I don't quite get this obsession with percentage return; it should be obvious that the larger the organisation then usually the smaller percentage margin of profit once you get past the early growth years. Someone above mentioned Amazon and 4.1%. You get to a stage where you might "only" get 10%, but if your turnover is 10,000,000 then you have 1 million per annum profit.
To me the importance of work/business life is to have - buzzword phrase coming, sorry - is a "work/life balance". Now if I am able to have a sustainable profit of 200K a year from 1 million turnover after 5 years of building a business then I would be very pleased indeed.
If it is ticking over with a manager doing the lion's share of running and organising it, leaving me to direct the business in the right direction then wonderful.
I remember when Lee first promoted the idea of selling his house and ploughing the money into his business. Now if he had done what I might have done he'd still have his house which might have gone up in value - let's surmise 250K to 300K - and made his round the best one man band it could have been - let's surmise it went up from 30K a year to 60K a year and he has an extra 15K a year in his pocket and be employing the next person.
I'd be happy with that. But Lee is clearly building an empire.
It shows what can be done and even if part of me is a little disturbed (jealous?) by the fact that someone is doing what "I could have done" if I had been more courageous/focussed/obsessed then I can't understand the need to bring him down or bang on with "Ah, but ...ism".
I think it is great for this forum that in among the bread and butter threads of poles and reels and canvassing and employing we have something that piques my interest even further.
We have had those that come in "Lording it" and they soon show their feet of clay and overstep the mark and get banned or leave in a huff - I hope this doesn't happen here.
Handbags down please.