You would think that entrepreneurs are the most skilled people on the planet at manufacturing wealth...

1. The 5 Levers For An Entrepreneur's Most Valuable Creation:
Personal Wealth
You would think that entrepreneurs are the most skilled people on the planet at manufacturing
wealth. And you'd be incorrect.Â
I've been learning new ideas from my friend Garrett Gunderson who recently merged his business
with Robert Hirsch of The Elevation Group to create the Wealth Factory, with a mission to help
entrepreneurs learn the skills they need to create more and better wealth of their own. I spoke with
Gunderson and Hirsch about the ways to grow a company faster several months ago. And Gunderson
shared his tips about the biggest financial gaffes and mistakes he sees entrepreneurs continually
making last July.
Robert Hirsch and Garrett Gunderson teach entrepreneurs how to become better at building their
personal wealth through the Wealth Factory. (Image courtesy of WealthFactory.com)
Today I invited the two to join me again for a visit about the five financial pillars entrepreneurs can
use to move beyond the creation of new jobs and returns for investors to also create lasting
economic wealth of their own. Here they are in an exclusive preview interview with Forbes
Entrepreneurs:
Lever 1: Recover Cash Flow. How much of your current revenue is escaping out the door,
unchallenged, that could be working harder for you in the growth of your company or be providing
you with additional profits applied directly to your bottom line? Too many entrepreneurs are so
entirely focused on increasing their topline revenue they are missing any number of profitability
opportunities they could achieve without taking any risks or working any harder that are directly
under their nose.

2. For example, most businesses are inadvertently paying too much in taxes for things they can directly
control. As an example, do you own or lease the building you work from? Which is better from a
profitability and cash flow standpoint? And if you own your own building, do you use the standard
depreciation schedule to calculate your taxes? Most entrepreneurs (and even many tax accountants)
are unaware that you can depreciate various aspects of your building investment separately for
greater tax savings.
Are you paying the minimum payment on one or more business credit cards? Gunderson and Hirsch
advise entrepreneurs to learn to "be the bank" and divert the debt service revenue you're currently
paying to be coming back your own way. Consider this: the average savings Gunderson sees in even
a small business for a closer examination of cash flow is more than $11,000 a year. For larger firms
the sum can be substantially more. Smart management of cash flow can be one of the most efficient
ways of reinforcing your wealth and your company by finding all of the ways to bring your own
money back.
Lever 2: Strategically Engineer Wealth. Do you employ investment advisors who are compensated at
least in part on sales commissions? Consider this point: A retirement planner's primary interest is in
building the level of assets under their management instead of looking at the bigger picture of
building your wealth. For example, if you're paying higher interest on any business loan than the
level of interest you're gaining on the retirement investment, the choice should be obvious - stop
adding to the retirement investment until you're retired the loan. Instead, work to create a financial
scorecard that allows you to measure your progress from a big picture perspective and develop a
wealth architecture that can serve as a personal financial roadmap for you. With these strategies in
place, you can take back the control of your outcome and can measure for yourself the impact you
make with each step.
Lever 3: Accelerate Investment Income. Do you have an investment philosophy? The Wealth
Factory advises you to develop the right philosophy for you to avoid being prey to somebody else's
plan that isn't fitting for you. Within that philosophy, you can establish a solid financial foundation
that protects your security and allows you to swing for the fences within the business you decide to
pursue. With that foundation in place (to keep personal property and savings protected) you can
exercise the ultimate "unfair advantage" by investing in what you know - your own business and your
area of expertise. How many entrepreneurs have lost both business and homes by having personal
and business interests intertwined? Too many to count. And how may successful entrepreneurs have
diverted money from the business they know--dentistry, service practices, etc.--into arenas they
didn't know, such as real estate, with terrible outcomes. Again, perhaps beyond number. Instead,

3. protect your financial foundation, then swing for the fences by growing the business bigger and
better that you know better than anyone else, according to Gunderson and Hirsch.
Lever 4: Scale Business Revenue. To that end, Gunderson and Hirsch advise entrepreneurs to
advance their businesses carefully by "chess boarding" the business game in advance. "Before you
play, be sure you've created a game worth winning," says Hirsch. For example, is becoming the best
earth-friendly cleaner in your region worthwhile if it equates to a market potential of only $1-2
million? Perhaps you need to turn your attention to the "Next Next Next Level" (the moonshot)
instead, and consider other avenues your core capabilities can address (perhaps the technology that
cleans your clothing could clean your carpet or your car or your building as well, or perhaps you
could sell the components to others online.) Also, learn to consider the "why". When your business
incorporates a social mission that is worthwhile to you and to others, it will inspire a greater passion
in you and in your employees and others that will also serve to propel your financial success.