Action Academy Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: "Bought the Business? Here’s How to Run It (and Avoid Failure) w/ Gideon Spencer"

Host: Brian Luebben
Guest: Gideon Spencer
Date: September 11, 2025

Overview

This episode dives deep into what happens after you've bought a business or real estate asset—a often-ignored and crucial topic. Host Brian Luebben and guest Gideon Spencer (a tech-to-hospitality entrepreneur) go beyond acquisition to explore the three-part journey to sustained business success: Acquisition, Acclimation, and Architecture. Through candid anecdotes, data-driven frameworks, and actionable advice, they break down the four fundamental pillars required to run and grow a business post-acquisition: Marketing, Sales, Finance, and Operations. The conversation is rich with real-world examples, particularly from the hotel business, and seasoned with memorable quotes and tactical frameworks for entrepreneurs ready to scale.

Episode Structure and Key Discussion Points

1. The Three Steps After Acquisition (01:10–02:14)

• Acquisition is only the first step; you need acclimation (becoming an effective owner) and architecture (building company systems).
• Quote:

  "Everyone talks about just buying the assets and they just print off pure passive income. But it's actually a three-step process... acquisition is only the first part."
  — Brian (01:01)

2. The Four Fundamental Pillars of Business (02:15–03:30)

• Pillars: Marketing, Sales, Finance, Operations

• Use the META Framework: Identify the biggest bottleneck in each pillar and focus efforts there instead of spreading yourself thin.

  "When you buy a new business, it's easy to get muddied... So we're going to keep it simple in this episode and we're going to break down business into four fundamental pillars."
  — Gideon (02:23)

3. Making Business Simple: The Conveyor Belt Analogy (03:54–05:27)

• All businesses can be viewed as a conveyor belt:

  • Sales & Marketing → Operations & Fulfillment → Finance & Profit

• Remove complexity; fix bottlenecks sequentially.

  "If you view business like a conveyor belt... it's way more simplified."
  — Brian (03:57)

4. Marketing: Focus and Differentiation (05:27–20:56)

a. Hyperfocus on One Product, One Avatar, One Channel (05:27–06:59)

• Cut complexity and scale to seven figures before diversification.

  "Simple scales. So oftentimes people, when they run into issues with their business, they're looking for things to add. But... you'll be more effective by removing things."
  — Gideon (05:28)

b. The Gap Strategy & Unique Selling Points (USP) (07:38–11:23, 07:38–10:56)

• Don’t just mimic competitors; identify their weaknesses and fill market gaps.

• Real-world hotel example: Leveraged outdoor spaces and "pet-forward" policy in a niche market.

  "When you're looking at your competition, don't just identify the good things that they're doing and try to clone them. Identify what they are the weakest in and then you go all in on that weakness to capture the market that they're not."
  — Gideon (00:00, 07:38)

c. Data-Driven Decision Making and Ideal Customer Profiles (ICP) (12:51–16:36)

• Reverse engineer your top 10% of customers; ruthlessly market to them.

• Use ICP to avoid being broad and ineffective.

  "You cannot make a decision in business without data. A decision without data is just a guess, and we don't have time for guesses. Like, guesses are expensive."
  — Brian (14:18)

• 8020 Principle: Focus on the 20% of customers producing 80% of results.

d. Pricing: Charge More, Deliver More (16:36–20:56)

• Don’t be the bargain provider; premium pricing improves outcomes and allows better delivery.

• Avoid "unbelievable" offers—be bold but credible.

  "You want to have your price to a point where people actually believe it... Sometimes you make an offer... but if it's too good to be true, nobody's going to believe that anymore."
  — Brian (18:48)

e. Validate Before You Build (20:56–22:54)

• Test interest and offer before full commitment (the MVP approach).

• Example: Action Academy did $100k in revenue before formal incorporation.

  "You need to get your first dollar as quickly as possible... sell a discounted version of that general idea out to the market as quickly as possible."
  — Brian (20:57)

5. Sales: Building the Ladder of Yeses (24:46–31:22)

a. The Yes Ladder (24:46–26:09)

• Start with small asks, build rapport, and only then go for the big close.

  "Get the smallest yes you can first, which is just yes, I would be interested in something if something came up and then build up from there."
  — Gideon (24:49)

b. Sell the Solution to a Problem (i.e., Path Out of Hell) (26:09–28:45)

• Focus first on prospects’ pain before pitching the dream.
• Quote:

  "Sell somebody away from a pain or away from a problem before you give them the ticket to heaven."
  — Brian (26:50)

c. High-Ticket Sales Require More Nurturing (28:45–29:26)

• The nurture timeline should match your sale size:

  "If you're selling a $25,000 ticket item, you need significantly more nurturing with a significantly longer timeline."
  — Gideon (28:48)

d. Go Big When You Can (29:26–32:35)

• Focus on larger deals—it’s often easier to sell ten $100,000 products than a million $1 products.

6. Finance: Cash Flow Is King (32:35–43:30)

a. Cash Flow vs Profit (32:35–33:51)

• You can be profitable (on paper) and still go bankrupt without cash flow.

  "You can have a profitable business and still go bankrupt if you're not collecting the profits quickly enough."
  — Gideon (33:27)

b. Profit Is a Theory; Cash Flow Is Real (33:51–36:02)

• Many business profits are "artificially lowered" for tax purposes; focus on liquidity instead.
• Quote:

  "Profit's a theory... Cash flow is king."
  — Brian (33:52)

c. Cash Collection & Payment Strategies (36:02–37:23)

• Collect money as early as possible; pay expenses as late as possible.

  "You want to collect as soon as possible and pay as late as possible."
  — Gideon (36:03)

d. Profit First and Expense Buckets (37:23–39:57)

• Adopt "profit first" accounting: allocate profit before expenses.
• Use multiple bank accounts to automatically allocate for marketing, payroll, OPEX, etc.

e. On Taxes and Real Wealth (39:57–43:30)

• Don’t over-optimize for taxes by spending unnecessarily—save and invest the cash instead.
• Keep sufficient cash reserves:
  • 3 months OPEX
  • 12 months salary

7. Operations: From Generalist to Specialist, Training & Delegation (45:09–52:31)

a. Tightly Aligned, Loosely Coupled (45:15–46:38)

• Leaders provide the "what" and "why", teams solve the "how".

• Hire and delegate roles based on what lights up each team member.

  "Give your team the what and the why and let them figure out the how... the thing that doesn’t light you up, that you hate doing, there’s somebody else who loves doing that thing."
  — Gideon (45:15)

b. Generalist Phase to Specialist Phase (46:39–50:15)

• Early stage: Founders wear all hats, gradually delegate as specialists join.

• Growth phase: Invest in training or hire experts with direct experience.

  "There’s the generalist stage of business, and there’s the specialist stage of business... to get to like $10M+... it’s all talent."
  — Brian (46:41, 49:18)

c. Coaching Rather Than Just Managing (50:15–52:23)

• Empower by guiding with questions, not just instructions.
• Reference: High Performance Coaching studies show asking instead of telling creates better, more independent teams.

8. Developing Solutions Mindset (One-Three-One Framework) (52:23–52:31)

• Employees should present problems with three potential solutions and their recommendation, to foster ownership and problem-solving.

  "When you come to me, don’t just give me a problem... what are your three solutions? ... What do you want to do? Nine times out of ten you’re like, yep, that’s it. Run it."
  — Brian (52:31)

9. Resources & Where to Find The Hosts (53:23–54:12)

• Gideon Spencer: Instagram @gideonspencer_
• Brian Luebben: Everywhere, primary at actionacademy.com
• Gideon’s Community: Incredible Hospitality Co – coaching on hotel investing.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “No save you time, yeses make you money and maybes just waste all your time.” — Gideon (22:54)
• “If you don’t have sales and marketing, if you don’t have lead flow and proper revenue coming in... the rest doesn’t even matter.” — Brian (04:46)
• “Remove complexity. Fix bottlenecks sequentially.”—Paraphrase, Brian (03:55–04:48)
• “All roads lead to increasing your prices as much as you can... You want to be the high-cost provider.” — Brian (16:36)
• “A decision without data is just a guess, and we don’t have time for guesses.” — Brian (14:18)
• “Profit’s a theory…Cash flow is king.” — Brian (33:52)
• “Reverse engineer that gap... you can exploit those.” — Gideon (11:23)

Notable Tactical Frameworks

• META Framework: Focus on solving the single biggest bottleneck in your current business pillar.
• Gap Strategy: Find competitor weaknesses and turn them into your strengths.
• Yes Ladder: Start with the smallest asks, escalate only with consent and trust.
• Profit First Accounting: Prioritize profit, allocate funds to buckets before expense.
• One-Three-One: For problems, expect three proposed solutions and a chosen recommendation.
• Coaching > Telling: Develop critical thinking by empowering team to find their own answers.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode is a masterclass on business operation post-acquisition, packed with frameworks and stories from two experienced operators. If you’re transitioning from employee to entrepreneur, acquiring a business, or scaling from generalist to specialist, you’ll find actionable advice, real numbers, and battle-tested mindsets that will help you avoid costly mistakes and accelerate your growth.

To connect with the hosts or join their communities, check out:

• Brian Luebben: actionacademy.com
• Gideon Spencer: Instagram @gideonspencer_
• Incredible Hospitality Co (Gideon’s community for hotel investors)