More, Better, New The Order of Strategic Leverage(GymCon Day 1) Pt. 2 Ep 560

In this episode, the speaker, Alex, shares his insights on business strategy and growth, drawing from his experience with acquisition.com. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on actions that attract and retain customers, increase their value, and ensure these processes are sustainable. Alex discusses the significance of delegating tasks effectively and the pitfalls of being unable to have difficult conversations with underperforming team members. He introduces strategic frameworks like "What? Who? How? So?" for decision-making and stresses the need for businesses to prioritize impactful and easy tasks over new, untested ideas. Alex candidly addresses the common desire for quick success and the reality that consistent, incremental improvements are the key to substantial growth. He also touches on the power of word-of-mouth marketing and the critical role of product quality in business success. Finally, Alex advises listeners to work on the core aspects of their businesses, such as customer lifetime value, before scaling or marketing aggressively.

• People often lecture on self-discipline but fail to apply it to their financial decisions.
• There is a disconnect between advising others on self-discipline and practicing it oneself, especially in business contexts.

"And so you like, give your clients all these lectures about self discipline and being hard and believing in your better self. But, like, you will take actions that are, in direct contradiction."

The quote highlights the inconsistency between preaching self-discipline to clients and failing to follow through with disciplined actions in one's own business practices.

• Wealthy individuals perceive business as a strategic game.
• The podcast aims to share lessons learned from building a successful business portfolio.

"The wealthiest people in the world see business as a game."

This quote emphasizes the perspective of successful business people who treat business ventures as strategic games to be won.

• Strategies should focus on acquiring more customers, increasing their value, and ensuring these processes continue.
• The effectiveness of a strategy is judged by whether it aligns with these goals.

"And the first framework that I wanted to give you around strategy is how does this get us more customers? How does this make them worth more? And how does this increase the likelihood that those two first things don't stop happening?"

The quote outlines a strategic framework for business growth focused on customer acquisition, customer value, and sustainability of growth strategies.

• Successful businesses grow by delegating tasks effectively.
• Empowering a capable team is essential for scaling a business.
• Holding onto tasks instead of delegating is a barrier to growth.

"The difference between the guys who become bigger business owners and the ones who don't is they have to think, how can I get my team to do this for me?"

This quote discusses the importance of delegation in business expansion, suggesting that successful business owners think strategically about how to involve their team in task execution.

• Identifying underperformers is crucial for maintaining a productive team.
• Talent recognition and recruitment are key to business growth.
• Leadership quality affects the type of talent a business attracts.

"If you've given the same who the same thing twelve weeks in a row, like, each quarter, and the what's not done, the who's the problem."

The quote suggests that repeated failure to complete tasks by a team member indicates a performance issue that needs addressing for the health of the business.

• Focus on doing more of what works before seeking new strategies.
• Improving existing processes can be more beneficial than pursuing new, untested ideas.
• Small business owners often chase new ideas instead of optimizing current operations.

"More, better, new. So as soon as we figure out that we have the highest strategic leverage activity that we can in a business, we then are asking ourselves, can we just do more?"

This quote introduces a framework prioritizing the expansion and improvement of current successful strategies before exploring new avenues.

• Small business owners often fall into the trap of seeking quick, transformative results.
• Consistent, incremental improvements are more effective than searching for a "silver bullet."
• Businesses should focus on a series of small improvements rather than one major change.

"The thing that is killing most of you guys is the desire to ten x in 90 days and then not doing it and trying something new and hoping for a silver bullet that never comes."

The quote warns against the unrealistic expectation of rapid, massive growth and the tendency to abandon steady progress in search of a miraculous solution.

• Building an exceptional business requires consistent execution of necessary tasks over time.
• Rushing for shortcuts often impedes progress.
• The scope of work increases with the scale of the business.
• Prioritizing work effectively can accelerate business growth.

"If you actually just wrote all the things that you need to do down and then you tick them off and you realize that it takes two years to build an exceptional business and you did nothing but just actually do all the shit you know you should be doing, you usually build a pretty exceptional business."

This quote emphasizes the value of methodically completing tasks that are essential for business growth rather than seeking shortcuts.

"Because the thing is that that list for a $10 million company is longer and bigger. That list for a 100 million dollar company is longer and bigger. And it's just shit that needs to get done."

The speaker points out that the complexity and volume of tasks increase with the size of the company, highlighting the importance of scaling efforts appropriately.

• Prioritizing tasks based on impact and ease can lead to better decision-making.
• Focusing on high-impact, easy tasks first can yield quicker results.
• Avoiding distractions from non-essential tasks is crucial for efficiency.

"So when you have your big list of shit. Just put it as 1234. Just put a number next to it. Really easy, lots of impact. Really easy. Do these first."

The speaker suggests a simple method for prioritizing tasks, which involves ranking them based on ease and impact to tackle them effectively.

• Branding involves associating the unknown with the known.
• Focusing on product quality can lead to organic growth through word of mouth.
• Investing time in creating exceptional products can reduce the need for constant promotion.

"Branding is the consistent action of associating the unknown with the known."

This quote defines branding as a process of creating familiar associations with something that is initially unknown to the audience.

"No one knows that you exist to begin with. What are we talking about? You're like, I want to rebrand. It's like, why?"

The speaker critiques the premature focus on rebranding when the initial brand has not yet established significant market presence or recognition.

• Referrals have an exponential potential for business growth.
• Obsession with product quality can lead to compounding benefits.
• Delaying gratification and focusing on creating exceptional offerings can lead to sustainable success.

"Referrals, by the way, are nonlinear in that they are exponential in nature. Two bring four, four bring eight, et cetera."

The speaker highlights how referrals can exponentially increase customer base without direct marketing efforts.

• Improving the customer experience is key to retaining clients.
• Businesses should focus on increasing the lifetime value (LTV) of customers.
• High LTV allows for more aggressive marketing spending and can outcompete others in the market.

"Once you get that right, then when you're pouring all this gas in, you can catch it. Because if you got a hole out the other side, your constraint is the fact that people don't stay."

This quote underscores the importance of customer retention before focusing on acquiring new customers, using the metaphor of fueling a vehicle to illustrate the concept.

"The guys who can spend the most money on marketing are the ones who make the most money from ads."

The speaker explains that businesses with a high LTV can afford to invest more in marketing, which in turn can generate even higher profits.

• Solving fundamental business problems is more effective than seeking quick fixes.
• Understanding the core of one's business, such as the effectiveness of the product or service, is crucial.
• Business owners must overcome personal biases and ego to objectively evaluate and improve their offerings.

"It's like you have to solve the root issue."

The speaker stresses the importance of addressing the underlying problems in a business rather than looking for superficial solutions or marketing gimmicks.

"I just feel like so many of the gyms that I see and I go to, it's obvious, takes 5 seconds to see why they're not successful."

This quote suggests that often, the reasons for a business's lack of success are apparent to an external observer, though not always to the business owner due to their emotional investment.

• Acknowledges the poor state of onboarding and high churn rates in a business.
• Describes the chaotic nature of the training environment.

"Onboarding, nonexistent churn through the roof. You should see my trainers slaving each other. It's terrible place. Absolute pig style."

This quote highlights the speaker's recognition of the problematic onboarding process and the high turnover rates within the company, as well as the stressful conditions for trainers.

• Emphasizes the significance of marketing for business growth.
• Requests audience support in spreading the word about the podcast to assist other entrepreneurs.
• Suggests that audience engagement, through actions like rating and reviewing, can have a meaningful impact.

"I'm going to market it. I'm going to market it real quick."

The speaker intends to focus on marketing strategies to improve the business situation.

"The only ask that I can ever have of you guys is that you help me spread the word so we can help more entrepreneurs make more money, feed their families, make better products, and have better experiences for their employees and customers."

This quote expresses the speaker's sole request for audience support in sharing the podcast to benefit other entrepreneurs.

• Discusses the concept of building a brand by associating the service with desirable intangible ideas.
• Uses examples to explain how associations can shape public perception.

"One brand is making associations between things that are intangible, with things that are tangible and unknown."

This quote defines branding as the creation of associations between the service offered and the intangible qualities that a company wants to be known for.

• Interprets feelings of sadness and hopelessness as indicators of ignorance or a lack of options.
• Suggests that becoming informed can alleviate these feelings.
• Associates feelings of anxiety with having too many options and a lack of strategy.

"If you feel sad, immediately translate that into I do not know what to do next."

The speaker offers a perspective on sadness, equating it to a lack of knowledge on how to proceed, which simplifies the approach to resolving the issue.

"If you have lots of options and you feel anxiety, it's because you don't know how to pick, which means you have to prioritize."

This quote connects anxiety to the challenge of making choices among many options, highlighting the need for prioritization and strategy.

• Stresses the importance of recognizing the main constraint in a business to achieve change.
• Suggests that without identifying and addressing the constraint, the business will not progress.

"If you do not know what the constraint of your business is, you will not solve it."

The speaker emphasizes the necessity of identifying the primary limitation in a business to overcome it and improve the business.

• Defines intelligence as the rate of learning.
• Describes learning as a change in behavior in response to the same condition.
• Encourages changing behavior after gaining new knowledge to demonstrate learning.

"The definition of intelligence as I define it is rate of learning."

This quote offers the speaker's personal definition of intelligence, focusing on the speed of learning new information or skills.

"Same condition, new behavior, which means the phone rings, and I trained you, and you answer it one way before I train you."

The speaker uses an example to illustrate learning, showing that a change in response to a repeated situation signifies that learning has taken place.

• Discusses the relationship between the effort put into learning and the results achieved.
• Shares personal experience with preparing for the GMAT to illustrate the concept.

"The more problems I do, the higher my score is."

This quote reflects the speaker's understanding that consistent practice and problem-solving lead to improved performance, as demonstrated by their GMAT preparation.

• Lists the four methods of acquiring customers: warm outreach, cold outreach, paid ads, and content.
• Proposes a "rule of 100" as a guideline for daily marketing efforts.
• Emphasizes that the quantity and quality of marketing efforts are directly proportional to business growth.

"There's only eight ways to get customers. You got warm outreach, you've got cold outreach. You got paid ads, you've got content."

The speaker simplifies lead generation into four fundamental strategies, suggesting that these are the only ways to attract customers.

"You either spend $100 a day on ads, you do 100 cold outreaches, you do 100 warm outreaches, or you do 100 minutes of content."

By introducing the "rule of 100," the speaker provides a quantifiable target for daily marketing activities to drive business growth.

• Leverage involves getting others to do tasks on your behalf, increasing efficiency and reach.
• Customers, affiliates, employees, and agencies are four groups that can provide leverage.
• Leveraging these groups requires initial outreach and content creation to attract them.

If I can go get my customers to tell everybody about my book, then I won't have to.

This quote highlights the concept of using customer referrals as a form of leverage to promote a product without the direct involvement of the business owner.

If you want to get more leads, you have to do these things. If you want to get even more leads, you get other people to do these things for you, which starts with you doing these things to get those people.

This quote emphasizes the fundamental process of generating leads by initially doing outreach oneself and then scaling by having others do it for you.

• Business confusion often stems from undefined terms.
• Defining terms helps to clarify business processes and objectives.

Business can feel confusing, and usually it's because we have not defined terms.

This quote suggests that a lack of clear definitions can lead to confusion in business operations and communication.

• Giving away free stuff can be an effective way to attract more people.
• Understanding the cost and profit of opening a new facility is crucial for expansion.
• Simplifying operations and reducing operational drag are key to scaling efficiently.

Giving away really good free stuff, great way to get more people to opt into your thing.

This quote suggests that offering valuable freebies can be an effective strategy to attract more customers or users.

• Successful franchises often simplify their operations for scalability.
• Reducing square footage and operational staff can increase capital efficiency.
• Building a machine that creates new locations is essential for rapid expansion.

The franchises that are the most successful simplify it.

This quote indicates that simplicity is a common trait among successful franchises, particularly when they are scaling up.

• Enduring businesses must have a stable back end, ensuring they can survive without constant new customer acquisition.
• Operational efficiency and customer retention are crucial for long-term sustainability.

The only way to become enduring with your business, if you want to sleep well at night, you have to fix the back end.

This quote stresses the importance of having a solid operational foundation to ensure business longevity and peace of mind.

• Examining profit margins and operational efficiency is more critical than marketing when a business model is not profitable.
• Simplifying offerings and improving operations can significantly increase profit margins.

I actually think your margins blow and I think you have a lot of interest because that's why I took the call. I knew the brand and I was like, I think you have really good products. I think you just have to get the ops right, so get your margins in check, right?

This quote underscores the importance of operational efficiency and profit margins over marketing efforts when it comes to improving a business's financial health.

• Setting incremental goals to improve profit margins can lead to substantial improvements over time.
• Focusing on the core aspects of the business rather than expansion can lead to a more sellable and investable enterprise.

Hey, if you find three, three months ahead, next month another 1%, and twelve months from now, you would have a business that would be sellable, would be investable, and would have already tripled or whatever was the profit of that, and made it a scalable enterprise.

This quote advocates for a methodical approach to improving profit margins by setting achievable monthly goals, which cumulatively can have a significant impact on the business's value and scalability.