We were stuck at $10,000,000 until we did this…

Summary

• When scaling your business, it's crucial to address friction points at different revenue milestones: from 0 to 1 million, 1 million to 10 million, and beyond.
• As the co-founder of a portfolio that generates around $85 million per year, my advice stems from both experience and observations of other successful businesses.
• It's essential to have a clear operator in your business, someone who can execute plans effectively. This role was one I filled in our businesses, complementing my partner Alex’s vision.
• Businesses need three key elements to succeed: promotion, product, and people. Initially, you may start with one and need to develop the others as you grow.
• In our success, Alex typically takes on promotion, I focus on people (operations and leadership), and product development is a joint effort based on our understanding of the industry.
• We've had to bring in partners or sell parts of businesses when we recognized that neither of us was sufficiently product-focused, as was the case with our software company suffering from technical issues.
• To grow beyond a $1 million revenue business that may excel in promotion, you must ensure that your product delivers outstanding results and an excellent customer experience.
• Transitioning from $10 million to larger scales requires a keen focus on "people" – leadership and management – because scaling often involves growing the team.
• Caring for your team and ensuring stability in the company can be more influential than processes alone. Even if you lack certain skills, intent toward people development is crucial.
• At each stage of growth, leaders need to assess whether they need to bring in someone else to focus on product or people, or if they can fill that role themselves.
• Scaling is about adding people effectively. You need someone dedicated to managing the complexities of team expansion.
• Don't try to do everything alone. Building a business is more rewarding when you have partners and a team to celebrate successes with.
• If you're struggling to grow at any stage, consider examining your business structure through this lens of promotion, product, and people to identify weaknesses and areas for improvement.

Video

How To Take Action

I would suggest starting with identifying your key strength among promotion, product, or people. If you're great at promotion, then you already have a strong start. Next, work on developing a product that delivers both outstanding results and an excellent customer experience. Remember, a good product has two parts: results and experience!

Now, you don't have to become an expert at everything. Find someone who complements your skills. If you need better operations and leadership, get someone to fill that 'people' role. It's like building a three-legged stool – you want all legs to be strong so your business doesn't wobble.

Keep an eye on the ‘product’ side, too. If your product isn't strong, you might need to partner with someone who's product-focused. And don't forget about your team! They help your business grow, so make sure they feel secure and valued.

When you're growing from $1 million to $10 million, focus on creating an amazing product and experience. For scaling beyond $10 million, you need strong leadership and management. Look for someone dedicated to managing your team’s growth.

Here's a simple plan:

1. Identify your strong leg: Is it promotion, product, or people?
2. Strengthen your weak areas: Partner with someone to balance your stool.
3. Make your product awesome: Work on results and customer experience.
4. Focus on your team: Bring in a 'people' person if needed to care for your team.
5. Celebrate together: Success is much better when you can share it with a team.

Remember, you can grow without having to do everything alone. Bring in partners or a team when you need them, and build up the areas where you're not as strong. With the right people in place, you'll be ready to tackle each growth milestone successfully!

Quotes

"You don't have to have a specific skill set to have a business"

– Leila Hormozi

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"There are three legs to the stool that hold up a business: promotion, product, and people"

– Leila Hormozi

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"What's way cooler is bringing in people who complement your strengths"

– Leila Hormozi

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"You need to feel secure and they need to feel like they can rely on their bosses and on the company"

– Leila Hormozi

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"Scaling is usually adding people and so you need someone to focus on the act of adding people"

– Leila Hormozi