Part 2 Of 5: The Choice To Change

FREE CASE STUDY KIT: Reveals the ‘insider’ secrets of how our service-based business owners build businesses that grow, run, and scale without them.

Hi, I'm Eric Dahl, the creator of the Independent Business Method. 

Welcome to part 2 of our 5-part series, the Independent Business Tell All Interview, featuring one of our Independent Business Builder Community stars ...

... Ed Waggoner, owner and founder of Empire Property Management. 

Our Independent Business Builder Community is a group of entrepreneurs. They have implemented the Independent Business Method and are now sharing their experiences. 

In this episode, we're exploring: 

Discover how Ed made the pivotal decision to escape the grind. To take the first step toward building a business that grows, runs, and scales without him. 

Ed Waggoner: That's when my journey began, transforming Empire Property Management from a job that consumed all my time into a standalone business ...

... a real business that's an entity all its own. 

It has its own inertia and momentum, so it grows without you, runs without you, and scales without you. This transformation brought Ed a profound sense of relief and freedom. 

A feeling he never thought possible.  

I help business owners build independent businesses that grow without them so they have time freedom ...

... the ability to sell their business for top dollar, pass it on to the next generation ...

... or collect checks while they explore the world.

Today, there's a new breed of business owner in the world: 

One who's not tied down by their business but completely controls it. And you can become this new independent business owner. 

This shift in mindset brings a new level of empowerment and control over your business. We call ourselves independent business builders ...

... where you're not dependent on any one marketing ...

... or advertising strategy to grow your business.

You're not dependent on any one employee or supplier. 

You're not dependent on any government. 

You're not dependent on any banks or investors. 

Instead, you exist in a world where you control your time and income. And your business is not at the mercy of any single factor. 

This brings an invaluable sense of security and control in the business world. A feeling that's at the core of the Independent Business Method. 

Recently, I compiled a one-hour ‘Tell All’ Interview Video, Audio, Transcript, Checklist, 3-part Video Series, Masterclass, and on-demand training valued at $297 into this FREE Independent Business Case Study Kit. 

It reveals the ‘insider’ secrets of how our offline and online business owners build businesses that grow, run, and scale without them, and I want you to have it.

You can access it for free right now by clicking HERE.

Ed Waggoner: That's when it started. It was slow, and I didn't know where to start.

Eric was helpful with that. These were in the early days. We started meeting weekly in 2014. Property management is tricky to scale from scratch, especially when all the tenants and owners are hiring Ed Waggoner ... 

... not Empire Property Management.

They weren't hiring a business, so to speak, but a personality. It took a while for the owners to detach from Ed Waggoner and understand that they were hiring a company ...

It's not Ed Waggoner.

So that was one of the most difficult things, but it grows without you. That was the 1st thing. I joined a lot of local trade groups and things like that. I did public speaking. 

I taught classes and stuff like that—anything to get my name out there. Well, that's great, except it's not growing without you. 

As soon as you stop doing those classes ...

... quit the trade shows ...

... quit showing up for all these networking events. 

And everything else, your business stalls. Even in a business like property management ...

... there's always some attrition on the back end, no matter what. 

So, you can't build your business up to a certain level. And then say, "Well, I'm comfortable with that. Because people's situations with their properties change and they sell."

Sometimes, you have a run-in with an owner. They're people like the rest of us, and some of them are crazy, like the rest of us. You have to let them go. Now you're stuck because you lost a customer and need to replace one.

So, even if you want to grow your business to a certain point, you still need customers. You must learn to build your business where it grows without you. 

Eric: I'll add to clarify a little bit. 

Ed refers to the three distinct phases of the independent business method. And the first phase is having your business Grow Without You.

He's alluding to that now. 

Once you transition from there, you enter phase two, Runs Without You. This means your business is operating even when you're not involved. 

Finally, you move into phase three, which is Scales Without You. This is when your business is growing, running, and scaling. 

All without YOU.

So that's going through the step-by-step process. Working together. How Ed was able to hit those milestones. It's important for people to understand.

Ed Waggoner: This is from the early days when Eric had the nine steps, but we didn't have as clear a system as it is now.

Right now, it's a walk in the park because you can see where you're going to end up. The steps you have to take to get there from the moment you take your first step. 

In the early days, I knew where I wanted to go. I knew the steps, but I didn't have a lot of templates to follow. We had to rely on our own creativity and problem-solving skills to fill in the gaps.

Eric: I didn't have many templates. It was very, "Here's what you do." 

Then, the client used some creativity to fill in the gaps. 

And over time, we've gotten a lot better. As I said, we became very systematic. But in the early days, there were 9 steps; now, there are 12.

So, there's been some innovation over the years. 

First, your company has to Grow Without You because you're involved in every sale. Then, there's a point, no matter what, when your business will stop because they'll run out of you.

You can't do everything in your company and expect it to grow. That's why you've got to build a system that gets customers in the door without you. 

You build a machine. That's your job. You're the owner of the company. You'll have to build a machine, and then you have to let the machine do the work. 

Recently, I compiled a one-hour ‘Tell All’ Interview Video, Audio, Transcript, Checklist, 3-part Video Series, Masterclass, and on-demand training valued at $297 into this FREE Independent Business Case Study Kit. 

It reveals the ‘insider’ secrets of how our offline and online business owners build businesses that grow, run, and scale without them, and I want you to have it.

You can access it for free right now by clicking HERE.

Ed Waggoner: I'll tell you that that takes a while. You have to build a process, and it's tough when you're a sole proprietor.

I mean, we're incorporated, but it's me doing the work. I had help from family and stuff like that, but right at first, it was a lot on me. 

It takes a bit to grow your business. You have to pass the point of pain so that you can afford to add your first employee.

So, the Grows Without You Phase is first. But then that's easier than the Runs Without You Phase. Runs Without You is when you'll put your work into it. 

Eric: I see a lot of other programs will flip-flop. 

They'll have the sales as the second or third step. 

From your experience, have you found that you become a bottleneck ...

... if you don't get the sales process dialed in so it doesn't involve you?

A bottleneck occurs when you can't run your business and sell and do a good job. So, what was your experience like? 

Ed Waggoner: You're correct. Everybody's first inclination is to go with the Runs Without You Phase ...

... especially if your business is already successful!

So-called successful. 

You've still built yourself a great job. But you must first master the sales part before you can proceed to phase two, the Runs Without You Phase. 

Because if you start the Runs Without You Phase without a good sales process, as soon as you jump out of sales ...

... I can tell you right now if you're a sole proprietor—as soon as you jump out of sales ...

... there's nobody on this planet who's going to sell as well as you sell your service or product.

So nobody, no employee in the world, will care about your business as much as you do. They're not going to have as much knowledge.

They're not going to want the sales as bad. 

As soon as you switch to the Grows Without You Phase ... 

... your sales will decrease until you establish a real process. 

It takes a lot of effort to achieve the Runs Without You Phase. It's work. You're running two jobs. Your second job is trying to get yourself extricated from your business. 

And that's a big process. 

So you don't want to do that before you have a sales process. If you do, your business will tank, and you'll have to exit it. You'll have to back out of the Runs Without You Phase and start building your sales back up. 

So, it seems right at first. Everybody wants it and wants to take part in the Runs Without You Phase. But you do have to build that sales process first. 

Eric: Let's talk about how that worked for you, too, because that's a big issue. Many people think no one's going to outsell me, right? 

I'm the best at selling what I sell.

The whole idea with this is that you get it. You get your sales process so systematized that you can replace yourself. 

That's a litmus test right there. You're not ready if you can't have someone else run it. Ed, can you walk people through the process? 

That'll be helpful for them to see what that looked like ...

... how we did that together, and how we collaborated. 

You made that sales process work without you. 

Ed Waggoner: Two things. It's true, except there's only one of you. 

Recently, I compiled a one-hour ‘Tell All’ Interview Video, Audio, Transcript, Checklist, 3-part Video Series, Masterclass, and on-demand training valued at $297 into this FREE Independent Business Case Study Kit. 

It reveals the ‘insider’ secrets of how our offline and online business owners build businesses that grow, run, and scale without them, and I want you to have it.

You can access it for free right now by clicking HERE.

Thanks for joining us for part two of our five-part series: 

The Independent Business Tell-All Interview ...

... with Ed Waggoner, Owner and Founder of Empire Property Management. 

Today, we uncovered the Choice To Change: Leaving the Dependent Business Prison Behind. Be sure to join us for part three, where we'll dive into ...

... Breaking Free: Why A Prime Selling System Lets Your Business Thrive Independently. 

You won't want to miss how Ed leveraged the Independent Business Method to take his next big step ...

... to true business independence.

Eric Dahl, Founder Of IndependentBusinessBuilder.com

Our mission is to empower you to take 1 year OFF, and your business STILL grows, runs, and scales without you!