Your First Follower

I'm Alex Charfen, and this is the Momentum Podcast, made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers, shot takers, recorder breakers, world makers, and creators of all kinds. Those among us who can't turn it off, and don't know why anyone would want to. We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum. So we can grow over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution. Sure, we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny, we define it. We don't understand defeat because you only lose if you stop, and we don't know how. While the rest of the world strives for average, and clings desperately to the status quo, we're the minority. The few who are willing to hallucinate there could be a better future, and instead of just daydreaming of what could be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real. We are the evolutionary hunters. Clearly the most important people in the world because entrepreneurs are the only source of consistent, positive, human evolution, and we always will be.

Your first follower. Every entrepreneur needs a first follower. Everyone of us needs someone that is all in for us, that will support us no matter what, that believes in us, that believes in what we're trying to do, that will tell others that they believe in what we're trying to do. And having that first follower makes us so much more, as an entrepreneur. In fact, when we don't have a first follower, we are it's us against the world. It's only us, and only what we're doing, against the entire world.

And here's the challenge with being an entrepreneur. We deal in the realm of unknown or impossible. As entrepreneurs, we literally make things up that don't exist yet, insist that they should become real, and then go through the pain and the vulnerability and the activity and the work to make them real. And here's the challenge for people like us. We are constantly stepping into the unknown. We are constantly doing new. We are constantly creating outcomes that the world has not seen before. That is exactly what we do as entrepreneurs. And one of the biggest challenges is when it's just us against the world, it's just that. There's one voice, one opinion, one person stating what should happen, and how things should change.

And for a lot of my career, this is how it was for me. When I was younger, in my 20s, I ran a large consultancy. I didn't have that first follower in that company. I had some team members that I really liked. I had some people that helped me grow the business, but I didn't have that person that was all in, devoted to the company, who supported me in every way. I didn't have my first follower, and as a result, the company that I ran in my 20s was incredibly difficult.

In my 30, I met my wife Katy, and we started working together, and for the first time in my life, I had that first follower. That person that was in the business, that was all in for me. Who supported me, who confirmed what I said, who when somebody would ask, "Is this really what we're doing?" She would say, "Yes," and that confirmation, that support, that additional human being saying, "What he says is right," made all the difference in the world for me. And it made it so much easier for me to get things done.

I see this in the clients that I have today. And there's some poignant examples. We work with Mariah Coz and Megan Minns, and Mariah and Megan are two of thee most unique entrepreneurs I've ever worked with. Mariah is a visionary, in a room full of visionaries. She is different than just about any other entrepreneur I've worked with. She has such a unique world view, and such a passion around helping people. And this is a woman who, the first time that I talked to her, started talking about her business which is helping people put their talents online so other people can learn from them, which sounds pretty simple. Like Mariah helps people take their talent, what their gift, what they coach, what they teach, and put it into an online platform so that it can live forever.

And the first time Mariah ever explained this to me, she actually started crying because she's so passionate about making sure that people's gifts don't die with them, and that they're left behind, and that they get into a platform, and that we can experience them, and she is so passionate about this, she's actually driven to the point where the eventuality is she wants to create an entire school, to help people learn in an alternative way. She grew up learning in an alternative way her entire life. And Mariah is so unique, and has such incredible strengths, but she also has deficits just like I do, that make her uncomfortable. In fact, I relate to Mariah like crazy because she too has challenges with calendars and systems and structures, like I do a lot of the time.

And here's what's so amazing about her relationship with Megan. Is that, Megan is her first follower. Megan is the operator. Megan is making things happen for Mariah, and when I watch the two of them, there's this confirmation that Mariah gives Megan, and Megan gives Mariah. It goes in both directions. In this case, I would say they're almost each other's first followers. And when I'm around them, and I see the mutual support between the two of them, I can confirm for everyone in the room that that is why they are so successful. Because they have that relationship together. And in just the last few months, they've tripled the size of their team, they've more than doubled the size of their revenue, they're exploding because they're now bringing in other true believers to help build the business, and help grow the effect that they have in the world.

Mariah and Megan are just one example. We have an entire roster of clients, of entrepreneurs, that have visionary operators, first followers, people who are helping them, who are supporting them. And for you, this may be what's holding you back, or not allowing you to move forward, or not allowing you to create the momentum that you want. Because here's the challenge in a business. You are the most vulnerable person in the room, every single day, when you're the entrepreneur in charge. And you can't ever forget that, or deny it, because when you are the entrepreneur in charge, any issue in the business is your issue. Any challenge in the business is your challenge, and anything that doesn't go right, is your responsibility.

And the issue with being an entrepreneur, who doesn't have a first follower, is when you get up in the front of the room and say, "Here's what we are going to do." The team has to actually believe you to go and do it. And when you have that second person, it just takes one other person, one other human beings confirmation to say, "This is what we're going to do. What he or she is saying is right. This is how we're going to move forward." And it changes everything. So if you haven't found your first follower yet, that may be the next best step to growing your business. And if you're the entrepreneur who's running a business, you're looking for someone who wants to come in and help you, and support you, and create the business with you.

You're looking for someone that you can actually support in an operational role, who can come in and help you build the structure and process around the business. And you're looking for someone that above all else, is a true believer. They believe in you, and who you are. Your company, and what you do. Your clients, and who they serve. And if you can find that person, it will multiply your efforts far more than one plus one. This is one of those occasions where one plus one does not equal two. One plus one equals 11 or more. Because when you find your first follower, you as an entrepreneur become enhanced. It's like you're supercharged. It's like your wearing the Iron Man suit.

When you have someone who's willing to stand by you in a meeting, and support you. When you have someone who's willing to listen to your ideas, and confirm that you can do it. When you have someone who's willing to give you the tough love when you need it, and tell you when you may be stepping out of line. That person will change everything in your business. So if you don't have it yet, and you're trying to build your business fast, start thinking about what that first follower could look like for you. In some cases, it's an assistant. In some cases, it's a COO. In some cases, it's a partner, a husband, or a wife. In some cases, it's a child, or a parent.

But every entrepreneur I've ever known, who has been successful long term over time, and loves what they do, has found that partner. That spouse, that operator, that supportive person that comes in and helps them do what they do. So if you don't have it yet, this is something for you to start thinking about. Finding your first follower.

If you're trying to grow your business, and grow it quickly, then let me give you some free information, so that you can understand exactly what you are, and what you need next. Whether you have a first follower now or not, whether you know you're in momentum or not, I want you to understand exactly where you are as an entrepreneur, definitively, so that you know what you should be doing next, and can anticipate exactly what you should be doing to move forward and create momentum.

Go to billionairecode.com. Answer a few questions, and my team will send you your full survey results so that you can see where you are on the path to entrepreneurial success, what you should be focused on today, and you can anticipate what's coming next, so you stay in momentum and create as much progress as you can with your team. Go to billionairecode.com.