"Solo-Preneur" or "Team of Teams"

Question

Ever since I was eight years old I new I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I saw my Dad go to work in a suite and tie carrying a briefcase and I new that's what I wanted to do. lol

Do you have a Solo-Prenuer DNA or do you have a "Team of Teams" DNA. Is one better than the other? What does it mean to be a Solo-Preneur"? If you like working with people then, what does it mean to work with a "Team of Teams"?

All business is complex. There are many moving parts. All business can be broken down into seven moving parts or seven spokes of a wheel. I call this the hub and spoke model. Seven spokes–Let's break it down.

7) Executive Team, 1) Administration, 2) Sales, 3) Treasury, 4) Production, 5) Quality Control, 6) PR & Marketing.

Why does (7) go first? Its the (Executive) who creates the idea or business concept then establishes the other departments tightening each spoke to operate without him/her so he can walk away and the business operates without him/her being there day to day. When you have reached this level of your business your have reached your "Mastery-Level".

One builds a business to reach two goals: 1) reach your "Mastery-Level" so you can enjoy time with family, friends and offer your support to community and 2) reach your "Mastery-Level" to enjoy freedom of time and money and then exit your business and enjoy your free time to travel an enjoy life and mentor others to do the same which I call "Each-One, Teach One". We are all educators at some point in time. Knowing when to teach and knowing when to follow are key life indicators to recognize. These are basic principles in which Group7 has designed and weaves into society within various industries starting with Group7 Home Services LLC.

Group7 is a platform strategy building thriving cities through housing, entrepreneurship and higher inspired higher education. After 40 years on the "battle field of business" or the "playing field of business", its either one or the other or both at times. There are many story's I can share later as to when business can seem like a battle field and when business can be a fun playing field.

If your reading this you are either in the home services industry in a specialty trade or a mechanical trade. You are looking for something; most likely information or something that will make your business grow so you can enjoy life. We all pursue the same thing; a quality lifestyle. We all Live, we all Work and we all Play. You could say this is the wheel of life that turns for you or it turns against you. Is there a formula to where the wheel of life turns for you seamlessly?

For some it turns fluidly and for some its a constant grind! How do we get our wheel to roll smoothly within the home services industry? If one person has the formula for growing a home services company then why not share it with others? Is is a secret or is it a formula that works? Is there a book to read that just spells out the steps to take? Is there a road map you can follow? Can someone just make it easier so I can Live, Work and Thrive in my life! For cryin' out load can I just get a break in life where I can take what I'm good at and create wealth for my future and raise my family and leave a legacy to my children and my children children? So what's the plan? Yes, now you talking uncork the truth, the answers, the formula!!!! Don't hold on to it and try to sell me something. If you know the formula then share it brother!!!

Ok! Ok! I'll share it...calm yourself! Jeez!

We all know the world is shifting at light speed with technology today. We all know some things in how we all live, work and play are the way they are because some things just work and we know some things don't work. If you're a craftsman or handyman you know that some out there take short cuts when know-one is looking and some are perfectionist over delivering on every effort for all their customers even when they are not looking. So, what are we talking about here? I'm talking about "Mind-Set". How you are thinking! Your thoughts have power! Ok, come-on...don't get all whoo whoo on me now. Ok, what am I talking about? I'm talking about how relationships work and what takes them down and what makes them work at high performance. But what does this have to do with my business? Relationships in your business are everything! With out people you don't have customers. Without expert tradesmen you don't have someone to perform the work.

Relationships with people is the key to performance.

So we start here. (RELATIONSHIP) We start here by crafting a future together following basic laws of human performance. We start by crafting a future with the kind of people that value relationships and care about your future and are willing to share their vision strategy with you so you can enjoy a future with others around you, co-workers, your friends and your family. Yah!! but relationships are complicated and every time I try to build a team I get burned every time. People don't show up, they're always late, they are drinking too much on the job, my boss is shorting my hours or when it came time to get paid the boss disappeared and I just gave away my time #!&@ this! I'm giving up. So, you see RELATIONSHIPS are complicated!

There is a formula for life! Some would say, read your bible and there it is...clear as day! I'm going to now start bible thumping here...however all of works and what doesn't has been told to us in the bible whether you are a believer or not the bible is a history book of successes and failures documented for you to read it and apply it.

I don't like reading the bible...the words are too small and I don't know how to apply it blah blah blah. Got it! The greatest person to ever walk this earth was Jesus Christ. Whether you are a believer or not its true. So, what we are talking about is a carpenter who walked this earth that people are still talking about today because of the way he lived his life and shared his information. Some of you reading this are saying, I knew this was too good to be true this is beginning to sound like my Mom or Dad. Just get to the point, I don't have time to waste on some long article and nothing out of it! Ok, Ok...slow your roll I'm just getting you in the frame of mind to receive the juice here.

Look! Life is complicated and so is business. The pace at which life is moving is faster than fast...its moving at light speed. So in the battle field of life, what regiment are you joining that will carry you when times get tough and you need work or need a long term plan that when you arrive you will have a future that will support your needs; a home, food, transportation, schools for your children, healthcare, vacation time a quality lifestyle where you can Live, Work and Play and thrive in your lifetime and leave something for your children in case of emergencies or loss. Crafting a future with a group of like minded people is easier when ALL are moving in the same direction. The river of life you could call it. Some find GOD along the way, some find love, family and friends and some find community as their family. The basic message is that we all find something we connect with and if we can find that connection where there is common ground then we can all move into a flowing river of seamless movement that picks up momentum along the way in our collective performance that begins to have a network effect for the greater good with compounding value serving the community. We arrive to a place where we look back over the years and see a higher conscious level of thinking poured into an industry and a shift occurs in how we Live, Work, and Play.

We then realize that the common value we all share; 'there is know greater purpose on earth than to serve one another".

Let's identify our future together and work backwards to achieve the greater goal as a movement of experts working side by side. In my next post, I'll share a ten year vision strategy serving our wealth creation together in the home services industry that will reveal the future, what it holds us all and how it work and answer the questions we all ask; is it worth it and is it safe? In our minds we are either surviving or thriving. Let's learn how to thrive as a community together.

Best to all,

Mario Visin

travisshepherd · Answer

Mario, you went deep on this one, brother! You hit the nail on the head regarding the massive contrast between the two models.

When you start out as a solo operator, you quickly realize you aren't just the craftsman—you are all seven spokes of the wheel simultaneously. You’re handling the executive vision, running the admin, chasing the sales, doing the hard physical labor, and acting as your own quality control. When you are spinning every single plate yourself, the "wheel of life" can absolutely feel like a constant grind.

The biggest hurdle with transitioning to a "Team of Teams" is exactly what you mentioned: relationships are complicated and messy. A lot of elite tradesmen try to scale, get burned by unreliable help or bad hiring experiences, and immediately pull back to protect their sanity and their reputation. Managing people requires an entirely different skill set than mastering the trade itself.

Ultimately, it comes down to a fundamental choice of identity and mindset: Do you want to be an elite craftsman who retains total control over the work, or do you want to step back and master the system to build something that runs without you? Both paths are completely valid, but you have to know which DNA you possess before you can make the wheel roll smoothly.

Looking forward to seeing that ten-year strategy in your next post!

mtlcontractors · Answer

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, especially about relationships and reducing the business's dependency on the owner. We've found that every time we documented a process or delegated responsibility, it gave us more capacity to improve the business instead of constantly reacting to it.

Where I see it a little differently is the idea that the ultimate goal is for the owner to walk away. I don't think that's the right destination for everyone. Some owners genuinely enjoy meeting clients, solving problems, or being involved in operations. I know I do.

For me, success is more about having the choice. I want to be involved because I enjoy it, not because the business falls apart without me. That's a big difference.

I also don't think systems replace people. They make good people more effective. The best SOP in the world won't make someone care about quality, but it can help a team that already cares deliver a more consistent experience.

That's probably the biggest lesson scaling taught me. Relationships, culture, and systems all reinforce each other. Neglect one, and eventually you'll feel it somewhere else in the business.

Great post. Looking forward to reading the next one.

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"Solo-Preneur" or "Team of Teams"

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