Alex, the host of "Mozi Nation," shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing frugality and strategic reinvestment for business growth. From sleeping on a gym floor with minimal living expenses to achieving over $100 million in annual revenue at acquisition.com, Alex highlights the importance of maintaining a low expense-to-income ratio for wealth accumulation. He advocates for spending on what truly adds value rather than societal status symbols. With co-host B acknowledging his points, Alex underscores the peace of mind gained from financial security and the joy of pursuing business for passion rather than material gain, encapsulating his philosophy of wealth as a balance between income, expenses, and personal satisfaction.
"It's really about playing the game. And I think that that has been, I think the goal, if I have for Mozi Nation, is that everyone can get to a point where they're just playing the game for the love of the game."
The quote encapsulates the ethos of Mozi Nation, which is to encourage entrepreneurs to engage in business out of passion, not just for profit.
"And one of the things that a lot of our portfolio companies struggle with is when to decide to start spending money."
This quote highlights a common dilemma for entrepreneurs: determining the right time to invest in their business growth versus conserving funds.
"So I slept on the gym floor. So I had no rent besides my business rent, but I had no personal rent."
This quote illustrates Alex's commitment to minimizing living expenses during the initial phase of his business, showcasing his financial discipline.
"And so, anyways, even during that time, I was able to increase my income to about $15,000 a month. But I tend to be very security driven, and I've noticed that about myself. So I like to make a lot more than I'm spending."
Alex's quote reflects his financial strategy of prioritizing income growth over increasing personal expenses to ensure security.
"That's when I went from one to six gyms, and I really took no dividends in that period of time."
The quote describes a period of reinvestment and personal financial restraint that facilitated the growth of Alex's business.
"Now, the next season that happened was, I bought a condo, and I bought a condo because I really liked the condo. I thought it was well priced and whatnot, and I lived there for a very short period of time, and then I realized that I could rent it for $3,500 a month."
This quote reveals Alex's strategic move to invest in real estate and generate passive income by renting out his condo, demonstrating his financial acumen.
"And so these launches, at that time, from a business perspective, got us to about 200, 300,000 a month. Now, that was revenue. My income was still very, very low, and that's because, again, I didn't take distributions because I didn't learn that lesson yet."
This quote highlights the discrepancy between business revenue and personal income due to the lack of distributions, which Alex later identifies as a lesson learned.
"So my rent expense was month. We had a car that we owned in cash, which was the Prius during this period of time. And that was it. That was the only expenses, was the extended stay, and then us eating Chipotle and stuff."
This quote explains Alex's minimal living expenses during a period of business growth, highlighting his frugality and focus on saving.
"So then from there, we said, you know what? Maybe we should settle down. And that's when we switched to having sales teams fly out and do this stuff on our behalf and do the gym turnarounds, and we could stay central."
The quote describes a strategic shift in the business model to improve efficiency and stability.
"During this period of time, the business went from the turnaround business at $300,000 a month to 1.5 million a month."
This quote indicates the rapid increase in business revenue, which led to substantial wealth accumulation for Alex.
"The car we owned in cash, which was Prius, aka hashtag Mozimobiles. Those of you who are valuing your business over your personal expenditures."
Alex is advocating for a personal finance approach that prioritizes having control over personal assets and minimizing liabilities.
"I talked to Bradley and I talked to Bert Castillo, friends of ours, and they were like, dude, you got to spend some money. And I was like, all right, so we bought a fancy car and I realized quickly that we didn't care and so we sold it."
This quote reflects a brief departure from Alex's usual frugality, followed by a quick return to his core values regarding money and possessions.
"Our wealth continued to grow because everything that was in excess from an income perspective just poured straight into our savings."
"I think we accumulated around, I want to say $30 million after taxes in cash and assets or cash equivalents, things like that."
"I learned to take dividends because I realized that I was giving myself an excuse by reinvesting every dollar of cash flow into the business, which a lot of times meant that I just wasn't really focused on profitability."
These quotes highlight the strategy of saving excess income, the significant wealth accumulation as a result, and the shift in mindset from reinvestment to profit-taking for financial stability and growth.
"Yes, we lived in a $1.8 million house and yes, we sold the house for $4,000,000.02 and a half years later."
"Relative to my income, and this is why I wanted to make this video, is for context, right?"
These quotes illustrate that although Alex's living arrangements might seem luxurious, they are carefully calibrated relative to income, maintaining a high level of financial security.
"Now, after that, those of you, some of you know, is that in 2021, we sold everything."
"We spend about $15,000 a month on food and eating out."
These quotes detail the decision to sell off personal assets for liquidity and the current living expenses, which are aligned with their lifestyle choices and financial capabilities.
"We flew private because it saved us time, and it turned travel from a negative into a positive. But JSX, I think, accomplishes all that."
"It's not expensive. And so we stopped flying private because spending $50,000 on a plane flight, if I can get basically the same benefit for $400, is worth it."
These quotes explain the rationale behind changing travel habits from private flights to JSX, emphasizing time savings, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.
"We're doing over $100 million a year, but right now we're over 150."
This quote indicates the current scale and success of Alex's business ventures, demonstrating substantial growth in revenue.
"I don't think our lifestyles have increased at the proportion that our income has."
This quote illustrates the concept that Alex and Leila's income has grown significantly without a corresponding increase in their lifestyle expenses, implying disciplined financial behavior.
"If the goal is material wealth accumulation, then the lower your personal expenses, the more you will accumulate."
Alex is making a straightforward point about wealth accumulation: keeping personal expenses low allows for greater savings and wealth growth.
"And your peace of mind will be predicated on the ratio between your income and your expenses."
This quote emphasizes the idea that financial security and peace of mind are a result of a favorable balance between what you earn and what you spend.
"It's really less about living cheap and more about spending money on the things that you value rather than what society has told us to value."
Alex is encouraging conscious spending, where individuals prioritize their values over societal expectations when it comes to financial decisions.
"Am I buying this because I want status from other people or because I really think that this thing confers value?"
This quote prompts listeners to reflect on their motives for making purchases, questioning whether they are driven by a desire for status or genuine value.
"Wealth is the ratio between income and expenses and the peace of mind that you have from knowing that you have enough."
Alex encapsulates his definition of wealth, emphasizing the importance of financial security and the psychological comfort it brings.
"Wealth occurs, or you become wealthy the moment you decide you are, because you will realize at some point that money will buy you freedom, it will not buy you happiness."
This quote suggests that wealth is a mindset and that while money can provide freedom, it cannot purchase happiness.
"Are these things that I'm buying really adding more value than the price that I'm incurring to purchase them?"
Alex is advising listeners to assess the actual value they get from their purchases, encouraging them to think critically about their spending decisions.
"It's about the ratio between income and expenses."
This quote reiterates the theme that financial well-being is not about how much you earn in absolute terms, but rather how you manage the relationship between your earnings and your expenses.
"I don't deserve this audience that you guys have come together. You guys are amazing, and I'm so grateful."
Alex is showing appreciation for his audience's support, indicating that he values the community they have formed around his content.
"It definitely makes me feel less alone."
This quote reveals Alex's personal feelings of connection and solidarity with his audience, which he finds meaningful and supportive.