In this episode, Alex from ownacquisition.com delves into the common pitfalls of choosing a business niche, emphasizing the importance of industry experience and understanding over seeking novelty. He critiques the tendency to pursue 'higher leverage opportunities' without foundational knowledge, citing Y Combinator's preference for entrepreneurs with relevant background experience. Alex shares anecdotes to illustrate his point, including the story of an agency owner who lacked real estate knowledge, ultimately advising him to gain direct experience before teaching others. He also stresses the value of solving problems effectively in business and the patience required for true mastery, suggesting that success often takes years, not days. Alex concludes by encouraging entrepreneurs to start and persist in their chosen fields, learning through experience rather than rushing for quick success.
"A lot of times new businesses are not actually really new. They're slight iterations on things that are old."
This quote emphasizes that innovation in business often comes from making improvements to existing ideas rather than creating something entirely new. The significance lies in recognizing that success can be achieved by refining and enhancing what already exists.
"I don't even do anything new. I just try and do stuff better which people somehow poo poo on."
The speaker shares their personal approach to business, which involves improving existing services rather than inventing new ones. It highlights the misconception that only new ideas are valuable and counters it by stressing the importance of execution quality.
"How am I going to use the value equation in the book how am I going to provide more value to my customers than anyone else can?"
This quote refers to a strategic approach detailed in the speaker's book, focusing on delivering superior value to customers. It's relevant because it frames the business strategy around customer value, not industry novelty.
"You don't know what you're doing, which is why your clients aren't getting results, period."
The speaker confronts an agency owner with the truth about their lack of expertise, which is directly impacting their clients' lack of success. This quote is critical as it underscores the importance of deep understanding and experience in one's field of business.
"I think that if you know how to get real estate leads, then you should go get your realtor's license, go generate your own leads, and go build a real estate business and learn it."
This quote is the speaker's advice to an underperforming agency owner, emphasizing the need to acquire practical experience before attempting to lead others in the same field. It's relevant as it illustrates the transition from theory to practice as a foundation for credible business advice.
"And the problem is, too many of the people who are watching this right now, y'all are on the sidelines and have always been on the sidelines and are trying to pick a niche to get into, to sell. How to do the niche. Well, that's dumb. You've never done it."
This quote emphasizes the mistake of attempting to enter a niche without prior experience, highlighting the importance of firsthand knowledge before trying to sell expertise or solutions.
"We'd love to see that you have experience in the payment space because there's so much stuff that you don't know that, you know."
The speaker stresses the value of having industry-specific experience, as it equips one with the necessary insights and understanding that can't be easily acquired otherwise.
"And fundamentally, business is just solving problems that exist and making sure the math makes sense. That's literally it."
This quote breaks down the essence of business to its core components: problem-solving and financial viability.
"Really how well you solve the problem is going to dictate how much virality your business has."
The speaker indicates that the quality of the solution provided by a business will determine its success and organic growth.
"You have to do the rocky cutscene, you have to eat the shit for a period of time so that you can get the reps in, so you can put your time under the bar in, so that you can actually get good."
This quote metaphorically describes the hard work and perseverance needed to achieve proficiency in a given field.
"And then at that point, then you'll actually have a real decision to make, which is, I'm actually really good at this thing. Now that I've learned, do I want to teach it to other people."
After gaining expertise, an individual faces the choice of whether to teach their skills or to continue focusing on their own business growth.
"The only way this grows is through word of mouth. And so I don't run ads, I don't do sponsorships, I don't sell anything."
The quote explains the podcast's growth strategy, which relies solely on the value provided to listeners and their subsequent recommendations.
"My only ask is that you continue to pay it forward to whoever showed you or however you found out about this podcast, that you do the exact same thing."
The speaker requests listeners to share the podcast, perpetuating the organic growth cycle and fostering a community of entrepreneurs.
"And so this is kind of where I think the problem is that I had another question that was sent to me on Instagram, which is like, hey, how do I soft churn?"
This quote indicates that the speaker actively interacts with the audience by addressing specific inquiries, which keeps the content relevant and practical.
"You're not good at the thing that you're supposed to be good at, which is why you don't have testimonials, is why you're not going $100,000 a month."
This quote emphasizes the importance of being skilled in your field as a prerequisite for financial success and the acquisition of testimonials.
"The best ways to learn stuff is starting at the bottom... you will have more trench knowledge, more depth of experience that you will be then able to apply."
The quote highlights the value of beginning at the foundational level to gain in-depth knowledge and experience that is applicable later on.
"Buildings are built with foundations and your career is a pyramid. And the peak of that pyramid is based least on the depth of the foundation that you build."
This quote draws a parallel between building structures and careers, emphasizing the necessity of a strong foundation for long-term success.
"If you put enough time in, period. I promise you that if you don't stop doing something for ten years, you'll be really good at it."
The quote assures that persistence over a significant amount of time will inevitably lead to mastery of a skill.
"Every entrepreneur that I know of puts five years in before anything really happens."
This quote sets realistic expectations for new entrepreneurs, indicating that significant success usually requires several years of dedicated work.
"There's a lot of stuff you got to learn. And so to think that it's somehow going to take 90 days, it's like, why do you think..."
The quote underscores the extensive learning process involved in entrepreneurship and challenges the notion of rapid success.
You have to respect the game. Like, a lot of people have been playing this for 40 years.
This quote emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the time and effort that experts have invested in their fields, which cannot be bypassed quickly.
I started when I was 23. The only thing I could have done before that without doing that is just start instead of going to college.
The speaker reflects on their own start in entrepreneurship and the notion that earlier is better, suggesting that the traditional path of college might be bypassed for direct industry experience.
You got to do the boring work, and you got to love the boring work.
This quote highlights the importance of embracing all aspects of work, including the repetitive and less exciting tasks, as they are fundamental to achieving mastery.
How do you pick the niche? How do you know where to start? You don't know where to start. You just start.
The speaker advises that the best way to find one's niche is to begin somewhere and learn through the process rather than waiting for the perfect starting point.
So what he did was he went to Bally's and worked at Bally's for like three or four years and worked his way up to becoming the personal training manager, and then at that point started his gym...
This anecdote serves as an example of how gaining industry experience can be more beneficial than immediate entrepreneurship, providing practical knowledge and financial stability.
So, anyways, if you're new, I don't know if I said in the beginning, but my name is Alex from ownacquisition.com, about $85 million a year.
This introduction is used to establish the speaker's authority and experience in the field of entrepreneurship, setting the stage for the advice given in the video.