Lecture Notes: Key Business Lessons

Introduction

• Speaker has been in business for 13 years, sold nine companies, last company sold for $46.2 million.
• Owns acquisition.com (generates about $17 million/month).
• Aim: Compressing 13 years of business truths into the presentation.

Brutal Business Truth #1: Sell to Rich People

• Sell to rich people first; shift to poorer segments later, if desired.
• Middle market is treacherous, offering limited efficiencies.
• Example: Tesla's segmentation strategy (Roadster > Model S > Model 3).
• Serving rich people allows for premium pricing and greater efficiencies without huge infrastructure.

Examples

• Walmart and Amazon succeed due to their volume-based strategies and efficiency.
• Overdeliver for rich people; easier when charging high prices for high value.
• Richer clients have lower relative expectations.

Brutal Business Truth #2: You Lack Priorities, Not Information

• Solve problems by clearly defining current and desired states and obstacles.
• Strategy is about prioritization of resources.
• Example: Entrepreneur with 56 companies making $10M total, advised to focus on the one big business.

Story

• Media company with 40M subscribers advised to create a product instead of optimizing SOPs.

Brutal Business Truth #3: Talent Standards

• Good talent is critical; best talent yet to be hired.
• Superior teams are necessary for hyper growth; example of a private equity firm's talent.
• Intelligent, capable people allow organizations to delegate and solve problems efficiently.

Rule

• Every new hire should raise the team’s average talent level.
• Too many rules indicate low standards and a need to hire better talent.

Brutal Business Truth #4: Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

• Focus on being better, not necessarily bigger.
• Quality will inherently lead to growth.
• Example: Chick-fil-A vs. Boston Market, emphasis on exceptional customer experience.

Brutal Business Truth #5: Distractions Reduce Effectiveness

• Block time for tasks that move the business forward.
• Let non-existential fires burn; focus on growth-oriented work.
• Example: Morning productivity, let minor issues wait.

Tactic

• Schedule major tasks early; meetings and interruptions later.

Brutal Business Truth #6: Brand Building

• Brand takes time to build but provides significant long-term value.
• Build brand through consistent delivery of promises, positive associations, and quality experiences.
• Example: Nike vs. generic brands.

Brutal Business Truth #7: Focus on Inputs and Outputs

• Break down money-making systems to smallest actions for optimization.
• Examples: Marketing processes, sales recruitment and training procedures.

Example

• Questions to diagnose scaling hurdles: ads quality, sales team capacity, backend support.

Brutal Business Truth #8: Avoid Hacks, Focus on Quality

• Build long-term quality rather than chasing short-term hacks.
• Detail-oriented, persistent improvement is key (