Uncovering Hidden Constraints in Your Business Ep 520

Alex Hormozi, the host and owner of acquisition.com, delves into the concept of leveraging business constraints to maximize growth, drawing from real-world examples of three different businesses—an appointment setting company, a marketing agency for HVAC companies, and a large-scale influencer. He emphasizes the importance of identifying and focusing on the actual constraints of a business, rather than working on what entrepreneurs enjoy or assume to be the problem. Hormozi explains that addressing the right constraints can yield outsized returns and that wealthier individuals achieve more by concentrating on the correct efforts. He advises on strategies for each business case, suggesting a focus on niching down or partnering to create more value and capture a larger share of the market. Hormozi underscores the significance of experience, collaboration, and a long-term perspective in building a successful, scalable business.

• Wealthier individuals are perceived not to work more but to achieve more with their efforts.
• The focus is on getting more credit for the actions taken rather than the speed of action.
• The concept is relevant for selling products, building businesses, and personal branding.

"People who are wealthier don't do more than you do. They get more out of the effort they put in. They're not moving faster. They're just getting more credit for the stuff they do."

This quote emphasizes that success is not necessarily about working harder but rather working smarter, ensuring that one's efforts are recognized and valued.

• Alex aims to build a billion-dollar business and shares his journey for educational purposes.
• He discusses solving business problems to help others scale their businesses.
• The framework he presents is scalable and applicable to various business sizes.

"I'm trying to build a billion dollar thing with acquisition.com. I always wish Bezos, Musk, and Buffett had documented their journey. So I'm doing it for the rest of us."

Alex expresses his ambition and his intent to document his process as a learning tool for others, which he felt was missing from other prominent entrepreneurs.

• The theory of constraints is a central concept for business growth.
• Businesses grow until they hit a constraint, similar to the weakest link in a chain.
• Entrepreneurs often work on preferred tasks rather than necessary ones, leading to misidentified constraints.

"And when we look at businesses to invest in at acquisition.com we operate off of a singular concept, which is theory of constraints, which is that a business will grow up to its constraint and then it will grow no longer."

This quote explains the fundamental principle guiding Alex's investment strategy, emphasizing the importance of identifying and addressing the primary constraint in a business.

• Working long hours without growth indicates a focus on the wrong problems.
• The constraint is the area where incremental effort yields the most significant returns.
• A detailed example of a sales process illustrates the impact of focusing on the correct constraint.

"And so here's how you know if this is you, if you continue to work 16 hours a day, but you're not making more money or the business isn't growing, it's because you're working on the wrong stuff, you're solving the wrong problems."

The quote suggests that a lack of growth despite significant effort is a sign of misdirected focus, which is a common issue for entrepreneurs.

• Three businesses with different models all face a similar underlying constraint.
• The businesses range from appointment setting, marketing for HVAC, to a large influencer platform.
• Each business owner incorrectly identifies their problem, overlooking the real constraint.

"There were three different business owners that presented with different problems, but actually had the same much larger problem."

This quote introduces real-world examples of businesses facing constraints, setting the stage for a deeper analysis of their challenges.

• The appointment setting business owner's perceived problem was needing more customers.
• The real issue was the low quality of customers and retention.
• Alex advises to focus on the most profitable customer avatar and possibly partner with a business that aligns with this target market.

"So the first business that asked a question was an appointment setting business. And this guy specialized in creating outbound teams for agencies, consultants, coaches, et cetera, online businesses."

The quote describes the first business case, highlighting the owner's misunderstanding of his business's constraint.

• The HVAC marketing agency's problem was client sophistication and lead response time, leading to high churn rates.
• The underlying issue is similar to the appointment setting business, focusing on the wrong problem.

"Business number two was the HVAC agency. So, this is a business that markets for HVAC companies, typically small businesses."

This quote introduces the second business case, providing context for the shared constraints among different business models.

• The influencer business wants to increase revenue but focuses on subscriber count rather than the actual constraint.
• The real constraint may not be the number of subscribers but another aspect of the business model.

"The third business was the big influencer business, 30 to 40 million subscribers across all the platforms."

This quote introduces the third business case, suggesting that the influencer's approach to growth may be misaligned with their revenue goals.

• Discusses the scaling potential for a business that sets appointments.
• Highlights the benefits of owning a part of a larger business.
• Emphasizes the importance of understanding both appointment generation and service delivery.
• Suggests partnering for faster growth but notes the trade-off in potential upside.

"If he has that, that he could own half of a 50 to 100 million dollar business that he grows over the next five to ten years, picking the most valuable business that he sets appointments for."

This quote suggests that by owning a stake in a successful business, one could significantly increase their growth potential and financial gain over time.

"He knows how to generate the appointments for it, and he knows how to scale and deliver whatever the service is that he was setting appointments for."

The importance of mastering both lead generation and service delivery is highlighted, as it allows for full control and understanding of the business process.

• Explains how leverage can increase what one earns from their effort.
• Wealth creation is not about working more but about maximizing returns on past efforts.
• Stresses the importance of getting credit for the work done and building systems that continue to generate revenue.

"Because if what you do every day doesn't necessarily change, but how much you get credit for it does, then you get more for what you put in."

This quote emphasizes the concept of leverage in business, where the focus is on maximizing the returns on one's efforts rather than merely increasing the amount of work done.

"They're getting paid on stuff they did five years ago, whereas you are only getting paid on stuff you did last month."

The quote contrasts the long-term revenue generation strategies of wealthier individuals with the short-term, effort-based earning model of others.

• Discusses the financial dynamics between a marketing agency and its clients.
• Agencies often only capture a small service fee while their clients reap the larger revenue benefits.
• Encourages agencies to consider owning more of the business result, as they are often integral to the success.

"You're getting none of that. You're only capturing the service fee."

This quote points out the limited financial gain marketing agencies receive compared to the value they generate for their clients.

"But the more steps you take towards owning the result, the more you're basically just doing the business for them."

The quote suggests that as agencies take on more responsibility for their clients' success, it becomes logical for them to own a larger share of the business.

• Explores the options for agency owners to transition to owning a business in the industry they serve.
• Suggests learning the business, partnering with an expert, or acquiring a company.
• Advises prioritizing long-term growth over short-term gains and considering the foundation of the business.

"And so either you got to learn the HVAC business, or you partner with someone who already knows it."

This quote advises on the need for expertise in the industry, whether through self-learning or partnership, to effectively transition from an agency to business ownership.

"The fastest way to build a $10 million business is often not the fastest way to build a 100 million dollar business."

The quote highlights the different strategies required for scaling a business to different levels, emphasizing the need for a solid foundation for larger scale growth.

• Outlines various paths for agency owners to gain equity in businesses they help grow.
• Considers starting a business, partnering with an industry expert, or aligning more closely with top-performing clients.
• Emphasizes the importance of the size of equity stake over the percentage of ownership.

"Let me take over even more of this acquisition perspective, and let's partner on this."

This quote suggests deepening the relationship with successful clients to transition from a service provider to a business partner with equity.

"It's the size of the slice of the pie that matters, not the shape of the slice of the pie."

The quote conveys the idea that the absolute value of one's equity stake is more important than the proportion of ownership in a company.

• Differentiates between agencies that might naturally transition into owning businesses and those better suited as standalone companies.
• Transactional acquisition agencies with lead gen or sales team expertise are prime candidates.
• Creative agencies focused on branding may have higher customer lifetime value and can be valuable on their own.

"The agency types that lend themselves more to this are the done for you more transactional acquisition agencies."

This quote identifies the types of marketing agencies that are well-positioned to transition into owning a piece of the businesses they help scale.

"If you have like a creative shop or you do a lot of design branding, those ones tend to work a little bit better as their own companies."

The quote suggests that agencies specializing in branding and creative work may find more value in operating independently due to the nature of their client relationships.

• Agencies that specialize in setting appointments and generating leads using paid ads or other methods are common.
• It's more beneficial for these agencies to capture a larger opportunity by leveraging their skills rather than focusing on a model that doesn't typically create high value.
• Agencies with these capabilities should aim to get a slice of a bigger opportunity for better returns.

"But the vast majority of people who are watching this are not in either of those camps. They are very tactical in the fact that they know how to set appointments, they know how to generate leads, et cetera, just using paid ads or whatever method they have."

The quote emphasizes that most viewers are skilled in tactical aspects of lead generation and sales, suggesting that they should focus on capturing larger opportunities rather than small-scale ventures.

• Alex Ramosi mentions that watching his video content, which includes more effects, visuals, and graphs, can help people understand concepts in different ways.
• He encourages viewers who prefer visual learning to watch his YouTube channel for a more comprehensive experience.

"If you ever want to have the video version of this, which usually has more effects, more visuals, more graphs, you know, drawn out stuff. Sometimes it can help hit the brain centers in different ways."

The quote explains the benefits of visual content in learning, implying that different types of content delivery can cater to various learning preferences.

• Influencers with massive followings often rely on sponsorships and ad revenue, which is not the most efficient way to monetize.
• By creating their own products, influencers can capture the arbitrage that sponsors benefit from and build a more valuable brand.
• Influencers should consider equity deals, creating their own product lines, or transforming into a creative ad agency to maximize their earnings.

"And so you capture that arbitrage. So if they're paying you $100,000 for every video, they might be making a million dollars on every video."

The quote highlights the financial discrepancy between what influencers earn from sponsorships and the potential earnings sponsors make from their content, suggesting influencers should capture more of this value.

• Influencers mistakenly focus on improving content quality when they should be addressing the lack of a sales and product strategy.
• The real constraint is not in content creation but in developing other aspects of a business, such as sales, product development, and customer success.
• Influencers can significantly increase their revenue by shifting focus from content perfection to business development.

"And so the constraint isn't going 97 to 99, it's going from zero to 20 on these ones."

This quote identifies the misdirected focus on content quality as a constraint, suggesting that influencers should instead develop other areas of their business to see substantial growth.

• Influencers have options such as negotiating equity in companies they advertise for, creating their own branded products, or establishing a creative ad agency.
• The choice depends on the influencer's willingness to take on new skills and manage operational risks.
• Each option offers different levels of control, revenue potential, and alignment with the influencer's interests and capabilities.

"The second option is to say, okay, is there a category of products that continue to pay me the most out of all the advertisers?"

The quote discusses strategic decision-making for influencers considering expanding into business, highlighting the need to evaluate which product categories offer the most financial potential.

• Influencers with top-tier creative skills can monetize their ability to make viral content, not just their audience.
• Positioning themselves as a high-caliber creative agency opens up opportunities with major brands that seek to amplify their reach with proven content.
• The real financial opportunity lies in the ability to create content that can scale with paid advertising, reaching far beyond the influencer's existing audience.

"That is a more valuable skill oftentimes than the size of the audience paired."

This quote underscores the value of an influencer's skill in creating viral content over the size of their audience, suggesting a pivot towards monetizing their creative abilities through a creative agency model.

• Alex Ramosi outlines three potential paths for business growth, specifically for a particular type of business.
• The first path involves leveraging existing customer relationships to expand services.
• The second path is about franchising the business model to others.
• The third path focuses on ad spend to increase reach beyond the current audience, capturing more upside based on advertising skills.

"So those would be the three paths for that particular type of business."

This quote summarizes the three main strategies for scaling a business: expanding services to current customers, franchising, and increasing advertising reach.

• Alex Ramosi emphasizes the importance of a problem-solving framework.
• Key elements of the framework include identifying the problem, considering the time horizon, and understanding the scale of ambition.
• He uses the analogy of building construction to illustrate the importance of time and scale in planning.

"It's just like that building I explained at the beginning, if you want to build a ten floor building, you build it differently than if you want to build 100 floor building."

This quote highlights the importance of aligning business strategies with the scale of the desired outcome and the time available to achieve it.

• Ramosi argues that a long-term perspective is more valuable than rushing to achieve quick results.
• He suggests that taking the time to build a solid foundation can lead to greater long-term success, even if it appears slower initially.
• The metaphor of building a foundation for a 100-story building versus erecting a 10-story building is used to illustrate this point.

"If you are in a rush, it takes longer because you have to start over again."

The quote emphasizes the counterintuitive idea that rushing can lead to delays, as it may result in the need to redo work instead of building progressively on a solid foundation.

• Ramosi encourages choosing a problem to solve based on one's skills, resources, and experience.
• He discusses the importance of identifying the actual constraint in a business and leveraging it for growth.
• The process involves playing out scenarios to their natural extremes and then selecting the most suitable problem to address.

"Which problem would we prefer solving? Or which problem do we feel like we're more equipped to solve, or which problem is easier?"

This quote prompts business owners to consider their unique capabilities and preferences when deciding which challenges to tackle in their business strategy.

• Ramosi explains how focusing on the right constraints can lead to exponential business growth.
• He contrasts the efficiency of running ads for one company in multiple markets versus multiple companies in the same markets.
• The concept of "doingness" is introduced, highlighting that doing the right things leads to disproportionate rewards.

"People who are wealthy... they're doing more of the right stuff and less of the wrong stuff."

This quote underscores the idea that successful entrepreneurs accumulate wealth faster not by working harder but by working smarter, focusing on high-leverage activities.

• Ramosi speaks to the value of partnering with experienced individuals.
• He recommends finding industry experts with at least ten years of experience who have lived through business cycles.
• The ideal partnership involves complementary skill sets and a shared vision for a larger opportunity.

"The real ideal scene here is that you have two people who have been building deep expertise in complementary skill sets that fit within a larger boxer opportunity to capture something together."

The quote suggests that the most effective partnerships are formed between individuals with deep, complementary expertise who can jointly capitalize on a business opportunity.

• Y Combinator's research is cited, suggesting that three founders is the optimal number for a startup.
• Each founder typically brings a core skill set to the business: operations, product delivery, and marketing/acquisition.
• The decision to develop all skill sets alone or partner with others is framed as a strategic choice with long-term implications.

"If you want to go fast, you can go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

The quote, based on an African proverb, encapsulates the trade-off between going it alone for speed versus partnering for greater long-term success.

• Ramosi concludes by stating that the decision to build a business alone or with partners is a personal one.
• He encourages weighing the time it would take to acquire all necessary skills against the potential benefits of partnering.
• The ultimate goal is to consider where one wants to be in ten years and to make strategic decisions accordingly.

"That's the decision we all have to make, and that's not one that I can make for you. That's an individual decision."

This final quote reiterates the importance of individual choice in the entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the need for personal reflection and strategic planning.