10 Powerful Lessons from Business Mastery
More Lessons & Perspectives from Other Business Mastery Participants
What is Business Mastery by Tony Robbins?
When did I sign up for Business Mastery?
What was the cost of Business Mastery?
Was Business Mastery worth the money?
Back in January 2020, I attended Business Mastery by Tony Robbins at Palm Beach, Florida. While my experience at Business Mastery was mixed (which I share about in my review below), I learnt 10 powerful lessons there that will help anyone navigate their business with more confidence and clarity.
Here are the 10 impactful business lessons in no particular order:
10 Powerful Lessons From Business Mastery
1. Have a strong why & a clear vision.
I still see business owners making this rookie mistake today. Starting a business just for the money and “freedom” (with no strong reason why), or without a crystal clear vision is a surefire way to destroy your business. Because as a business owner, you will face so many obstacles and challenges in your journey. Not having the clarity of your why and a business vision that you are passionate about will make you hop from one business idea to another or worst give up entirely.
2. The more value you can add, the higher you will be paid.
Ever wondered how the amount a business owner, coach or consultant charges can range from as little as $10 per hour to over $1000 a hour? The answer lies in the amount of value the business owner can add and his/her experience and skill level. The better he/she can address their customer’s pain point, the more the business owner will be paid.
Sometimes it might be about bringing customers closer to their desires and dreams instead. Whether you are addressing your customer’s pain points or desires, the better you do it, the more you can charge. So always work on knowing your customer inside out and honing your expertise.
3. Master the only 3 ways of growing your business.
Founders complicate growing a business. But it isn’t difficult if you break it down. To grow a business, you need to increase the number of your customers, the average money you make per sale and/or your customers’ repurchase frequency. The results of increasing each of the 3 aspects simultaneously are exponential!
4. Have an X factor in your business.
The X factor in your business must make your business stand out from your competition. And it should be something your target audience wants and values.
If everyone in your industry is selling the same thing, why should your customer buy from you?
That is why it is so crucial to have a unique selling proposition also known as an X factor, for your customers to choose you over your competitors.
5. Marketing is about nurturing a relationship over time.
Before your customer buys from you, they need to know you, like you and trust you first. This process can take a lot of time and patience but it is what produces the most sales in the long run. Never go for the sale from the get go.
6. Profits are theory. Cash is a fact.
As a founder, you need to have a high level understanding of the 3 financial statements:
- Balance Sheet
- Profit & Loss Statement
- Cash Flow Statement
You also need to understand the financial metrics to keep track of in your business and the 3 types of cash flow:
- Operating cash flow
- Financing cash flow
- Investing cash flow
Because without knowing how to read, interpret and measure your financials, you cannot make strategic adjustments to your business as and when needed.
Another key point to take note here is to make sure your cash flow is positive and not just your profits. Because you can’t pay your staff, suppliers and landlords with profits, can you?
You can only pay them with cash.
8. Create Raving Fans.
Because raving fans will promote your products and services for you at no cost. There are 7 steps to creating raving fans:
- Give value more than you promote
- Do everything in your power to help your customers get the results they are after
- Create unexpected surprises and bonuses for your clients
- Run your business in an open and transparent way
- Always reward your best clients
- Create a system that allows everyone in your organization to consistently meet your client’s needs
- Give back in whatever ways you can: to your customers, the industry and society as a whole
9. Keep Innovating & Improving.
Many businesses start off growing rapidly but eventually fall into the trap of complacency and stagnation.
Think of Kodak, think of Nokia and think of all the big names that couldn’t live up to their name. They serve as important reminders for business owners to always keep innovating, improving and asking themselves how they can serve their customer better, while keeping up to the latest trends and technology.
10. The success of a business is dependent on the psychology of the business owner.
From Unleash Your Power Within to Business Mastery, Tony Robbins makes it clear that success is 80% psychology & only 20% strategy. Because when you have a strong why, a clear vision & relentless drive, you will find the way out of any business challenge. When you want something with all your heart, you will get there.
These are 10 lessons I learnt from the in person Business Mastery event in Palm Beach Florida back in 2020. I hope this summary of my learnings has benefited you as well.
More lessons & perspectives from other Business Mastery participants
Here are more perspectives and lessons from other participants of Business Mastery.
- “My 10 Key Lessons from Attending Tony Robbin’s Business Mastery Event” by Chris Shar
- “24 Lessons from Tony Robbins Business Mastery: Part 1, Business Mindset” by Michael Pietrzak
- “24 Lessons from Tony Robbins Business Mastery: Part 2, Sales & Marketing” by Michael Pietrzak
- “24 Lessons from Tony Robbins Business Mastery: Part 3, Clients” by Michael Pietrzak
- “24 Lessons from Tony Robbins Business Mastery: Part 4, Action” by Michael Pietrzak
- “Business Mastery Review (2023): Is Tony Robbins’ Virtual Program Worth It?” by Hope
What is Business Mastery by Tony Robbins?
Business Mastery is a 5 day live immersive business program with Tony Robbins and his team of experts around different areas of a business. During this 5 day program, you will be equipped with the tools and resources to.
- Craft a compelling vision for your business
- Identify the roadblocks in your business
- Overcome business challenges
- Grow the revenue of your business
This program is catered for aspiring business owners and business owners looking to grow their business. The program was held primarily in the USA before the covid-19 pandemic. After the covid-19 pandemic, Tony Robbins also delivers this immersive program virtually.
When did I sign up for Business Mastery?
It was late 2019 when me and my wife were so hyped up and excited at Unleash The Power Within (UPW) in Singapore! We loved it so much and found so much value in the 4 days we were there. On the last day of UPW, Tony Robbins pushed everyone there to take action and sign up for one of his numerous programs. This included Business Mastery at Palm Beach, Florida, that was taking place in January 2020.
With all the enthusiasm to grow our business, we signed up for Business Mastery even though we could not pay the full cost upfront. We were convinced by the Tony Robbins team to pay a deposit and pay the remaining amount before the program.
What was the cost of Business Mastery?
In 2019 when I signed up, Business Mastery cost about $10,000 USD for me and about $5000 USD for my wife who signed up with me.
Was signing up for Business Mastery a wrong decision?
It was a wrong financial decision more so because of the timing we signed up.
Back then, our art studio was already in business debt because of renovation costs and over hiring full time staff. Using part of a recent business loan we had taken, we forked out $15,000 USD for the program and spent another $15,000 USD for everything from flight fare to food and accommodation.
We were 28 and 26 back then and $30,000 USD at that time and stage of our business was in fact a significant price to pay.
But oh well – wasn’t it worth it for the possibility of coming back to Singapore armed with strategies to grow our business by $1 million or more?
Unfortunately, we did not know at that time that this was the worst financial decision we could make for our business. Because as mentioned in point 6 of my own Business Mastery lessons above, we were not using our operating cash flow to finance the Business Mastery program. Instead we were tapping on our business debt.
This was scary to say the least and being in debt is never a good feeling.
How was my business after Business Mastery?
A few weeks after we came back from Business Mastery, Covid-19 cases were first discovered in Singapore. Considering our art studio business relied mostly on in person large scale corporate events, the capacity restrictions and lockdowns from covid-19 turned out to be a major blow to our business.
We had to downsize our team, give up on our studio space, and request the bank to stop deducting our monthly business loan payments temporarily. It was a painful period where everyone in my team left from staff to founders.
Thankfully, after multiple pivots and applying the business foundations I picked up at Business Mastery, my art studio survived the covid-19 pandemic. The whole experience also reminded me about the importance of mastering business finances and cash flow as a founder and not leaving it to “a finance person” to do it all for you.
Today, I am proud to have launched SEO With Senthil. And I have more confidence, clarity and vision to move my business forward than ever before.
Was Business Mastery worth the money?
While I learnt so much from Business Mastery, I felt the in-person event was overpriced considering the massive scale of the event (with 1000s of participants) with little customisation, how much it cost in total including flying to the USA and how much it had promised. Perhaps, Business Mastery Virtual (which Tony launched after the covid-19 pandemic) would have been less costly as a whole and more value for money.
However, despite all the drawbacks of business mastery, the lessons I learnt there are useful and relevant for business growth till today (unlike what I learnt doing a business degree in university). Though the lessons could have been learnt without paying the amount we paid, Business Mastery covered the foundational building blocks of a wide range of business spectrums from finances to marketing and sales all under one program. This is something few business programs can do in such a short period of time (5 days). For that, I am thankful to Tony Robbins and his Business Mastery program.
Who is Business Mastery for?
That said, Business Mastery is for,
- People who are planning to start a business and want to have a solid foundation before they start
- People who are already in business and want to grow their business further
- And most importantly, people who can afford the program without having to tap on any sort of debt or monthly payment plans
If you want to give Business Mastery virtual a try, you can apply for the program via Tony Robbins’ official website here: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/events/business-mastery/virtual/