1. Find your gift.

When you start out, you must realize that you have raw talents, skills, and abilities. Sometimes you’ll have to go out of your way to find them for yourself. No one will find your gift for you. You have to search for them on your own. Once you do, make a special effort to do what you do best, whether it’s dancing, drawing, or driving! Your gift will make room for you.

As a teenager, I would write poems to impress the girls I liked. One of these girls loved it so much that she continued to talk with me. I decided to write her more poems. Because she helped me exercise my gift of expressing my words through poetry, I made her my wife. Soon enough, she encouraged me to use my words and tell my story.

When it comes to your gift, you either use it or lose it.

2. Tell your story.

No one has the same exact story as you do! It doesn’t matter what profession you’re in–you must still learn to tell your story. When I started to tell my story, it taught me a lot about myself. It also led me to better opportunities because it improved my communication skills. What’s your story? When are you going to share it?

Most people should take the time to think about their story. Your story is important because it tells the world where you’ve been, who you are, and where you’re about to go. Truthfully, everyone wants to know your story. Do yourself a favor and write your life story out in 5-10 pages. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Who knows? Maybe it might turn into a book!

3. Make a product.

As I learned to tell my story, I decided to write a book about it. However, I didn’t just want the book to be about me, but about what others can do to take charge of their lives. My burning desire led me to quit MBA school at Penn State University and write my first book, “You Are the Boss!” in less than 10 days. That same year, I started my business and sold thousands of copies.

If you want to build a multi-million dollar business, you need a product to sell and a story to tell. When you look at the biggest brands out there, they share a story along with their products and services. Thankfully, it doesn’t cost that much to make a product that fits the needs of the people you’re trying to serve. What kind of product can you make within the next few months?

4. Expand.

As I endeavored to make a difference with my book, I knew I needed to expand. Because I wanted to build an empire, I launched Dignify Designs, which helped me to consult with entrepreneurs on how they can brand, promote, and market their businesses. Fortunately, I found that my expansion was totally compatible with what I was already doing.

As I began to serve my clients successfully, my business grew immeasurably. Now, I had different sources of income and new ways to serve people. Along the way, I found new ways to improve my business, even in the smallest ways. All I did was ask the greatest question in the world: “How can I deliver more value to more people in less time?”

5. Build systems.

As your business expands, you’ll need to create systems that support you. Systems that work in your favor will keep your empire from overwhelming you. The right system allows you to protect your most valuable asset: your time. Instead of rushing into false pressures, non-emergencies, and menial tasks, your systems will help you organize and prioritize your tasks.

I have amazing systems that track my success. I know exactly what I’m doing and how much impact each task produces. You won’t find me working on a $5 activity, like deleting emails, when I could be doing a $50,000 activity, like answering my clients, prospects, and fans (in that order). Automation and systematizing your business will help you create an empire.

If it isn’t measured, it isn’t managed.

6. Hire.

Once your systems have gone beyond your own capabilities, it’s time to hire people to help you. For some strange reason, many aspiring entrepreneurs want to call themselves the CEO of the company and assign positions to people who shouldn’t even be in their business in the first place. Hiring and training people is a serious duty because of all the responsibilities it entails.

In my business, I’ve been able to multiply my income because of those who I’ve hired: graphic designers, editors, social media and website managers, lawyers, personal assistants, and other specialists. Whether my hired help are virtual or face-to-face, I let them do what they do best as I take care of what I do best: Producing Content.

7. Mass production.

Once you get a good grip on serving your market, you’re going to want to scale and leverage your business. To build a multi-million dollar empire, you’ll need to produce on a massive level. However, the only way you can cater to the masses is by using your feedback to reach a bigger audience. You should be able to get this feedback from those you’ve already served.

When you build your competence, your confidence grows. Personally, I feel more confident after each video, article, and speech I produce. Eventually, the marketplace showed me how to engineer bigger and better products and services to reach more people. When you serve hundreds of people, thousands will show up. If you take care of thousands, millions will come. Try it!

To make a million dollars, serve a million people.

Success begets success. If you start where you are and absorb the opportunities around you, you’ll be able to drink the joys of life. You have to take what you get in life to get what you want out of life. Building a multi-million dollar empire is about learning how to serve people on a small level, then taking it to the highest level!