social media posts while away to generate and create interest to have orders to work on on my return and that was always playing in the back of my mind

We were away once and there was an incident with the plane (nearly crashing) and some of the aircrew were injured meaning we all had to be taken off the plane and sent to a Hotel until they could rearrange a flight home and I received an angry message from someone who was outside my shop and they desperately needed to buy an item for a friends birthday and why wasn't I open and could I come and let them in immediately

"Ahh no and sorry for nearly dying and inconveniencing you"

But I knew there was a better way but hardly ever got to work on "The Better Way" due to constant moving goal posts and interruptions and things generally taking longer than expected.

Then Covid happened and footfall fell along with the income and "The Better Way" took longer that anticipated and honestly I was terrified how I was going to make ends meet when something caught my eye while buying materials

The store I was entering were recruiting and I suddenly thought "I could get an early morning JOB to help pay the bills and then go to by business in the afternoon". Which I did.

I got a JOB that started 5am and finished at 1:30pm where I would immediately drive to open my business. Sit in my shop and work on orders. Go home late. Go to bed to get up at 4am and start all over again and work all day Saturday on my day off of the JOB in the shop and back in Sunday 5am

That's what usually happens when people have "Trading Time For Money" positions and businesses to create more money they have to work longer hours and or get another job and sometimes another.

In truth I was slightly embarrassed that the Entrepreneur had to take a JOB to get by but at the same time my Mentor I admire. Marie Forleo had 3 jobs while she was starting out and I often mentioned this to people who said they wanted what I had (no boss) but thought it was an all or nothing game and if this took some of the pressure off and kept the lights on. So be it.

After all. those were unprecedented times but it did intrigue me that for my other colleagues this was their only form of income and they were always were complaining of being tired. I didn't have time to be tired. Tired was not an option for me.

Also before this I had made a pact to myself

I would not have another Christmas in that business. Christmas was hell. It started in August if not earlier and then usually ran up to Christmas eve. 7 days a week to get all the orders completed in time and create stock for the store and my Christmas didn't exist.

We never usually got a chance to Christmas shop and everyone started getting gift vouchers and any time out to get food etc was a massive imposition

One year we told "X" relatives who kindly invited us over that we were going to "Y" relatives and then told "Y' we were going to "X" and in actuality we had Christmas Dinner on laps trays in our Onesies in front of the TV because we were so exhausted and wanted some downtime

I started to look at all the things I didn't like or want and wrote down what I did want instead and what I wanted was FREEDOM !!

Freedom to get up when I wanted. Go where I wanted when I wanted and do what I wanted when I wanted and for me, the key to this was having an Online business creating Digital Products I loved when I wanted to create them and create them once and sell them indefinitely

I'm not saying it is an over night process and in the beginning there is or can be still some "Trading Time for Money" to be done but this time it is done differently

Where before without the decision to go 100% Online that "Trading Time for Money" Brick n Mortar was a relentless Hamster Wheel of a lot of effort and little financial reward because the opportunity to create product was Time Bound and therefore Income is Capped

When you know what you want and where you are going the Trading Time is just a means to an end on the Journey to Freedom and that's why I call people who come in to my Community Freedom Empire Builders because every action step made in the Direction of Their Dreams is a Brick in the Foundation of Their Own Freedom Creating Empire

Talking of working with people

On this journey I decided to create extra income from Helping Woman 121 who wanted to learn the skills I have like building their own website. Podcast etc because I absolutely love inspiring woman to see they can do what I do to and I just generally get a buzz out of the creative side on Online Business and Marketing skills but then gradually I found myself more and more time bound and committed working for my clients and meeting my clients 121 and then I realised ....

I was back Trading Time for Money but just in a different way and getting no time to work on my Projects apart from watching Training videos while I put my face etc on and around subjects I wanted to learn and implement in my own Digital Products

I was starting to see this pattern forming and see how I had gotten off track from my Truest desires when I heard something in one of those Trainings

Russell Brunson who can charge from $100,000 to a Million Dollars in a day for consulting to help companies build sales funnels etc said he doesn't do it any more.

He said he doesn't like it and clients are horrible. Well they're not but some are and I just don't want to do it any more. Someone can pay me $500, 000 for a day for me and my Team to come and help them build them a funnel that then could potentially earn them Ten Million dollars in the next Year and beyond or I can build a Funnel that will make me $500,000 on launch day and then earn me conservatively Ten Million Dollars or more over the next Year or more

Ok we are not all Russell Brunson's but you get his point

Would you want to get paid a set fee. Take time out to help someone make themselves a lot of money or would you like to invest the time you would spend with a client investing in your own products and services and make your self a bunch of money instead?

Oh that' a tuffy !?!?

So I decided to go back to my routes as it were or my route desire

Regardless of what the outside image currently looks like I am going to rebuild my beautiful cottage of a Digital Business My Way in My Own Time and not take on paying clients 121

Then something came up !!

Some enquires to make some orders of my old product and the thought crossed my mind

"Would it hurt to make a few bits here and there and sell them online?" initially the thought felt quite pleasant because making my product was very pleasurable and then this really strong sensation took over my whole body

I realised I felt physically repulsed at the thought of having to create something in a certain timeframe and having all the added pressures I mentioned above and then I felt obligated to tell you, the reader to beware

Beware of being an Entrepreneur !!

It's absolutely fine being an Entrepreneur and I highly recommend it. Especially in this Digital age which makes it easier and easier but pick your vehicle wisely

I just wanted to be my own boss but I had to go through being my own boss to learn there are different ways and better ways and things like Brick n Mortar business owners. People who have a physical product or service like Hairdressers, Butchers, Plumbers. Even Architects are usually landlocked and time bound

They have to be physically present to deliver the service and there are only so many hours in the day to deliver that service and therefore there is only so much money that can be created in a day

If you want Time Freedom and Location Freedom not to mention Financial Freedom. Start to think about ways you can create an income Online selling the skills and expertise you already have.

You most probably have special skills in a normally physical practice that can be transmuted into a Digital Product, Course or Membership Program that you can create once and Market forever and when that's up and running you can create another and another

See where I am going with this?

I particularly grasped the idea of true Freedom when I read a specific book and it was described that a real business was something that usually had premises and multiple employees and that you could step away from that business for an inaudible amount of time and still have an income

I believe that the parameters for that have changed since that book was written now with the Online Digital World of Business but it still set the seed for me of what true Freedom Looked like.

Something that you can step away from. Travel etc and still make you money.

I hope this weeks edition of Amplified Empires has set a seed for you too, to view the world of Entrepreneurship differently and while we all need Hairdressers, Plumbers, Butchers, Bakers and maybe not candlestick makers but definitely Architects to design our Dream Homes You don't have to be one

And if you want to know what that book is? It is called "The Cash Flow Quadrant" by Robert Kiyosaki and you can get a copy by clicking the title above and if you want help building an Online Digital Business for Free even if you have no idea and no product yet I highly recommend you take advantage of Russell Brunson Free Trial of His Software Clickfunnels that allows you to build sales funnels that can acquire customers and clients 24/7 without you ever having to make a telephone call or send them messages that end up no where

And don't worry !! It comes with complete Training on how to do it in something called The One Funnel Away Challenge along with so many others amazing Training that help set you up for success and then eventually ...

You can stop Trading Time for Money making someone else rich and start getting rich yourself.

See you on the next edition and for now have a Fabulous Day, Week, Month, LIFE !!

Ali xoxo


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