We've all seen and heard our share of commercials and most of them don't prompt us to do anything but turn the channel. However, due to catchy marketing phrases, I tend to remember many of them. A few notables were the 1993 Gillette Razor "E", Aflac's "Pay's the Doctors Boy", Get Rid of Cable and Upgrade to DirecTV, Geico's Antelope with Night Vision Goggles, etc but one from Jiffy Lube was a real game changer. You may remember their slogan as the "Well-Oiled Machine". Keep it in mind, we'll come back to it in a minute.

After a successful liquidity event, I went to the bank to withdraw $5,000. Normally, I don't carry that kind of cash but I needed to take care of some business that day that warranted it. After making my request, the teller went to the back and said whatever to whomever. When she returned, her cash machine made an unforgettable sound. If you place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, take a deep breath and blow, you'll get very close. It was the sound of the machine counting $20 dollar bills. She wrapped them in $2000 labels and sat the stacks of cash on the counter. Because it was a quiet, two-teller Saturday morning, I could feel everybody in line looking right at me. With that, I grabbed the stacks, placed them in my cargo pocket and exited stage left. Driving away, I thought to myself this feels great! I've got to do it again...and again...and again...and again. I knew how the money came but I had to ask the tough question which was how do I make this deal again? It was at that point the Jiffy Lube commercial popped back in my mind.

When you go to Jiffy Lube to get service, it may be different people but the exact same process. You know exactly what to expect.   Most importantly, it can be repeated as many times as necessary and that's where business success comes in. It's the foundation of success for franchises such as McDonald's and other popular brands. At the same time, lack of process is precisely why many businesses fail or fail to grow. As much as I hate to sound like an International Business Doctoral student, I suppose that's what I am so let's dig a little deeper.

Process

To use a simplistic example, let's say you're a great baker who is constantly complemented on your cakes so you decide to hang out a shingle and give business a try. One day you get an order to bake a cake and you place flower in the bowl before the eggs and the next day vice versa, but the point is you changed the order. You may ask what's the big deal? I can assure you it's a huge deal. This is where the well-oiled machine concept comes into place. It's not a big deal for an occasional order for someone looking to earn enough money to fill the gas tank every now and then but to someone who is serious about earning additional money it's the difference between $5 dollar withdrawals and $5,000. Whether I research equities or real estate deals, my process is the same.

Infrastructure

If you're going to be rich or make millions (two different things as rich is a relative word), you have to have an infrastructure that can support the level of transactions you're looking to do. In our cake baking example, do you have one oven or two? Can your kitchen/ counter space support your current or projected scale of business?  

Scalability

Can you meet market demand? That means if after all your marketing, advertising, networking, praying, superior products or whatever else, can you scale up to take on more orders? If the church congregation, school, office or whomever places an order for you to bake 100 cakes by next week, can you scale up to the point of getting it done? If not, you'll face embarrassment and disaster.

Success or No Success

Last year, I was asked to help grow a business from $1MM in revenue to $5MM. The business owner didn't take heed to any of these principles and it took me about two days to realize he's only going to meet his goal if he gets extraordinarily lucky. On the other hand, I've seen a number of people getting involved in life coaching but I've only encountered one who really seems to have all the necessities in place to have a superior level of success and that's Towanna Freeman's Black Life Coaching organization. She has a professional website, easily recognizable logo and everything else from advertisements to Skype interviews. If she starts 2014 covered in chocolate diamonds driving a Maserati Quattroporte assuming that's her style, you'll know she's a well-oiled machine.

I lunch routinely with Jay Pendarvis, another well-oiled machine who states, "Not only does your process have to be air-tight, but you also have to quality check the process". In our cake baking scenario that could mean ensuring the oven is set at the optimal temperature, the counter is wide enough for more pans, the lines on the measuring cups are correct etc. These are not just conversations for entrepreneurs. Some people make a lot of money in big corporations but I can assure you the same rules apply. The successful crowd has a well-oiled business process for how they get their work done and the results show up at review time.

Other Essential Elements

One of the biggest, yet most basic and easily correctable mistakes I see with people who want high dollar business success is appearance. They don't look the part. If you're trying to do something that will amount to anything, at least have a matching email address and website. The mix of mybusiness.com and Yahoo email has expired. I don't imply that a website and email address will make you millions but I do say that people will take you more seriously which could lead to more business. Other concepts such as networking with people more successful than you and reading the stories of those who have gone before you remain paramount. You will learn more about these business conversations and more in chapters such as "Fried Macaroni and Cheese" in my newly released book Slide 68 which highlights my conversations with Jay and others at the Cheesecake Factory.

Whether you desire a successful corporate or entrepreneurial future, you have to master these concepts if you want success.  Slide 68 will be scalable enough to allow you to order one or one million copies. 2013 is going to be a sweet year and I want to ensure that my pockets are stacked with cake. Here's to a great year and the sound of the fluttering cash rolodex when I withdraw $50K just for the fun of it! Happy New Year and may you live out your wildest dreams.

Audio CD read by the author coming soon...