Hey there, hope you’re awesome… ya know I love free time…. in fact free time is EXTREMELY high on my list of values… much higher than on most peoples.
I love free time because it allows me to…
- Spend more time with my family
- Spend more time with my friends
- Create more automated streams of income ( actually this is one of my favorite things to do with free time… create more more products and services to make more money)
- Go to the movies
- Ride my Harley
- Lift weights ( been doing a lot of this one lately)
- Read books / Study info-products
- Go on trips
- Basically whatever the hell I wanna do
I’m all about having a freedom business… and not just a business that makes me money… in fact, I could make a TON more money than I do if I wanted to work a lot more… but for me, the free time actually means as much to me as the money if not more… cuz the money’s just a vehicle to freedom and security anyway… so I’ve found a nice balance I’m happy with…
Basically what I do is create an income source, then automate it and outsource it…. it’s really that simple… right now I’m at about ten of them… and I’m working on #’s 11, 12 and 13 ( in my free time… of course)
If you’d like more free time in your business, here’s some tips…
- Automate as much of your business as possible, put it into operations manuals, and delegate the work out to the right people… replace yourself in as many ways as possible
- Don’t take on any projects that won’t enhance your lifestyle – think Freedom Business
- Hire a top notch personal assistant if you can afford to… they can make a WORLD of difference… just make sure it’s the right person, cuz the wrong person can be a pain in the ass
Read – The Emyth by Michel Gerber and The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris – do what those books say to do- Only focus on the big levers in moving your business forward, get other people to do everything else
- Make your primary focus the marketing of your business, the strategies to get from point A to point B and networking
- Get good at saying “No” to people… and don’t feel guilty about it, it’s your time… use it wisely
- Charge a lot of money and don’t do anything that won’t end up compensating at least that much back to you ( with the exception of some pro-bono work which is always good to do)
- Set deadlines for yourself… you’ll get way more done and have way more time left over
- Put people in your life who are experts at the things you aren’t
- Ideally get to the ‘owners model’ and the ‘publishers model’… in the owners model you pretty much just own the business… and in the publishers model other people create content for you… two great ways to free up time
- Try to make the majority of the projects you take on either continuity OR large sum paid up-front… the only reason to offer low end products and services is the back-end. to build yous list and capture low hanging fruit
- Work off to-do lists
- See what parts of your day can you outsource the task to someone for less money per hour than your worth… whether it’s raking the leaves, dropping off the dry cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, fixing the car, doing the taxes… whatever… always be thinking “How can I save time here? And who can I get to do this shit?”
- Keep things simple
There ya go, 15 ways to free up time ( I realize there’s some overlap)… and if you’re like me, you’ll most likely spend a large amount of your free time creating more income streams (=
Oh yeah, and check out what I’ve been off doing in my free time…
Leave me a comment letting me know your favorite tips and and/or sopme ways you free up time in your life or business
ur my bruddah, always will be
free time = time with family
just left my full time job so on my lunch break I can play with my kids and see my wife
or, maybe skip a day of work and go to the beach
maybe i can go to the mall w/my kids, but my kids love pizza, so that will be a lunch date soon for sure, ha ha
i love to read, and i am reading:
jump in
tribes
these 2 books rock, highly reccomended
time to also start working on some continuity programs, and, of course, getting more free time
your blog is a HUGE REASON contributing to my success
thnx bruddah!
miss U!
peace!
–z–
Chris,
Excellent list.
Outsourcing is something I've been trying to become better at for a long time, but my favorite point of yours is #7.
Learning how to say "NO" to people can free up an incredible amount of time for you to focus on each of your points above and increasing your productivity.
I first learned to say no when I realized I was working too many hours and didn't have time to build my business anymore.
Since then I've been happier, more productive, less stressed, and my businesses have flourished because of that.
Anyway, thanks again!
Boh
David Bohmiller, BS, NSCA-CSCS
Excellent post Chris – definitely words to live by -
Your pace is amazing and you're just an amazing guy to follow in this business.
And if you want to sell "how-to" information to anyone, the model is all there – good work.
There isn't a better dude and family man to follow and aspire to in the fitness business besides Chris – ok, maybe you're tied with Bedros, and Hochman -
Keep up the killer work guys and can't wait for add-to-cart to come out – I've got my tux ready for red carpet – send me two tics -
ciao
Hey ,
I have started using a method Eben Pagan in one of his pre launch videos dividing my time into blocks and using focused attention rather than trying to multi task . I am finding this is really helping me be more productive and frees more time.
I also big of GOOGLE READER wow that saves me ages can catch up with loads of blogs in one place.
John Cusick
Personal Training Southend
CHris,
Thanks for the great tips. Also, I am excited for you and Bedros about your new movie. It looks interesting and I cant wait to see it.
Brian
Hey Chris, Great blog with great information. Thanks.
Chris,
These are great tips. Especially for someone like me, a beginner who is just starting out. With you, Bedros, and Steve, I feel I'm already on my way to a successful future and am doing it right the first time.
Thanks a Bazillion!!
Holly
Great post as usual Chris. I love the idea of To Do Lists. Works like a charm for me every day. My Daily To Do contains everything I have to do, from ironing and washing to contacting clients, publishing articles etc etc. My day isn't divided nicely between business and personal yet, but having it on the To Do means it will get done.
Also another comment, I love 'reading' posts. I just don't have time to sit and watch another video. Reading is so much quicker and you can bookmark and come back anytime and get straight to the point you were looking for without searching an entire video. So keep up the posts and lists.
Thanks for all your help and inspiration
Jo
Great stuff Chris…it's always good to get back in touch with the important stuff when we get wrapped up in small things. Picking those big levers is huge and saves so much time!
Thanks for the tips Chris
I've appreciated that finances aside, I am living my life now as much as want to replicate it in the future. That has meant a fair bit of sacrifice but it's given me time to work on the 5% that is the MOST important.
I can't wait to try and outsource more and give me more time to do the things I love.
I recommend the Fit Pro Newsletter to anyone that doesn't yet have it.
Cheers Mike
As always, brilliant and to the point. Thanks for the tips Chris!
Good words of wisdom Chris. I'm currently trying to set up a more automated process and I'm going to try and get a Personal Assistant in September for a couple hours a week and trade them free Boot Camp for payment so it doesn't really cost me anything. I'll be needing both of these things since I am about to get my Boot Camp into a second and possibly third location. Cheers to the future! Thanks again for the advice!
Doug Seamans
http://www.prideconditioning.com
Great stuff Chris!
Giving me more time to spend with my family makes saying NO to time
vampires real easy;-)
I am working on getting to the point where, if I don't enjoy doing something, I don't do it…
Chris, I love how you educate yourself and design income streams in your FREE time.
So what you're saying is FREE-time means your not working off a To-Do list and getting work done. But you have Free'd-up-your-time by automating parts of your business so you have FREE-time to grow your knowledge base by self education. Which grows more business!
I will chew on this thought all week.
Thank you
Steve Paterson
Yo Chris!
I love it man! I had a great time chillin' with family and friends this weekend and was thinking "How can I get the time to do this more often?"
And then BLAM! Chris Motherfucking McCombs sends a shout out to my inbox about how to do EXACTLY that!
Thanks for the action Items man, I'll dig out my copy of e-myth mastery and actually read the hard parts in the back. (Guys, E-Myth Revisited is the main e-myth book, e-myth mastery is the advanced course, and all trainers should read the e-myth for physicians)
Stay Frosty!
~ Luke Wold
Awesome information Chris!
We started our fitness/bootcamp business 5 months ago and I'm just NOW learning how to delegate.
It's about time management!
Don't waste your talent on something that's not you! Delegate and do what you're good at!
Also, for success you have to surround yourself with like minded people to create good positive energy!
Keep it coming! You're the best!
LindaJ*
I have just come to re read some of posts . when I first read alot of them I was just visiting clietns homes now I have my own studio I have found it easy to get caught up in working in my business and not spending enough time working on my business.
John
Personal Training Southend