Here are 3 forms of leverage commonly found in a business that I think every wealth strategy should have:
Leverage #1: A clear written strategy
It’s common for a business to have a clear written strategy, but it’s not common for a person to have a clear written strategy for their investing. Without a clear written strategy, a business (or wealth strategy) often changes directions many times, and with each change, time and money is lost.
A clear written strategy helps reduce the amount of time a person spends in their wealth strategy because there is a clear focus. The strategy can be shared with team members so they are more efficient and focus only on those things that support the strategy.
Leverage #2: Systems
Systems are the greatest form of leverage in a business. The systems run the business. This enables the owner to spend his or her time managing the systems instead of managing the people. Managing systems is not only more efficient than managing people, it also takes less time and effort and produces greater profit.
Systems should identify the who, what, where, why and how for operating a business. Systems can (and should) touch every aspect of a wealth strategy.
For example, a wealth strategy should have systems for:
- Identifying and selecting investments.
- Funding the investments. If there is a loan process, there is a system for that.
- Managing the investments.
- Reporting for the investments.
Creating the systems can take some time, but once they are in place, it becomes very efficient to run a wealth strategy. The systems help reduce the amount of time required to manage a wealth strategy. The systems also provide better information so decisions can be made proactively and not reactively – this is also a huge time and money saver.
Leverage #3: Team of advisors
The 3 most expensive words in the English language are “do it yourself.”
Having a team brings leverage and velocity to investing which leads to better and faster results. This is what businesses do. They build a team with their employees, vendors, customers, advisors, partners and so on.
This same principle applies to a wealth strategy. The right wealth team can bring the greatest value to a wealth strategy.