After building multiple businesses and seeing millions come and go, I’ve learned a few things the hard way. 

I wish someone had forced me to memorize these six lessons from the start. They would have saved me time, stress, and at least a few hundred thousand dollars.

Here they are for free:

Delegation: The Only Path to Real Growth

A lot of entrepreneurs think delegation is lazy.

I certainly did. I used to wear my workload like a badge of honor. “I’m running 8 businesses and working 80 hours a week!” 

Except only two of them paid me, and I was drowning.

The shift happened when I realized real business owners don’t do everything. They build systems and hire people to run them. And when you delegate, you’ll gain a bird’s eye view of your business and learn how to improve it.

Honestly, I still struggle delegating because I have high standards for how I want things done. 

Will it be done perfectly? No. Will you get better at training and managing over time? Yes. 

That’s the only way to scale to bigger profit-generating activities (and have more time for things like family, faith, and friends).

CRM as a Force Multiplier

When you run a business, you’re fighting a daily war against time, distraction, and missed revenue.

Without a CRM, you have just standard infantry units for your business. They’re effective in battle but are extremely enhanced with a special forces unit like Green Berets that have specialized skills.

A CRM is your special force unit.

With a CRM like Catalyst Business Solutions, it multiplies your effectiveness without multiplying your headcount. At HOTWORX, we save 100+ hours a week using automation in our onboarding, lead outreach, past members and declines lists, and engagement sequences, all run without lifting a finger.

The result is we’re now making $23k in monthly revenue and $4k profit, and are #2 in the state.

If you want similar results, build your automations like you’d train a soldier: specific tasks, clear timing, and zero excuses. Start with a lead capture follow-up, a new client onboarding sequence, and a reactivation pipeline. 

The CRM won’t call in sick, get distracted, or drop the ball. That’s why it will 10x your business.

Momentum is Built by Routine

The only secret to success is having a routine and sticking to it.

Here is the routine pyramid I’ve followed to generate millions: Adherence, Specificity, Intensity. Each of these combined make up 75% of your growth potential:

• First, stick to a schedule. Doesn’t matter if it’s perfect; just do it consistently. With even a basic plan, you can measure what’s working or not and improve.
• Second, tailor your actions to your business: call leads at the right time, use language that converts, and follow up often. 
• Third, scale intensity: increase your ad spend, double your outreach, or go heads-down for a month and grind (god mode).

Once you’ve nailed consistency, you can unlock another 25% of growth with three things: improved timing, micro-changes, and strategic supplements. 

Whether it’s sending follow-ups at the right hour, tweaking what strategies work best for your team, or adding the right tools like a CRM to go faster, this is where 10x growth happens.

Top Coworking Space in Tulsa = Growth Accelerator

Most companies don’t profit till year 3.

With the top coworking space in Tulsa, I was profitable in my first month. 

Instead of insane start-up costs with traditional leasing, utilities, and buildout that most companies face, my only cost at the top coworking space in Tulsa, Catalyst Coworking, was my stupid low monthly rent of $200. That included utilities like wifi, 24/7 access, a designated spot, and a physical address to impress clients with credibility.

If I could do it again, I would start all my businesses out of the top coworking space in Tulsa like Catalyst Coworking because of 

• instant profitability to pour back into my business to grow faster
• a professional place to meet clients (which means more business)
• the people you meet in a coworking space can become your first clients, contractors, or collaborators (happened to me)

DON’T DO THEM: Partnerships

If you take nothing else from this article, remember this: Don’t do partnerships.

I know they might be your best friend, or it sounds like a great idea at first, but 9 out of 10 times, they end in frustration, legal drama, or total collapse. You just can’t control another human being. They can go from being a normal person to a paranoid new age mystic who wants to ruin you.

And if you both own the business equally, no one has the final say. That’s a recipe for deadlock when you inevitably come to a crossroads on a decision. 

Here’s what you should do instead: Bring someone in as an investor, not a partner. 

Let them fund the business and pay them a return. Or if you have to give equity, retain full decision-making rights (or at least 51%). Write everything down in the agreement, and run far away from people who only do handshake deals. 

When things go south (and they often do), you’ll be glad you did.

Learn to Play the Long Game

Having had more success than I could have dreamt, right now, I’m learning to be patient with it.

After delegating, automating, and stabilizing my businesses, my job now is to play the waiting game. I don’t chase shiny objects. I hold the course and let the systems work. 

This year, we hit a revenue record at HOTWORX and added nearly 100 members. I’ve also grown my monthly dividends from $1k to $8k-$10k, not by changing tactics but by executing the same proven playbook over and over.

If you’re in a similar position, your job isn’t to reinvent systems that work. Your job is to protect them, optimize them, and let them compound.