Stephanie Frank is the best-selling author of The Accidental Millionaire and co-founder of the Whole Wealth Institute Business Accelerator. Her personal story of rising from a college dropout to a multi-million dollar business owner at the young age of 22, walking away, starting over and duplicating success has inspired thousands. Upgrade to a Wild WE Gold membership for access to Stephanie's inspiring articles! Actually, I should have failed - I should have been the "intentional bankrupt" instead of the accidental millionaire. I did absolutely everything wrong in my first business and still made a million dollars. I didn't go to business school or have education as a business leader - much like many of my clients I just jumped into business because it seemed like the right thing to do. Once you ask yourself these questions, you can begin to formulate the plan to get the clients to close the gap to be financially solid. A lot of people have discussed this theoretically, including Michael Gerber. He's given some really big picture ideas of how its supposed to work, but nobody has really broken it down for the small business owners to really apply the leadership techniques and skills to before they can apply it and lead their organization through it. All of these books assume that people are in the position to create systems. Starting with the first question, the biggest trap you can fall into is to say "everyone is my customer". Not true! While "everyone" may be able to use your product or service, the reality is that not everyone wants it. So don't even try. "Women who are embarrassed about losing their hair call us when they want a simple, easy to use and fast-acting hair replacement option." These simple steps will take the stress out of delegation. For years, I hid behind what I thought was my biggest obstacle. I was embarrassed because I had so much trouble sitting still, staying awake in meetings, prioritizing tasks, focusing and keeping myself organized that I believed there was something truly wrong with me. I learned that these are traits of attention deficit adults and began to learn more about how to use my boundless energy, quick wit and creative, big-picture thinking patterns to my benefit. Labels: wild we member of the month
1. Everybody these days wants to become a millionaire. How do you become an "accidental" millionaire?
As it became increasingly difficult to manage, I began to discover exactly what I had to do to duplicate success over and over again in any business I wanted to.
I now teach these four skill sets to my clients so they can achieve success faster than they ever thought possible. I don't want anyone else to be an accidental millionaire. I want YOU to be an INTENTIONAL millionaire. I want you to be wildly successful because of yourself.
2. Why are your methods so successful?
They are so successful because what I've done is developed a step by step methodology, a recipe for creating success in any business. Using my skills as a former computer hacker, I break down systems into bit-sized steps - a complete process for developing their success.
I can take any business that has an existing product or service and make them a millionaire in as little as 12 months. The process is documented. If they can follow simple steps, they can find million-dollar success too.
3. What is the biggest trap that most business leaders fall into?
The biggest trap that business leaders fall into is not knowing how to trust others to get a job done. They are unable to relinquish control long enough for someone else to prove that they have the skills to be helpful. They feel that they must do it all themselves in order for the job to be done right. Or they are on the other end of the spectrum, overwhelmed and believing that they can't lead the business without a partner to assist them.
Both are dangerous. The controlling leader finds him or herself alone and overworked, and the overwhelmed leader finds him or herself in a variety of partnerships that do not work.
Carly Fiorina, in a speech to the MIT class of 2000 said "A leader's greatest responsibility is to make possible an environment where others can aspire to change the world.' When business leaders learn that leading doesn't mean strapping on the wagon and carrying everybody up the hill, success can begin.
4. What do all entrepreneurs need to build a thriving, profitable business?
There are really 4 major areas so let me tell you all four. All business leaders need duplicatable and understandable systems to define their leadership vision, communicate their marketing message, build and manage strong teams, and be financially solid in their business.
These four things are what every business leader needs to build a thriving profitable business. And here's why. You have to have leadership strength because weak leaders kill business. It's as simple as that. According to Harvard Business Review (Jan. 05), 2 out of 5 new CEOs fail in their first 18 months: "We live in a world where organizational failure is endemic," says Jena McGregor in her article "Fast Company" (Feb. 2005).
You have to be able to communicate your marketing message so customers can be clear on how your business solves their problems. You have to build powerful teams to keep the business running, and you must understand money because without it, you don't have a business at all.
5. What's the secret to creating exponential growth in business?
The secret to creating exponential growth in business is mastering and following the 4 skills I just mentioned. Use formulas for each step in the process, so you won't have to guess at which decisions are right for the business, which people to hire and how to sell your next product.
Let me break it down.
Because this is a process, I can't tell you everything but I can tell you this. Let's take an example that every small business leader faces - cash flow problems. "If I could only make more money, I'd be fine..." says many a small business leader.
With all challenges, including cash flow, you must ask yourself four questions?
6. There are lots of books about successful entrepreneurship on the market. What makes yours different?
There's a difference between knowing you have to create a system and actually putting it in place. It prepares the business owner fundamentally to create the fundamental shift in thinking and empower the business owner fundamentally to begin the process of creating the systems without being bogged down in theory and details.
The book is for people who are already running a business and don't have time to go to business school - those people who want quick, simple and do-it-now techniques for getting to a position to create systems, and who want accelerated results.
Anybody can start a business but if you've never done it successfully, you just need knowledge. The blueprint in the book sets business leaders up for success by providing a recipe.
Think of it this way - anybody can go through and they can make a cake, but if you've never baked before and even if you have a recipe, your cake won’t be as good as the chef's. Would it be better to have the chef sitting there with you, helping you every step of the way and showing you the pitfalls?
7. You've been quoted as saying "everything I know about success is the opposite of what I learned in math class." What does that mean and how can we avoid the traps that hold us back?
Anybody who went to school will understand what I'm about to say. There are behaviors programmed into us during our school years that we dangerously carry into adulthood and our business. The most dangerous is the "do it all by yourself or flunk the test" program.
Think about it. You're sitting at your desk in sixth grade math class, about to take a test. The teacher says "All eyes on your paper. If you look at or talk to anyone else, you're cheating and you fail."
So what do we do in business and in life? We think we have to do it by ourselves or risk failure. Success is the opposite – you need a support team, mentors, coaches, and advisors to help you along the way.
Math class also teaches us that there is only one way to solve a problem. Have you ever gotten an F in math class because you didn't use the exact steps you were shown to solve a problem, even though you got the right answer? I have. Successful people use creative problem solving strategies to come up with unique answers to challenges, despite being told they are wrong for doing so.
We need to break free of that limiting programming and realize that in order to grow, we must find new ways of doing things, working with people and overcoming obstacles.
8. What is the first thing every business owner can do to accelerate their business?
Do you know what the most important thing a business leader can do to accelerate their business? Know what it's like when it's built. Most people have never done that. They don't know where they're going. They simply start out with an ill-defined objective, and see how it goes from there.
Ask yourself some questions:
Huge corporations like IBM are successful because their founders literally dreamed - they considered what they future will look like, then set out to build it, much like an architect builds a building. First they draw the blueprint, then set the foundation and finally build the structure so the building doesn't tip over.
9. Lots of people have businesses, few actually achieve independence in that business. What is the biggest problem that small business owners face today?
In addition to lack of systems and process, which can be learned, many businesses simply need more customers, AND they need repeat customers. Small business leaders must focus on these three things to grow their customer base:
Imagine you’re standing in the cereal isle at your local grocery store, perusing the huge variety of colors, pictures, boxes, bags, and flavors available. Now ask yourself this: Where do they keep the kids' cereal? On the bottom shelf, of course - it's where there customer can see it!
The next thing to think about is what your customers walk away with after they have interacted with your business. A simple formula to use is "People (or specific type of customer) call us when they want ___________." Here's an example for a company that has a hair-replacement remedy and wants to cater to women.
Next is to get your customer to take action with you. If you've just met them, send a card with an option for future contact. Give them a reason to contact you with each step they take, and they will continue to buy from you again and again.
10. You've stated that it's possible to go on vacation for a month and come back to a thriving business. How is that possible?
As a young business leader, I learned this lesson the hard way. At one point in my career, I was a highly paid security analyst - I broke into computer systems and was paid to do it by major corporations. During one high-paying project, I was interrupted by an employee who asked me how to make coffee. They asked me how to make coffee because I was very picky about how I wanted it done. At that moment, I realized I could be making money or making coffee - and I chose to make money.
I immediately went into the kitchen with the employee and wrote on a piece of paper: "Here's how we make coffee" and proceeded to have them document the process while I made my final cup of coffee. Applying that same concept to administrative, marketing, sales, production and even household functions will allow you to take the time you need to live the life you want.
11. Successful delegation is one of the keys to success, yet few people delegate correctly. How can someone effectively delegate and still maintain control?
Have you ever delegated something, only to have it UN-delegated? I'm sure a lot of people will understand and have probably used the phrase "just forget it, I'll do it myself." Well, it doesn't have to be that hard. There are five simple steps for successful delegation every time.
12. What has been YOUR biggest obstacle and how did you overcome it?
Today, I think my ADD is my biggest gift, and I help others to learn how to use that gift instead of hiding behind it.
13. How can people get your book?
You can go to www.AccidentalMillionaire.com for a special offer on our 2-for-1 book with Power Pack and over $3,200 in bonus gifts for a limited time. The book also comes with over $1,574 in forms, checklists and tools that I have used with my exclusive coaching and mentoring clients. It’s available for only $47.
You can also get the book at bookstores and Amazon.com. Ending paragraph 
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