What do you do when you’re not? If you’re starting from scratch, with no money, no contacts and no idea where to turn, what’s your next step? When you hit rock bottom there’s only one way to go from there. But getting out of a bad place takes more than an intention.
Entrepreneur Bedros Keuilian experienced this transition first hand. An immigrant from a communist country turned entrepreneur, Keuilian is the founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, a franchise business that started in 2009 and now reportedly has more than 600 locations (out of 355 in 2020), included in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 500 fastest growing franchises in the world and three times by Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing privately owned companies. Keuilian is now an investor and a coach, working with entrepreneurs, New York Times best-selling authors and thought leaders to create highly profitable and industry-dominating brands and businesses.
Keuilian came to the United States of America at the age of six with nothing and has since built companies worth over $200million. He puts his success down to three key ingredients and shares them so that other ambitious entrepreneurs can do the same. I interviewed Keuilian to find out the secret behind his transformation.
consistency
Keuilian’s first business was a supplement company he started in 1997 when the internet took off. But it didn’t end well. “I don’t know how to build a business. I’m not putting in any sales or marketing work and I’m not doing anything with any consistency. This led to him, “finally maxing out my credit cards and all the supplements expiring because I couldn’t sell them.” This pattern appeared again in his second business, a 2002 online software company where Keuilian admitted, “I was an inconsistent leader and I didn’t discuss problems with my business partners, which in the end led to the folding of the business.” He learned the hard way that results require a commitment to something and to see it through to success.
Keuilian credits consistency as the backbone of his success, which applies to business as well as health and relationships. He believes, “If you are persistent in something the universe will work with you to multiply the result you are looking for,” and used the example of maintaining a happy marriage. Instead of, “definitely take my wife out on dates anytime,” which has no consistency, date nights are firmly in the diary every Wednesday night.
When applied to training, consistency takes sporadic results to a certain degree. In a business sense, Keuilian believes that consistency “deepens the outcome and the results you seek, whether that’s money, influence, impact or market share.” It is not enough to put in work every now and then. It’s okay to come back if you want. Consistency is overlooked because it seems dull. It’s not sexy. Business instructors who are looking to get attention and sell courses will tell you that this is overkill, but it is often the foundation of real success, which is rarely possible without it.
aim
“If you’re not focused on business,” explains Keuilian, “then you’re the person who has a great idea, starts a business, gets a logo, and then the fairy idea comes again and now you’re in one something new.” That was not the plan. The fairy idea should not be able to pull you away from something important. The idea that the fairy is persistent, so you must be focused on deflecting his efforts. Keuilian knows if you don’t deal with it now, it will happen again and again. The only option is to deepen your focus in one area and stick to it when new, shiny things appear.
Similarly in relationships, “when your eyes start thinking and you’re looking at someone else, you can see how it negatively affects your partner,” Keuilian said. But it’s more than that. “You start to feel like you’re not a good role model for your kids, and you’re less confident, all because you can’t focus on what’s in front of you.” Focusing on one thing means that all your energy flows there, you don’t lose it on trivial things.
Keuilian’s goal is money, which includes generational wealth and financial freedom. “I used to live day to day in terms of focus,” he said. “I divided my attention into many different business ideas, and while it created many streams of income and security for my family, I never got any of the businesses to the finish line and in the end they all suffering.” Side projects can be bad news for focus. “Now I know that the key to financial freedom and success is diversity of focus, and once I started to focus on one idea at a time, systemize it, then get a leader in place and measure its success, that’s when I started to improve. .” Keuilian did not allow himself to work on more than one business at a time and he expanded the simplicity of his whole approach. Today, the four pillars of his family are faith, family, health and finance, and they remain focused on these areas regardless.
discipline
Keuilian’s third pillar of success, which he credits as instrumental in building a $200million business portfolio, is being able to put in the work even when he doesn’t want to. “Think about whether you made your best sales calls when you were motivated, or only worked when it wasn’t cold or rainy, or didn’t show up when you didn’t sleep well.” That is not why significant fortunes are made. “I don’t overthink what I say I’m going to do, I just do it,” he added.
“When I built my company from the ground up it took the discipline to keep working even though I saw little progress,” he explained. “But because I’m focused on creating a better future, so even if I wake up bitter and angry, I’ll still go and do the thing.” Keuilian felt that he would be rewarded by sticking to the mill. “One of the things that really helped me develop my muscle discipline was signing up for a marathon that was only six weeks away, so I had no choice but to stick to the training schedule. ” Keuilian registered for the marathon in San Diego then hired a running coach, made a plan and had “strong discipline until the race was completed.” Once he completed this mission, and proved he could sustain a tough regime, he knew he could do the same in his business endeavors.
Discipline is another overlooked trait, because most people consider it too difficult. They see discipline and they hear dull, boring, monotonous. But discipline eliminates friction. It removes the need to make decisions on arbitrary things like what to wear or what to eat. You know what to wear, eat and work because you already own me. And because you are disciplined, you stick to the plan and stick to it. It sounds so simple, but most people simply don’t do it.
Putting attitudes to work
It is not enough to just develop these skills on your own. Putting them to work means extending them to other areas of your life and work, including who you hire. “Let’s say you want to bring in a marketer and a salesperson whose skills you can’t fault,” Keuilian said. “You still have to look at their attitudes. You need to make sure that they have the characteristics of consistency, focus and discipline. Otherwise, their skills will be wasted, and you will pay for it.
Ask them to tell you about the times when they showed focus, and the same for consistency and discipline. As you listen to their stories, check if they are true. Are they really who they say they are and do they have the potential to match you in the field of endeavor? Anyone who can say a game is great, you want people who play it too. “I can teach them skills, but if they come to me with consistency, focus and discipline already instilled, I can make superhuman team members.” That’s what Keuilian is looking for.
Keuilian sees these three characteristics as a multiplier. “If you combine them with sales and marketing skills as well as developing copywriting skills, you have the ability to print money,” he said. It takes time, of course, but doing something hard for a long time will eventually lead you to call the shots. Your continued pursuit of fundamental business concepts means you are outpacing and outpacing the competition, and the gap widens every day.
“Develop these millionaire success habits so that they spill over into every area of your life,” says Keuilian, “including your thinking, health, fitness, relationships and money.” Set yourself targets that require you to be at the top of your game with consistency, focus and discipline and don’t stop until you hit them.
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