How I Have Scaled Businesses, boring. brutal. better.

Welcome to the first Try Harder Newsletter!

Today, I want to talk about scaling a business.

Next week, I’ll get into more about “why” this newsletter exists and what you can expect. But for today, I wanted to start with some ideas you can hopefully use.

I started with a laptop, a $5 product, $100K+ in debt, and ZERO knowledge of how to run a business.

Today, across multiple companies, we have 20 employees and do millions per year, and I am debt free.

So how does that happen?

Well, it has taken…

10+ YEARS!!!
18 hours days, at times
Emptying my bank account to $0 at least half a dozen times
Losing best friends who didn’t support me
300+ Books Read and $150K+ in business courses/development
To name a few

But something more useful for YOU…

I’ve boiled it down to 3 things:

Clarity & Simplicity
Acquisition Math
Rewiring the Mind (what no one wants to hear)

To keep this newsletter less than book-length, I will only go over product clarity & simplicity today, and I will cover the others in future newsletters.

Do NOT miss acquisition math!

So, online business all started as a side hustle because my wife and I were in a lot of debt. Our minimum debt payments were about 65% of my military take-home pay. So, it was a lot of pressure. But the funny thing about pressure is that it can crush things or produce diamonds.

Within a year of starting my business, I made some, albeit very little, money. However, I quickly realized I was hitting a wall, and “revenue that SCALES” was going to be very hard.

And it was hard, but here’s what I have learned in scaling a business.

The Clarity Formula

The first thing I learned is clarity & simplicity, being able to communicate what I offer, why I’m different, and the value I can add to someone’s life… In 5 seconds or less.

People DO NOT care about my business.

Take yourself as an example. How much do you sit around and think about a product or service? Probably very little. Because you have a life (which is good).

I realized I could not expect my customers to care about my product enough to read a 2,000-word about page to truly understand what I do and how I am different.

So here’s the formula I use to communicate in marketing:

Problem + Unique Solution + Results/Expectation = Marketing Clarity

Here’s a fictitious example:

Problem: You don’t have a lot of time to workout
Solution: I provide effective workouts that can be done in under 30 minutes
Results Option: We’ve helped 200 men lose 20+ pounds with our training
Expectation Option: Cut the weight you want in 3 months, or it’s free

Putting the message together Option #1 (results):

Most people don’t have enough time to work out, so we developed a 30-minute system that can be done anywhere and anytime. The coolest thing is that this new approach has helped 200+ men lose 20+ pounds!

Problem:

Unique Solution:

This message focuses on our “system.” That simple wording differentiates you from just providing “workouts.” In my business, we developed an entire programming methodology, so don’t lie about what you do. Instead, start to focus on how you are different and create your method. Bonus points if you give it a name! “The CX-11 Protocol” - it doesn’t matter.

Results:

You will use the “results” option if you have client testimonials to back you up. Now, the next option.

Putting the message together Option #2 (expectation):

Most people don’t have enough time to work out, so we developed a 30-minute system that can be done anywhere called the “The CX-11 Protocol”. We’re so confident in our protocol that if you don’t achieve your goals in 3 months, it’s free (you actually get a refund)!

Problem:

Unique Solution: “The CX-11 Protocol”

Expectations: 3 months = results or it = FREE. Strong Expectation!

You could use the “expectation” option to communicate what they can expect and how they can mitigate their risk (a guarantee).

Prerequisite: YOU MUST BE GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO!

Next, I learned simplicity.

The Simple Approach

When I first started, I had one product. Then I had two, and eventually, I was selling about 20 fitness programs, but I felt spread thin and wasn’t really good at selling any of the programs.

To scale, I had to put a lot of time and attention on ONE product.

For me, it was one $49 product called One Man One Barbell.

I made sure the product delivered results.
I focused on how to message it to my customers.
I learned the funnels I needed to build to sell that one product.
I learned the advertising strategies that worked for my product. It’s easy to put that in a few sentences, but all of the above probably took about two years to learn and test.

I still offered 20 other programs on my site, but all my attention was on One Man One Barbell. That focus also meant about 90% of my revenue came from that one product.

My family survived off a clear message and one $49 product for years.

So how have I scaled businesses?

Well, any consulting I have done, new ventures I have gone into where we have seen explosive growth… it involved:

Clarifying the message.
Reducing the number of offerings (or at least only focusing on ONE).

Takeaway & Free Consulting:

Use the formula in your business.

Problem + Unique Solution + Results/Expectation = Marketing Clarity

Reply, and I will give you feedback on your message!

The newsletter is small right now, so I can’t always promise this level of personal touch, but today - you got it!

Reply with your message.

Try harder,