Stop Being Broke. Get Busy.

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of scaling businesses by tackling what seems unscalable, sharing insights from his experience in exiting nine businesses and building a $200 million portfolio. He argues that the inability to scale is often due to a lack of skills rather than impossibility, and encourages entrepreneurs to engage in direct customer interactions to learn and improve their offerings. The video offers tactics to scale by starting with high-value, 'done for you' services and progressively moving to more scalable, 'do it yourself' models, ultimately advising viewers to embrace the hard work of the early stages to avoid financial stagnation.

Takeaways

• 💰 **Scaling the Unscalable**: The speaker emphasizes the importance of not overlooking seemingly unscalable aspects of a business, as they can often be scaled with the right approach and resources.
• 💡 **Skill Deficiency, Not Unscalability**: The concept that something is unscalable is often a result of lacking the skills to scale it, rather than an inherent limitation.
• 🤔 **Starting Small, Thinking Big**: Entrepreneurs should start with what is manageable and scalable given their current resources, but always keep the bigger picture in mind.
• 📈 **Learning Through Doing**: Engaging in 'unscalable' activities like one-on-one customer interactions can provide valuable insights and learning opportunities that can inform business growth.
• 📝 **The Power of Personalization**: Personal touches, such as handwritten cards or personalized messages, can be powerful in business, even if they seem unscalable at first glance.
• 🔑 **Cultural and Training Investments**: Scaling a service business involves investing in culture and training, which are key to handling growth while maintaining quality.
• 🚀 **Leverage and Resources**: As a business grows, the ability to leverage resources, such as hiring additional staff or investing in technology, can help scale previously unscalable processes.
• 📈 **Incremental Scaling**: Scaling often involves incremental steps, starting with a basic version of a process and gradually improving and expanding it as the business grows.
• 🔄 **Adapting and Evolving**: Businesses must be willing to adapt their strategies and processes as they grow, recognizing that what works at one scale may not work at another.
• 💼 **The Swamp of Entrepreneurship**: The speaker describes an early stage in business where one must work multiple roles due to limited resources, which is a necessary phase to build up to a scalable model.
• 📱 **Technology as a Scaling Tool**: Even in a world of automation, personal touches and direct communication can be more effective and are examples of scalable personalization.
• 📈 **Sales to Fulfillment Continuum**: The easier a product or service is to sell, the harder it is to fulfill, and vice versa, indicating a need for balance in how businesses approach their offerings.
• 🏢 **Small Business Advantage**: Smaller businesses have the advantage of being able to do things that larger businesses cannot, such as highly personalized services, which can be a key differentiator.

Q & A

What is the main concept discussed in the video script?

The main concept discussed in the video script is 'scaling the unscalable,' which emphasizes the idea that what may initially seem unscalable can often be scaled with the right approach and resources.

Why does the speaker believe many businesses are leaving money on the table?

The speaker believes businesses are leaving money on the table because they are not utilizing their single largest competitive advantage, which is often the ability to scale processes that they currently perceive as unscalable.

What is an example given in the script where someone thought their business process was unscalable?

An example given in the script is a woman in the fitness industry who thought outbound sales, which requires people, was unscalable. The speaker argues that it's not the process that's unscalable, but rather a lack of knowledge on how to scale it.

What does the speaker suggest is the real issue when people claim something is unscalable?

The speaker suggests that the real issue is not that something is unscalable, but rather that people have a 'skill deficiency.' They lack the skills or knowledge on how to scale the process in question.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of doing 'unscalable' work in the early stages of a business?

The speaker views 'unscalable' work as crucial in the early stages of a business because it allows for learning and skill development. This work can provide valuable insights into customer needs, preferences, and the most effective ways to serve them.

What is the 'sales to delivery continuum' mentioned in the script?

The 'sales to delivery continuum' is a concept that suggests the easier something is to sell, the harder it is to fulfill, and vice versa. It highlights the relationship between the marketing and delivery aspects of a business.

What are the two frameworks introduced by the speaker for understanding business scalability?

The two frameworks introduced are the 'sales to fulfillment Continuum' and the 'done for you, done with you, do it yourself pyramid.' These frameworks help to understand the dynamics of selling and fulfilling products or services and the progression from fully serviced to self-service models.

What advice does the speaker give for businesses that are struggling with scalability?

The speaker advises businesses to start by doing the 'unscalable' work themselves to learn and understand the process deeply. As they gain insights and resources, they can then look for ways to semi-privatize or systematize the process, thus scaling what was once thought unscalable.

What is the significance of the 'done for you, done with you, do it yourself pyramid' in business strategy?

The 'done for you, done with you, do it yourself pyramid' signifies a strategic approach to business where one starts with offering high-end, fully serviced products (done for you) and gradually moves to less hands-on services, eventually offering do-it-yourself solutions. This approach helps in establishing a strong brand and allows for scaling.

What does the speaker mean by 'use what you have' in the context of entrepreneurship?

The speaker means that entrepreneurs should leverage their current resources, skills, and advantages, even if they seem small or limited. This includes doing 'unscalable' work to gain insights and build up to scalable solutions.

What is the speaker's recommendation for new or small businesses regarding the approach to selling their products or services?

The speaker recommends a top-down approach where businesses start by selling the most expensive, high-end services (done for you) and then move down the pyramid to offer less expensive, more scalable solutions (done with you and do it yourself).