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Start and scale a business that gives you freedom

Hey, I'm Ben!

I build, buy, and invest in businesses.

I've had 2 successful exits. Way more failures.

I write about building Freedom Companies to achieve what I call the three freedoms:

A life of financial freedom.
A life of time freedom.
A life of creative freedom.

I send one action packed email a week called a 1x1x1 covering crazy cool businesses I spot, updates on what we're building and buying, and lessons from the journey of an entrepreneur. Β 

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Oatmeal King πŸ₯£ - Ben's 1x1x1 - December 20, 2024 πŸš€

We went to visit Bob's Red Mill! Yup - the oatmeal and flour company.

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Stair stepper businesses πŸ§±β¬†οΈ - Ben's 1x1x1 - December 6, 2024 πŸš€

Stair stepper businesses. Just like all of us unique flowers, businesses grow in lots of different patterns.

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Coffee and Inspo - Ben's 1x1x1 - November 22, 2024 πŸš€

I meet a lot of business owners. This month for example, I'll connect with over 30 founders and owners.And every now and again, I connect with someone that shakes my frame. Makes me rethink everything I'm working on.

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The 2nd richest family in the world πŸ’° - Ben's 1x1x1 - October 25, 2024 πŸš€

I’m in Bentonville this week meeting with clients, spending time in person with the Pono Ventures team, and riding bikes. Since we’re in the land of Walmart’s HQ, I did a little dive on the Waltons.

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Super human contractors πŸ’ͺ - Ben's 1x1x1 - November 1, 2024 πŸš€

I LOVE building teams. It's one of the big reasons I love starting companies.

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You pushed out to the world 🌎 - Ben's 1x1x1 - November 8, 2024 πŸš€

This little side project is actually a decent business with a huge following raking in 700,000 visitors a day to the site with an audience of over 1 million people.

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The Anti Salesman - Ben's 1x1x1 - November 15, 2024 πŸš€

I had 8 sales meetings this week. 50% were belly to belly which I love. But I don't think of them as sales meetings.

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This simple business is bringing in $6,160 / day πŸ‘€ - Ben's 1x1x1 - September 27, 2024 πŸš€

This simple business has been right under my nose for years quietly bringing in $6,160 / day.

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Purple Cows πŸ„ - Ben's 1x1x1 - October 18, 2024 πŸš€

Purple cows are one of the greatest business/marketing strategies ever. So today I thought I would share 9 of my favorite purple cows.

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How to Start a Job Board: Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Niche Job Board Business

So you want to start a job board? Great idea. I’ve built one myself, sold it, and can tell you firsthandβ€”this business works.

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Solitude, reflection, growth - Ben's 1x1x1 - October 4, 2024 πŸš€

Last week, I did something a little differentβ€”I went on a solo retreat. Yup, just me, myself, and I.

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I'm making wine - Ben's 1x1x1 - October 11, 2024 πŸš€

I'm doing the thing. I'm making wine! And no, this isn’t some new business venture (even though my brain is screaming to turn it into one).

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The man who taught me sales - Ben's 1x1x1 - September 20, 2024 πŸš€

I was thinking recently about the people who’ve had the biggest impact on my life. The ones who shaped where I am today. One of those people is Skip Miller. Skip was an absolute legend in Silicon Valley sales.

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The path to a $3.3M property 🏠 - Ben's 1x1x1 - September 13, 2024 πŸš€

Look, I love a good business idea as much as the next guy. It’s like caffeine for my brain β€” gets me hyped and grinding. But here’s the trap I used to fall into: I’d get so fired up by the idea that I’d lose sight of what...

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How to Start an Event Planning Business in 5 simple steps

Learn how to start an event planning business with this comprehensive step-by-step guide. From legal requirements to marketing strategies, we cover everything you need to build a successful event planning company.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - September 6, 2024 πŸš€ - How We 4x'd MRR in 8 Months

I love it when you can find little levers in a business that drive meaningful changes. One of our businesses Pono Ventures has been on a growth tear this year creating good (and some bad) results.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - August 30, 2024 πŸš€ - Sales Trainwreck to Sales Ninja πŸ₯·

5 Sales Hacks: How to Flip the Script, Listen More, and Close Deals Like a Pro

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Ben's 1x1x1 - August 23, 2024 πŸš€ - How much does it cost to buy a ski park 🎿

OMG OMG! Our local ski park Mt. Bachelor just went up for sale. This is super interesting to me. I mean, how cool would it be to own your local ski park with the right investor group/partner?!

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Ben's 1x1x1 - July 5, 2024 πŸš€ - Inspired To Give

The fact that my cousin is 29 and has this thriving business is not what was inspirational. The inspiration, was that he is 29 and is already aggressively giving back.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - July 12, 2024 πŸš€ - Shots On Goal

My business partner and I have a lot of weaknesses. But amidst our graveyard of weaknesses, I think we have a few strengths. One of our greatest strengths - we take a lot of shots on goal.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - July 26, 2024 πŸš€ - I looked at 38 businesses this week. My take away.

I looked at 38 businesses this week for potential acquisition targets. Many have a business that is dramatically different than the business they set out to start.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - August 2, 2024 πŸš€ - Back in the trough

I looked at 38 businesses this week for potential acquisition targets. Many have a business that is dramatically different than the business they set out to start.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - August 9, 2024 πŸš€ - Losing mindsets are toxic πŸ’€

Losing mindsets are as toxic as the hot pocket I consumed yesterday. Maybe the olympics are wearing off on me, but I have been obsessed with the idea of winning mindsets recently.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - August 16, 2024 πŸš€ - Embracing Rejection πŸ›‘

Rejection sucks. Or at least it did for me for a long time.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - July 19, 2024 πŸš€ - Red Ocean Strategy πŸ“•

As entrepreneurs, we all dream of the blue ocean. Not the blue ocean that you can see from your vacation villa in Tahiti (maybe next year Ben). We dream of the blue ocean for business that has few to no competitors.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - June 21, 2024 πŸš€ - Legacy businesses

I've been thinking a lot about legacy businesses recently. Basically the business equivalent of a family heirloom that doesn't gather dust.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - May 3, 2024 πŸš€ - NO

The hardest thing for me to say - No.I'm a yes man. Being a yes man can be beneficial, mainly for opening doors and making new connections. Also makes me happy to make people happy.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - May 24, 2024 πŸš€ - Fire Fast

Once upon a time, I was terrible at firing. I would drag it out with the hope that the team member would improve, or maybe even quit before it came to a firing decision. This was a massive waste of time and money.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - June 14, 2024 πŸš€ - You want how much for this business?!

Getting your dog groomed isn't the only thing that's expensive these days. Businesses are expensive!

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Ben's 1x1x1 - June 7, 2024 πŸš€ - My Most Productive 120 Minutes

You lose 36% of your investment in GameStop. "Expected." Then, your dog somehow got into the neighbors yard and ate one of their chickens. "WTF?!" Then you get a flat tire on your way to work. "Classic."

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Ben's 1x1x1 - May 31, 2024 πŸš€ - Our Super Power

Our Super Power - Speed In Testing πŸ‡ This mindset has probably saved us millions of $ in time and money.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - May 17, 2024 πŸš€ - How To Hire

This is what matters when it comes to hiring. There are so many things that make up a good hire. I try to keep my hiring methodology simple.I look for these traits in every candidate:

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Ben's 1x1x1 - May 10, 2024 πŸš€ - Mindset Hurtles 🧠

Shifting my mindset for better performance. Sometimes I feel like a race car driver that's building his car when the race is already 20 laps in. I'm in the wrong mindset in the wrong phase of the race.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - April 16, 2024 πŸš€ - This company is going to kill my business

I think a lot more about risk than I have in the past. For the bulk of my professional life, I've been "risk-on" (god that was a fun decade) but now I analyze investments, deals, clients, and most importantly, my time, through a n

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Ben's 1x1x1 - April 19, 2024 πŸš€ - De-risking

I think a lot more about risk than I have in the past. For the bulk of my professional life, I've been "risk-on" (god that was a fun decade) but now I analyze investments, deals, clients, and most importantly, my time, through a n

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Ben's 1x1x1 - March 29, 2024 πŸš€

Can I give you a check for $50,000 today? Yes please! Sometimes I get attracted to a B2C business but remind myself that B2B businesses are the best for so many reasons. Here is one from a few years ago:

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Ben's 1x1x1 - April 12, 2024 πŸš€

An investment opportunity came across my desk this week that is much riskier than what I typically consider putting time and money into.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - March 22, 2024 πŸš€

As more and more of our friends have kids, our Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have really changed for the better πŸ€.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - April 5, 2024 πŸš€

Finding the one metric that matters. It's easy to get overwhelmed with data. Number of leads, top line revenue, how many beers are left in the office fridge. The list goes on and on.

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Ben's 1x1x1 - March 8, 2024 πŸš€

For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.​ One learning or interesting item from my week. One link to something I found interesting on the internet. One image from my life. Let's dive in πŸ‘‡

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Ben's 1x1x1 - March 15, 2024 πŸš€

For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.​ One learning or interesting item from my week. One interesting item/tool of the week. One image from my life. Let's dive in πŸ‘‡

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