Momentum

Entrepreneurial Stewardship and Financial Literacy-lessons from Ron Bullis

At our weekly Momentum dinner at The Factory couple of weeks ago, the Momentum teams had the pleasure of a visit from Ron Bullis of Northwestern Mutual The Ella Bullis Foundation.

As a business owner and perpetual entrepreneur, Ron’s specialization is in business planning, with a passion for teaching stewardship and financial literacy. Along with his non-profit, Ella Bullis Foundation, Ron now runs a strong and growing practice with new and established business owners and professionals, primarily located in West Michigan. He is also a frequent presenter of financial literacy and stewardship seminars.

Ron shared the personal story of his business, Platinum One; how he achieved rapid financial success; and the mistakes he made that caused his business and personal financial collapse. Today, Ron draws on his experiences and entrepreneurial spirit to lead the Ella Bullis Foundation, a charity he founded to benefit families of babies in the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. Ron talked about how his experience in losing his business, investments, and personal property, and the death of his daughter, have made him passionate about entrepreneurial stewardship and financial literacy. Here is what he shared:

My Mistakes

• Wrong Purpose- My controlling desire was money and financial success. 
“You will be as small as your controlling desire and as great as your most dominate aspiration.” – James Allen


• Lack of Financial Intelligence-
“Financial intelligence is not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” – Robert Kiyosaki

My Advice

• Personal Finances-
“Build your house before you build your barn.” If your personal finances are not in order, how can you expect that your business finances will be?
• Pay off your debt.
• Save systematically every month.
• Give something away. Be generous.
• Live simply and humbly. 

• Avoid too Much Debt-

“Warren Buffet has said that he has seen more businesses fail from alcohol and debt than any other cause.”

“Their property held them in chains. They think of themselves as owners; whereas it is they rather who are owned. Enslaved as they are to their own property, they are not the masters of their money but its slaves.”
— Cyprian
• Possess a “Stewardship Mindest

“…prudent entrepreneurs are those who understand that their role as a business leader is one of stewardship. …we are stewards of the resources we have pulled together from a variety of sources: money from investors and/or lenders, labor from our workers, time away from our families, space from a landlord, materials from our vendors, and so forth. As entrepreneurs, all of these folks trust us to use the resources given to us wisely and effectively.” 
– Dr. Jeff Cornwall, Belmont University

• The Right Employees are Key

-Employees are critical to the success of any business. Here are some thoughts on employees: -Hire the right people. -Lead them; don’t manage them. Everyone loves to be inspired…not told what to do. -Invest in their personal development. Help them reach their measure of success and they will reward you by helping you reach yours.

Closing Thoughts

• Understand the Cash Flow Quadrant. Know where you are coming from and what changes you need to make to move into the Business Owner role.
• Define your purpose. Know what moves you and why. Then build habits around that. Invest in your personal development. Focus on leadership and understanding the laws of money.
• Get your financial house in order. Live debt free if at all possible.
• Pay the Investor back first!

Recommended Reading:

• Cash Flow Quadrant, by Robert Kiyosaki

• The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber

• Sales Don’t Just Happen, by Stephan Schiffman

• The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason

• Good To Great, by Jim Collins

A big thanks to Ron Bullis for sharing his wisdom!