Alex Hormozi once joked: "The easiest way to make $1 million is to buy something for $9 million and sell it for $10 million."
Let's assume that isn't an option for you. Let's assume you actually want to build something — a sustainable, cash-flowing business that you own. Where do you start? What do you sell? Who do you sell it to?
What I can do is share the fundamentals I've relied on, both in building my own companies and in helping others move from six to seven figures, and then from seven to eight.
Over the next three issues, I'm going to break down what I believe business ultimately comes down to. Not branding. Not copywriting. Not funnel hacks. This is about first principles.
- Depth & Width
- Distribution
- Endurance
Depth & Width
Put simply, I refer to depth and width as how far you're willing to go. Picture a graph. The X axis is the number of skills, services and capabilities that you have. The Y axis is your level of mastery, seniority and proficiency in any one of them.
The further you move on the X axis, the more you offer. You'll increase your width. The higher you move on the Y axis, the better you become. You'll increase your depth.
Individual vs Business
As an individual, you should be a generalist. Especially as a founder. You'll need working knowledge of: Product, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Operations, Hiring. You don't have to be world-class at all of them. But you do have to understand them enough to lead. Optimize for width.
Businesses should be the inverse. You should be narrow. Starting out, sell one thing. Solve one painful problem. Service one clear customer. And repeat. The sculptor who only makes pots will outperform the sculptor who makes everything. Optimize for depth.
It's a time game
Most people don't fail because they lack effort. They fail because they optimize for the wrong thing in the wrong context.
The individual needs time to become proficient at everything, so that they can decide what to delegate intelligently. Only then can they choose what to go deep on. The business needs time to become so good at its core offering that it's reached the ceiling of what's possible in the market. That's when it must explore expansion.
Depth and width are about how far you're willing to go, but also about choosing what and when to go far. Choose right. Focus your effort. Then wait.