How Natalie Dawson Uses the PPF Framework to Build Wealth

TL;DR

Wealth should come from hard work on the right set of problems, so ask what problems you solve every day and whether they tie to your income goal. Long-term business success depends less on the business model than on the character of the people you partner with and let into your inner circle. Before you have a million dollars, do not think about passive income.

Transcript

In order to be successful, you have to be able to communicate your ideas, who you are, and your point of view. And so, I use three steps in every communication that can be used for getting a promotion, laying people off. It could be used to persuading your significant other, "Where are you going to go to dinner that night?" And it allowed me to go ... Read More

Key Insights

• Wealth should come from hard work on the right set of problems. If you work hard but have no wealth to show for it, the problems you spend time solving are likely not tied to your actual goal of increasing income.
• The character of the business owner matters more than the business model. Natalie Dawson says a person must be ethical, compliant, and someone who wants to win, or no roofing, HVAC, wellness, or agency model will succeed.
• The people you do business with determine long-term success. Even a driven owner who takes notes and implements will stay stuck if a spouse, child, or paid employee continually detracts from her ability to reach her goals.
• Dawson uses a three-step interview process that starts with a cultural interview, prioritizing alignment and goal orientation over technical skill. She asks candidates their five-year goals and will not hire someone who cannot give a real answer.
• The 1% prioritize being respected over being liked. Dawson frames this as one of the mindset differences separating the top 1% from the 99% who cannot create the wealth they want.
• Burnout is a misconception about hard work. Dawson says 'You're not a candle. You can't burn out,' arguing that effort built through genuine work does not carry the anxiety that it could all come crashing down.
• Passive income should wait until after your first million dollars. Instead of chasing it early, Dawson says to use your calendar as a representation of what you find important relative to your daily goals.
• Business owners who cannot read a P&L or understand a balance sheet will always abdicate that work to someone else, which eventually fails because they cannot judge whether the hired person can scale a business past $3 million.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the PPF framework for goal setting?

PPF is a three-step methodology for goal setting that Natalie Dawson developed and rolled out to thousands of people, and she says it transformed her life. According to the video description, the PPF framework took her from $30K to $300K. She presents it as the way the 1% set goals differently from the 99%, though the individual steps of PPF are not fully detailed in this portion of the conversation.

Q: Why do most people fail to create wealth despite working hard?

Dawson argues wealth should come from hard work on the right set of problems. If you have struggled to work hard but have no wealth to show for it, then where you spend your time and the problems you solve are not tied to your goal of increasing wealth. She says whether you are a team member, leader, or owner, you should be able to point at your work and the result it generated, and if you are unhappy with the result, your problem selection is likely misaligned.

Q: What makes a business owner successful according to Natalie Dawson?

Dawson says success ultimately comes down to the character of the person doing the business. Even with the best business model, marketing, and operations, a venture fails if the person is not ethical, compliant, and someone who wants to win. She stresses that these three traits go hand in hand and matter more than the industry, whether it is roofing, HVAC, wellness, or a marketing agency.

Q: How does Natalie Dawson interview and hire A players?

Dawson uses a three-step interview process that begins with a cultural interview rather than testing technical ability. She wants to understand whether a candidate is aligned with the organization and goal oriented. The best question she recommends asking before hiring is a person's five-year goals, and she insists on a real answer. She says she does not care about your skills and experiences if you have no goals, and she will not allow that person into the environment.

Q: Do people really burn out from hard work?

Dawson calls burnout a misconception about hard work, stating plainly, 'You're not a candle. You can't burn out.' She argues that when you build success through genuine effort, you do not carry the anxiety that it could all come crashing down, because you know you could redo it. In her view, effort earned through real work is never burnout inducing, unlike attempts to hack success without putting in the work.

Q: When should you start thinking about passive income?

Dawson advises that before you have a million dollars, you should not even think about passive income, even though the idea of making income while you do other things is compelling. Instead, she recommends using your calendar as a representation of what you find important relative to the goals you have every single day. The focus early on should be on the work and problems that actually generate wealth rather than on passive income streams.

Q: What businesses did Natalie Dawson build and who does she help?

Over the last six years Dawson co-founded two nine-figure businesses. Cardone Ventures, a management consulting and investment firm started in 2019, helps small business owners grow and scale. In 2023 she purchased a health business called 10X Health, now also nine figures. Over 15,000 business owners have come through her programs, which span education, consulting, services, and investing, working like a McKinsey for small businesses.

Q: Why do the people around you matter more than the business model?

Dawson learned painfully over six years that everything is about the people you do business with, the partners you choose, and who you allow in your inner circle. She has watched driven owners who take notes and implement still fail because someone in their life, a spouse, a child, or even a paid employee, detracts from their goals, reduces their confidence, and keeps the business stuck. You can hand someone the full playbook and training, but the wrong surrounding people cause failure.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Dawson co-founded two nine-figure businesses over six years: Cardone Ventures, a management consulting and investment firm started in 2019 that helps small business owners scale, and 10X Health, purchased in 2023. Over 15,000 business owners have come through her programs across education, consulting, services, and investing.

• Many owners doing $3 million in annual revenue realize that figure does not create financial security and want to reach $5 million or $10 million. Dawson positions her firm like a McKinsey for small businesses, reverse engineering a client's market, products, and offerings to deliver marketing, recruiting, and bookkeeping.

• The core lesson from six years is that everything comes down to the people and partners you choose. Communication also matters: Dawson uses three steps in every interaction, from promotions to layoffs, which took her from being crippled by anxiety to co-founding nine-figure companies.