Thanks to an alliance with an extremely successful investment banker, I am privileged to see how a Wall Street investor evaluates companies. Recently we were on a call with a prospective client who was leading a rapidly growing company, and I took away four pieces of advice for small and mid-sized business owners looking to generate real wealth in only a few years.

One: Have huge aspirations. It is fine to want to make a living as a business owner. Most “mom and pop” stores do just that (barely). However, if you want your company to be worth millions, you need to have huge aspirations. Investors, the media, customers, top talent, and prospective buyers are all attracted to business owners with vision and the guts to declare tenacious goals. You may feel uncomfortable and even inadequate declaring audacious aspirations for your business. Few people who created Fortune 500 or even Inc. 500 companies had done anything on that scale before. You have to be willing to break from your own past and see yourself – along with your team – creating something amazing. Too many people in this world think too small; we need leaders who can think big.

Two: Put in place a platform to achieve your aspirations. Wall Street doesn’t want dreamers who can’t deliver. In fact, investors will punish you and your business if you don’t perform. If you have huge aspirations, you need to match those aspirations with a business platform that can achieve them. This includes: a top notch team of smart and experienced people, systems and processes, a strong business model that generates profit and cash flow, a marketing machine to attract business, some sort of edge that sets your business apart and is in demand in the marketplace, and a plan to implement.

Three: Tell a compelling story. To reach the big time, you need to be able to communicate your vision of the company in a compelling way. What is the problem your company solves, and for whom? How big can the market and your company get? Why is your company on the cutting edge of major trends in business and society today? How have you reduced the risk of everything that might go wrong? What early successes have you had to prove that your idea will work and that you have momentum? What are some strategic partners that you have formed with big-name people or companies? In other words, assuming you have the substance to back it up, what is the sizzle that will grab people’s attention?

Four: Have a vehicle to generate capital and wealth. Smart business owners are constantly thinking about how they can build their company in order to create some sort of liquidity event (e.g., cash out). One of the more interesting ways to generate wealth quickly while having access to cash is by merging into a publicly traded shell. Going public with this tactic costs a lot less than raising capital from venture capitalists (a business model that is glamorous but makes almost no sense for most business owners). While there is a reporting and legal burden, becoming a publicly traded bulletin board company can – when done with professional, high-integrity partners – get your company notices and give you an easy way to raise cash. For instance, you can raise cash through a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE). This strategy is just one of many ways to prepare your company to cash out. There are others, and the point is that the savvy business owner is thinking about how to exit the business with as much wealth as possible.