The Game with Alex Hormozi: Episode 881 – What’s Actually Holding Back Your Growth?

Release Date: May 7, 2025

In this compelling episode of The Game with Alex Hormozi, entrepreneur and growth expert Alex Hormozi delves deep into the common obstacles hindering business expansion. Through a series of insightful consultations with diverse business owners, Alex offers actionable strategies to overcome growth bottlenecks, optimize operations, and maximize profits. This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn from the episode, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for easy reference.

Guest 1: Henry – Educational Services for the Hispanic Market

Business Overview: Henry operates an educational business focused on teaching individuals how to fix and flip properties, catering primarily to the Hispanic market with services delivered in Spanish. In his second year, his company achieved $1.3 million in revenue and aims to reach $3 million this year.

Challenges: Henry’s primary challenge is customer retention post high-ticket sales. He conducts two major events annually, each hosting around 600 attendees. Approximately 20% convert to his high-ticket mentorship program priced at $12,000, but the remaining 80% do not engage further with his business.

Alex’s Advice: Alex suggests two main pathways:

1. Scale Event Frequency: Double the number of events to increase customer acquisition without altering the existing model.
   • Notable Quote: “[00:27] Alex: You can just run the same playbook more times if I want.”
2. Enhance Customer Retention: Develop strategies to retain high-ticket customers beyond the initial mentorship period, such as introducing lower-tier membership options (e.g., $3,000/year) to maintain ongoing revenue streams.
   • Notable Quote: “[02:08] Alex: I think that if you just do it with one, you'll increase the likelihood, not decrease the likelihood that that occurs.”

Outcome: Henry is encouraged to either intensify his event schedule or focus on building continuous value for his high-ticket clients to ensure sustained revenue growth.

Guest 2: Mike Nathan – Mobile Cellular Therapy Services

Business Overview: Mike Nathan leads a mobile healthcare company offering cellular therapy and IV infusions delivered by Registered Nurses to affluent and athletic individuals. Currently generating $1 million in revenue with a 50% EBITDA, the company seeks to scale to $25 million.

Challenges: Mike faces a significant barrier in transitioning from a B2B (business-to-business) to a B2C (business-to-consumer) model. While his team excels in B2B sales with orthopedic surgeons and chiropractors, they lack experience in B2C marketing, leading to inefficiencies in customer acquisition and referral management.

Alex’s Advice: Alex emphasizes optimizing the existing B2B model before venturing into B2C. Key recommendations include:

1. Enhance Affiliate Management: Implement a dedicated affiliate management system to keep physicians engaged and consistently referring clients.
   • Notable Quote: “[06:03] Alex: Do you have an active affiliate manager who's like regularly reminding them?”
2. Systematize Referral Processes: Create a structured feedback loop where referrals are acknowledged, and relationships with referring physicians are strengthened.
   • Notable Quote: “[08:07] Alex: I would systemize the hell out of that because it's like, hey, you just sent me this person.”

Outcome: Mike is advised to prioritize strengthening his B2B relationships and refining his referral systems to ensure a robust foundation before exploring B2C avenues.

Guest 3: Julie Deepdeller – Travel Coaching Services

Business Overview: Julie Deepdeller offers travel coaching aimed at individuals seeking to travel more frequently or luxuriously, often at reduced costs. She is considering adding a high-ticket concierge service ($50k) for businesses spending over $500k annually on travel.

Challenges: Julie is grappling with deciding whether to diversify her service offerings while continuing to optimize her existing business model. She is torn between expanding into B2B concierge services and maintaining focus on her current operations.

Alex’s Advice: Alex advises maintaining focus on scaling the existing profitable model before introducing new offers. He underscores the importance of discipline and the potential pitfalls of diluting focus with multiple product lines.

• Notable Quote: “[14:02] Alex: There will literally always be money on the table. You can’t sell everything as much as you want to.”

Outcome: Julie is encouraged to concentrate on scaling her current travel coaching services before venturing into new offerings, ensuring that her primary business remains robust and profitable.

Guest 4: Josiah – Diverse Business Operations and Private Equity

Business Overview: Josiah manages a holding company based in Sydney that acquires majority stakes in diverse businesses, including SaaS, early education, and gourmet food e-commerce sectors. With a history of successful exits, he aims to operate and contribute to around 30 businesses.

Challenges: Josiah struggles with operational leverage and the challenges of managing small, disparate businesses without sufficient capital. He faces high failure rates in acquisitions and the difficulty of scaling multiple businesses simultaneously.

Alex’s Advice: Alex advises two potential paths:

1. Raise Capital for Larger Acquisitions: Focus on acquiring more substantial, revenue-generating businesses to ensure long-term viability and scalability.
   • Notable Quote: “[15:04] Alex: The problem... is that you don't have enough operating leverage.”
2. Consolidate and Focus on a Single Platform: Choose one successful business as a platform and engage in bolt-on acquisitions within the same industry to streamline operations and maximize growth.
   • Notable Quote: “[18:09] Alex: I would encourage you... you have basically two paths that you can pursue here.”

Outcome: Josiah is guided to either secure more capital for larger, more stable acquisitions or focus on consolidating his efforts into a single platform to enhance operational efficiency and growth potential.

Guest 5: Christian – Solar Sales and Leadership Development

Business Overview: Christian runs a solar company generating $20 million in annual revenue, with aspirations to grow to $160 million. The primary hurdle is scaling leadership to support an expanding team of appointment setters and sales representatives.

Challenges: Christian faces a leadership bottleneck, lacking experienced leaders with B2C sales expertise. Internal leadership development is slow, and existing sales leaders often struggle to convert leads effectively.

Alex’s Advice: Alex provides a two-fold solution:

1. Develop Internal Leadership: Focus on identifying and nurturing middle-of-the-pack salespeople who possess leadership qualities but are not necessarily top closers. Implement intensive leadership training programs, including role-playing and shadowing.
   • Notable Quote: “[30:44] Alex: So I would say leave the best sales guys alone... look for the middle of the pack.”
2. Operationalize Leadership Training: Treat leadership development with the same rigor as sales training, ensuring that leaders are well-equipped to manage and motivate their teams effectively.
   • Notable Quote: “[31:26] Alex: You have to get good at training leadership.”

Outcome: Christian is advised to refine his leadership recruitment and training processes, focusing on developing capable internal leaders who can sustain and drive the company's rapid growth.

Guest 6: Adam – Chiropractic Services for Lifetime Fitness Members

Business Overview: Adam offers chiropractic services exclusively to members of Lifetime Fitness, with current projections of $16 million in revenue this year and a target of $32 million.

Challenges: The main issue Adam faces is improving the sales conversion rates among chiropractors who are uncomfortable with direct sales tactics, leading to inconsistent performance across his team.

Alex’s Advice: Alex suggests two approaches:

1. Hire the Right Chiropractors: Select chiropractors who naturally align with sales-driven environments, ensuring they are comfortable with and effective at sales.
   • Notable Quote: “[27:25] Alex: One is, I think Chick Fil A is the head of people there...”
2. Implement Structured Sales Processes: Provide chiropractors with scripted sales tools and comprehensive training to standardize and enhance their sales performance.
   • Notable Quote: “[27:28] Alex: Because the benefit of being one in person into a physician...”

Outcome: Adam is encouraged to refine his hiring criteria to attract chiropractors who excel in sales and to systematize the sales process to improve consistency and conversion rates.

Guest 7: Chris – Music Lessons and Recording Studio

Business Overview: Chris operates a music lessons and recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia, generating half a million dollars in revenue with a goal to reach $2 million. His clientele consists of neurodivergent children aged 8 to 18.

Challenges: Chris identifies several operational inefficiencies, including underpricing, overcompensation of staff, and underutilization of physical space and time. He seeks guidance on restructuring his business model using first principles thinking.

Alex’s Advice: Alex breaks down Chris’s challenges into actionable strategies:

1. Increase Gross Margins: Shift from one-on-one to semi-private lessons to maximize revenue per session while maintaining high gross margins.
   • Notable Quote: “[35:48] Alex: So the nice thing about the music business is that it's identical to the gym business.”
2. Optimize Pricing and Capacity Utilization: Adjust pricing models to reflect the premium nature of specialized services for neurodivergent children, enhancing profitability and client satisfaction.
   • Notable Quote: “[37:56] Alex: So, how do we create the sales process and the positioning...”

Outcome: Chris is advised to transition to semi-private classes, revise pricing structures, and optimize space and time utilization to significantly enhance revenue and operational efficiency.

Key Takeaways and Insights

1. Focus and Discipline: Alex consistently emphasizes the importance of maintaining focus on core business models before diversifying. Distraction with multiple product lines can dilute efforts and impede growth.

   • Notable Quote: “[14:15] Alex: There's going to always be money on the table... you can’t sell everything as much as you want to.”

2. Optimizing Existing Systems: Before exploring new avenues, businesses should fully optimize and exploit their existing systems for maximum efficiency and profitability. This includes enhancing customer retention, systematizing referral processes, and refining sales strategies.

3. Leadership Development: Effective leadership is crucial for scaling. Investing in internal leadership training and selecting the right individuals to lead teams can drive sustainable growth.

4. Operational Efficiency: Streamlining operations, whether through adjusting pricing models, maximizing capacity utilization, or transitioning to more profitable service offerings, is vital for increasing gross margins and overall profitability.

5. Customer Retention and Relationship Management: Building long-term relationships with customers and affiliates ensures sustained revenue and reduces the need for constant customer acquisition.

6. Tailored Strategies for Diverse Businesses: Alex provides customized advice based on each guest's unique challenges and business models, highlighting the importance of personalized growth strategies.

Conclusion

Episode 881 of The Game with Alex Hormozi serves as a valuable resource for entrepreneurs seeking to identify and overcome the barriers to their business growth. Through real-world examples and expert guidance, Alex Hormozi equips listeners with the tools and mindset necessary to optimize their operations, enhance profitability, and achieve scalable success. Whether you're navigating customer retention, leadership development, or operational inefficiencies, this episode offers actionable insights to propel your business forward.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “[00:27] Alex: You can just run the same playbook more times if I want.”
• “[02:08] Alex: I think that if you just do it with one, you'll increase the likelihood, not decrease the likelihood that that occurs.”
• “[14:02] Alex: There will literally always be money on the table. You can’t sell everything as much as you want to.”
• “[18:09] Alex: I would encourage you... you have basically two paths that you can pursue here.”
• “[27:25] Alex: One is, I think Chick Fil A is the head of people there...”
• “[35:48] Alex: So the nice thing about the music business is that it's actually identical to the gym business.”

These quotes underscore Alex’s core principles on scaling strategies, operational focus, and the importance of disciplined growth.