Grant Sabatier is the author of the international bestseller Financial Freedom. As an entrepreneur, he has started and sold multiple businesses. He is the co-founder of MMG Media Group, the creator of Millennial Money (acquired by The Motley Fool), and an active angel investor and adviser. His story and writing have been featured in more than 400 international media outlets, including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BBC, and NPR.
What’s the big idea?
The prospect of becoming an entrepreneur might sound daunting and stressful at first, but for those ready and willing to put in the planning and work, it can unlock a life of freedom and fulfillment. Inner Entrepreneur outlines winning strategies for starting, growing, and selling a business with the intention of bringing home profits and peace. The journey of an entrepreneur is about building a business that supports the life you want to live.
Below, Grant shares five key insights from his new book, Inner Entrepreneur: A Proven Path to Profit and Peace. Listen to the audio version—read by Grant himself—in the Next Big Idea App.
1. The perfect business formula.
The perfect business combines how much time you have, your skills, and your passion with a market opportunity and a mission bigger than yourself. This formula helps you create a business that makes money, aligns with your strengths and interests, and helps you make an impact.
While it’s never been easier in history to make money, how you earn and use that money to build a life you love truly matters. When you assist others through your business—whether that’s helping your employees support their families or contributing to the broader world—you unlock a level of joy that transcends merely serving yourself.
When I started my media company, Millennial Money, I combined my digital marketing skills, passion for personal finance, and the growing market opportunity in financial education. Most schools don’t offer personal finance education, and many people didn’t grow up learning about money, so I saw an opportunity to build a personal finance media company. This alignment allowed me to build a successful business that I enjoyed running and made a real impact on people’s lives.
“When you assist others through your business, you unlock a level of joy that transcends merely serving yourself.”
It wasn’t just about me; there was a genuine need. Ask yourself: Are you solving a problem for people, making their lives easier, making them happier, or helping them earn money? That’s what you should focus on.
Consider Ashley Hamilton, a single mom from Detroit. She started investing her tax refunds in real estate, fueled by a mission to offer affordable, high-quality rentals to low-income families. This mission amplified her efforts, providing her business with a purpose beyond mere profit. This alignment is key.
The beauty of the perfect business formula is that it’s not static. Your skills will evolve, your passions might shift, and the market will undoubtedly change. Being mindful of these elements allows you to adapt and ensure your business remains a source of both profit and personal fulfillment.
2. Freedom comes from limits, not unlimited choices.
We tend to think of freedom as having unlimited choices but setting limits in business and life expands freedom. When you define what you don’t want to do and what you do want to do, you can create what I call your space of freedom. This is where you can do what truly matters. If you don’t set these limits for yourself, you will default to limits that others set for you.
Take travel, for example. I learned early on that I hated traveling for work unless it was somewhere I loved or was excited to explore. Since then, I have consistently turned down lucrative opportunities because they required travel that would force me to spend time away from my family.
This clarity is essential. What are your non-negotiables? Is it spending evenings with your family? Only working four days a week? Defining these limits upfront will guide your decisions and prevent you from getting caught in the trap of chasing every opportunity.
In my journey, I’ve worked hard to create these limits in my life, and these limits have given me more freedom. I learned to say no to clients and opportunities that didn’t align with my goals. This allowed me to focus on projects that were more fulfilling—and ultimately more successful. It also meant I had more free time to dedicate to things I really wanted to do.
By setting limits, you can avoid burnout and build a business that supports your ideal lifestyle. This isn’t about creating arbitrary restrictions, but rather thoughtfully designing your business around your values and priorities. What trade-offs are you willing to make, and what lines will you not cross?
3. Trust what you feel before what you think.
Intuition is a powerful tool in business decisions. While data and analysis are important, your intuition often picks up on subtle cues that your rational mind might miss. I’ve always been fascinated with this concept: The more you trust your intuition, the stronger it becomes. It will start to feel easier, then easy, and eventually effortless.
When I decided to leave my first company, many people thought I was crazy for leaving money on the table. But I knew I would never be happy, no matter how successful the business was. Whenever I’ve trusted my intuition over my mind, I’ve made the right call.
“The more you trust your intuition, the stronger it becomes.”
Think about what you know about yourself. Can you tap into those deeper feelings? Those emotions are signals. They tell you what you need to hear and allow you to sense information that may not be practically conveyed. If you feel stressed or conflicted, there’s a reason. If you feel stuck, it’s because you are. It’s about striking that balance between the rational and intuitive.
Intuition is connected to a deeper level of consciousness which is always working for us beyond our rational comprehension. It is our pathway to the universe. To cultivate this intuitive muscle, start by paying attention to your body’s signals. Do you feel a sense of excitement or dread when considering a particular opportunity? Practice making small decisions based on your intuition and observe the outcomes. Over time, you’ll become more attuned to your inner wisdom and better equipped to navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship. In many cases, you already know what you need and what’s best for you.
4. Double down on your strengths instead of fixing your weaknesses.
In business, it’s more effective to excel in areas where you’re already strong and outsource or delegate everything when possible. Outsourcing is more effective if you’ve already learned to do something yourself. When starting out as an entrepreneur, you’ll likely need to do most things yourself since you won’t yet be making enough money to outsource tasks. However, as you make more money, outsourcing becomes essential to both grow your business and have the correct limits in your life.
For example, I’m great at marketing and content creation but not at managing people. Instead of hiring full-time employees, I work to build businesses with partners who manage themselves, or I outsource any work I’m not good at to contractors.
Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. It’s far more effective to assemble a team or network of individuals who complement your skillset. Identify the areas where you excel and focus your energy on honing those talents. Delegate or outsource tasks that drain your energy or fall outside your expertise.
“Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be a jack-of-all-trades.”
This approach allows you to operate in your zone of genius and create a more efficient and fulfilling business. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try things on your own when you’re starting as an entrepreneur. There’s immense value in teaching yourself the basics of how business works. By learning how to do everything at first, it will be easier for you to build the systems required to create sustainability in your business.
When you’ve built systems that create more predictability in your business, then your business will be more resilient, and you’ll be able to adapt to market forces more quickly. Owning and running a business is about adapting, growing, and managing uncertainty. You need to control as many variables as you can by creating systems. Systems are the key to sustainability. Sustainability will help you sleep better at night and unlock more peace in your life.
5. Momentum is the most powerful force in business.
Building and maintaining momentum is crucial for business success. Without enough momentum, every business will fail. Simple strategies like working in sprints, regular rest, exercise, general movement, eating well, and taking time with your family keep your energy in balance. Small, consistent actions compound over time to create significant results.
When building businesses, I focus on taking action every day, even just small steps. If something doesn’t work, let go and keep moving. Small failures are inevitable. The most financially successful people on the planet are the ones who make the most choices every day. A choice could be as consequential as whether to buy another company or as small as whether to cancel a meeting to free up an hour, but all choices push energy into the world and will, when compounded, make an impact.
This constant forward motion helped me overcome obstacles and seize opportunities. Making decisions trains your intuition to make decisions for you. Before long, you can start making decisions almost unconsciously.
The world is full of risk and uncertainty. Unproductive people try to manage this uncertainty by trying to optimize each choice. Productive people deliberate to a point but prioritize action. To create momentum first, start with small, achievable goals. Break down larger projects into manageable tasks and celebrate your progress. Eliminate distractions and create a dedicated workspace to maximize your focus. Consistency is key. Even small steps forward each day will compound over time and propel you toward your goals. The more you act, the more momentum you build, and the more that momentum carries you.
To listen to the audio version read by author Grant Sabatier, download the Next Big Idea App today:
