Growing up, we were educated and cajoled to follow a set career path. If we follow this path and stay on it: get to work early, stay late and even come in on weekends — then, you’ll succeed in life.
In fact, you don’t even have to wait till you graduate from university; you should start early–preferably when at school.
If we unfailing follow this formula, the world would be ours for the taking.
But then, business gurus appeared out of nowhere. They told us not to listen to our teachers or to our parents. They said if we did what they asked, then–and only then–would we succeed. They had cracked the code to success: the one that neither our educators nor our parents knew about.
They showed us how they had ‘made it’ while our educators and parents were struggling through life. They showed us images of themselves globe-trotting, eating expensive dinners and driving the latest hot car. They showed us the lifestyle, but not the production process.
They had sold us a dream. But were they actually living it?
Automation
Automation has been the buzzword of the decade. To do business in this day and age, entrepreneurs have to figure out a way to automate and systemise everything they can in their business. This ranges from: how they acquire customers, to how they deliver their products, to how they drive traffic.
The more that can be automated and systemised, the more time entrepreneurs will have to focus on building the business; as opposed to working in the business.
The entrepreneur’s time should be spent on long-term strategy, building relationships and growing the business: the key engines that will make a business thrive.
Time and Money
While time and money are both necessary resources for growth, they are inherently different. First, money–unlike time–is fungible.
Whereas money can be accumulated–or borrowed–across periods, time is only available in a limited budget each period–for example, 30 days per month–and is perishable.
The profit of the firm in one period can be reinvested into the firm in the form of money in the next period, but not in the form of time. To better manage the two resources, one must first understand the implications of the nature of time and money.
Time will eventually become more valuable than money as the firm grows. It is an immediate consequence of the asymmetry between the two.
The Mercantile 