Are you pulling on the wrong levers in life?

Are you focused on the right levers?

Welcome to the SPS Newsletter.

“Big doors swing on little hinges.”

-W. Clement Stone

“Your store is closing.”

Those words rocked my world in March 2011.

My visa was up for renewal. I didn’t have time to get a new job. I would be deported from Canada.

12 years later, I look back and smile at one of my life’s most defining and stressful moments.

But what happened?

The shock:

I was planning a trip back to the UK and Ireland and had requested time off.

I saw my regional manager calling. I thought I was getting the green light for an extended vacation. The call took a much different turn.

“Your store is closing.”

“I am not sure I have a job for you.”

The panic:

Losing a job is scary enough but having to leave a country hit hard.

My girlfriend at the time was in tears. Even if I got a new job, my visa application would start from scratch again. I only had a few months left and everything was linked to my current job.

Everything felt out of my control.

The reality:

I was the newest manager in the region.

I was 100% sure I was done. There were several managers with years of experience ahead of me. But I had one saving grace.

My store and I were top of the region for store cards sold.

The store card was my regional manager’s core focus.

The rumours:

A week passed, and I heard others managers had “left.”

Either they were let go, or they walked. Every time the phone rang at the store, I got a little nervous. Is this the call that will change my life?

It was like living on a knife's-edge.

I can honestly say it was the most stressed I'd ever been.

The 2nd call:

The day arrived, and the phone rang “Oh f**k here we go.”

“Stephen… how would you like to work in this other store.”

I can’t tell you how quickly I said yes. It was like scoring a winning goal in the last minute of injury time. I was over the moon.

I would get to stay in Canada.

I would have time to finish my Visa process.

What saved me:

The store cards did.

I wanted to impress and succeed in my new job. The regional manager was obsessed with the new store card. A lot of older managers didn’t buy in.

I made it my goal to dominate the store card leaderboard.

I was the top-selling manager, and my staff were also top of the leaderboard.

The lesson:

Find the levers that create the most impact.

In every role since I look for what’s important:

• What makes you money?

• What matters to the boss?

• What is busy work and distraction?

• What matters most to your business?

Following this rule, I went from a retail manager making a little over $30k a year to succeeding in 6-figure corporate leadership roles.

It gave me the confidence to become a business owner and coach.

“Big doors swing on little hinges.”

5 reasons why as a solopreneur I focus on BIG levers in my business:

(Personal breakdown of my thoughts)

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”

- Abraham Lincoln. 

1) I find and focus on the high-value and high-$$$ levers because this is the only way to ensure my business is continually growing and bringing in the $$$.

 “The most dangerous thing you can do in business is to take too few risks.” 

- Mark Zuckerberg. 

2) Regularly monitoring and adjusting these levers helps me make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of bumps or barriers that come up.

Without data, I don’t know what levers to pull. I don’t know what actions to take. I could back the wrong risk.

You need to review your data.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” 

- Wayne Gretzky. 

3) Identifying and prioritizing the most impactful areas of my business drives significant ROI.

If I know the right levers, I will take the right actions. I will take more shots because I have targets in sight. I will score more goals.

My goal is to work fewer hours while creating more positive results.  

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” 

- Henry Ford. 

4) By focusing on these high-value levers, I can reduce wasted time, improve my lead generation, close rate, and increase sales.

This gives me a sense of confidence in my ability to scale my business. I also have a good coach behind me who calls out the levers I am missing.

We all need a good coach in our corner to help us take more action.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” 

- Peter Drucker. 

5) I devote time and resources to these high-value and high-dollar levers because I am setting my business up for long-term success and stability.

I didn’t start a business to fail in 6 months or move on to something new in a year.

I want to create a sense of security and satisfaction in a bigger, better future I created out of thin air.

How I help business owners:

This idea of focusing on core levers is one of the 1st parts of my PRO Accelerator Program.

Get clear on high-value activities for life. Get clear on high-$$$ in the business. Build a structure so taking action on these levers is frictionless. 

It's simple but often not easy because you have to get out of your own way mentally and emotionally. 

I hope this week's newsletter will help you focus on the levers that matter.

Make it a good one,

Big love,

ST.