From Losing Everything To Building A $100M Company

Summary

• When I opened my gym, I thought it would be cool to hustle and sleep on the floor, but in reality, it was incredibly lonely and physically draining.
• After selling my gyms and investing in a new business, the processor got shut down, leaving me in a financial quicksand situation, losing step by step progress I was making.
• During the worst six months of my life, I had to cope with my mother being sick, getting a DUI, and facing financial ruin; to survive, I started Gym Launch and sold my gym secrets.
• We managed an initial launch that netted $100k to cover refunds, but then faced more challenges when the processor seized another $100k due to suspicious activity.
• To keep the business afloat, I put expenses on a credit card, risking significant debt but managed to pull through with a last-minute processing solution.
• My belief that some of the best businesses are born out of desperation was proven when I was forced to innovate and pivot to selling my gym turnaround secrets.
• The pivot to licensing and selling my expertise brought in significant revenue, turning $60k in one day and eventually leading to months where I'd make $400k, then $780k, and so on.
• The growth of the business was rapid and solely focused; I eliminated any distractions, including vacations, weekends, and social life, because I didn't want to risk the success I was finally achieving.
• The intense period of work without balance paid off, resulting in substantial wealth and the company growing to be valued at $200 million with 120 employees, surpassing all the initial turmoil and struggles.

Video

How To Take Action

I would suggest starting with low-cost strategies to transform your business like I did in my tough times. Remember, the goal is to find a solution that costs little but offers big rewards. Here's what you need to do:

1. Identify your expertise: Look at what makes your business or skills unique. Think about what you know that others don't. For me, it was my gym secrets. What's yours?

2. Sell your knowledge: Consider how you can package your expertise and sell it. It could be through coaching, a digital product, or a service. Make it something people can buy.

3. Cut out distractions: Get super focused on what matters. For me, that meant no vacations, weekends off, or social life for a while. Look at your life and see what's not helping your business grow.

4. Use affordable tools: When I was in trouble, I used credit cards carefully to keep going. Find ways to fund what you need without big risks. Online tools can help with sales and marketing for a low cost.

5. Work hard with a clear goal: You might have to work harder than ever before. Set a clear financial goal. Mine was to get rich. Yours could be anything, but make it specific and work towards it.

6. Keep your expenses low: Don't spend on things you don't need. Like I kept my rent low even when I started making money. This keeps your risk low while you grow.

7. Believe in your business: Even in bad times, believe your business can succeed. I grew my company worth because I believed in what I was doing. Have faith in your idea.

8. Adapt and pivot: If something isn't working, change your approach. I switched to licensing and it saved my business. Always be ready to change your plan if you need to.

Remember, focus on what you're good at and sell that. Keep costs low, work hard, and don't be afraid to change your plans. It's not easy, but this strategy can lead you to success.

Quotes by Alex Hormozi

"Some of the best businesses get made out of desperation"

– Alex Hormozi

"Business became my feel better drug"

– Alex Hormozi

"If I drink and [__] this up, I will hate myself"

– Alex Hormozi

"I really didn't want to be poor again"

– Alex Hormozi

"I'm not trying to build a company, I don't want to make something that's gonna change the world, I was like I'm trying to get rich"

– Alex Hormozi

Full Transcript

dui mom's in the hospital i just lost everything holy [ __ ] i had nothing how the [ __ ] am i gonna get out of this so i was hanging out with my team and they asked me some of the biggest struggles that i had gone through in building the companies that we have now and the wealth that we have now opening my gym i thought it was gonna be really cool be like yeah i'm sleeping on the floor i'm like hustling because that's what i thought like sounded cool it was incredibly lonely i was in a state that i didn't know anyone in a city that i didn't know anyone in a warehouse that there was cars that would drive over all night long and it was like a gunshot it was like and it was all concrete walls and there was no ac and so i would just like sweat and be awake and i was working the other hours of the day because my first client would get there at 4 o'clock my last person would leave at 9 00 pm i was just like incredibly sleepless i live there my clients would do my laundry for me and then i would shower at le fitness that was hard that was very hard after i like built all the gyms up i got out of that and then i sold them put all the money into this new venture and the money was gone the processor got shut down so i couldn't get the new money that i had made just felt like it was quicksand it's like every time i took a couple steps i would just sink again that was very frustrating this was like the worst six months of my life it started in october mom got sick went to the hospital i flew out while i was there to get myself occupied i started launching gyms that's when jim lunch actually started because i left my own gym so i was like i gotta keep myself occupied reached out some people in my hometown and i was like hey you know anybody and they're like yeah i know a guy so that's that was like the first big gym launcher so i had the mom thing and then i got in a dui and then the money that i put into the business got taken after i sold all my gems to go all in on this new thing because it was working so now i have like a dui mom's in the hospital i just lost everything we had to do this launch to cover the refunds from the last gym that i had to shut down and so we got the 100 grand from the first launch was able to pay all of the refunds and i was back at zero again did another launch had 100 grand that was what got taken by the processors because they thought it was like a regular activity i had six guys selling 8 000 a day in sales that i can't collect on and i had no money and so i put it on a credit card like this could [ __ ] go horribly wrong that was that whole month the last day of the month i got a processor for 50k i ran 50. the next day was the beginning next month i ran another 50. so it was 100. we did 30 or 40k in profit and i was like did i just escape death and then the next month the gyms from january february started refunding the clients and telling them to sign up with them and so then all of that money that i had made in profit the last month went back in and we were 150 negative and i was like how the [ __ ] am i getting out of this because the thing is the more i sold the more i'd have to refund was there a moment in that time where you were like maybe i'm not cut for this i didn't think about it i had too many other problems i was just in so much pain i just wanted to like get out of it i just had to pull like something out of my ass that was why i had this big belief that like some of the best businesses get made out of desperation i was 100 backed up i had nothing and so that's when we were like you know what jim's been a good run it was that was when i i called the guys up for the next month and was like hey we're out sorry they were like can you show us how i remember saying this to the first guy i was like call up my my uh getting out of the gym business sale selling my secrets that's what i said i was like i'm selling my secrets of everything i've learned from all my gyms and all my locations and filling up 30 plus gyms and doing turnarounds i'll give it to you it was like how much and i said six grand i'm still a salesman i mean i can recognize when something goes easy and i was like [ __ ] 6k sure done it was so fast and then i was like eight and it was like yeah 10. yeah that works i did 60 grand that day yeah so i was like holy [ __ ] i made 100k in like four days and that day was when like we switched to licensing that was the lead up and i remember like putting the money into my bank because i didn't have like another location to open or like more equipment to buy like that's mine i'd repaid the processors employees i'd pay back the refunds from the closed gym i was clear of everything and then there was like a hundred grand left and i was like i'm rich i mean i remember a buddy of mine calling me because i'd like checked in with him a couple times and he knew that i was like just going through a lot and he called me like a month apart he's like how you holding up and i was like bro i was like i just made 400 grand last month and he was like what i thought you like had the is it selling the membership thing i was like no no like selling the membership system and he was like dude run in as hard as you can we went 400 780 a million it's one two one five one eight two it was nuts it was literally me layla and i we had we had an assistant i was it over the kitchen table my rent was 1200 bucks and i told layla i was like i don't know how long it's gonna last that's why i kept our expensive solos i was trying to make money like that was it i'm not trying to build a company i don't want to make something that's gonna change the world i was like i'm trying to get rich i was gassing the [ __ ] out of it pure getting away from pain i had feelings that i didn't want to feel and so it's just like anything that would make me not feel that way was what i wanted to do business became my feel better drug i really didn't want to be poor again and i really was getting reinforced heavily by the marketplace that i was good at this thing and so it just gave me like complete alignment of just like rocket fuel that way and then magnet this way we didn't take a vacation we didn't take weekends we didn't see friends we didn't go out we didn't drink i was like if i drink and [ __ ] this up i will hate myself we can go get friends later i just took everything out of my life that was not this like what about work-life balance i'm like people don't understand how little i gave a [ __ ] this just like feeling horrible and then finally seeing some success i was like [ __ ] anything that's not this like if every person who ever met me at that point was like [ __ ] you alex die i would have been like [ __ ] them like whatever like i'm doing this thing we blue passed wealth numbers 4 10 14 20. kind of came up for air past 20 and i was like oh we have 120 employees and we have like a company and then somebody was like your company's worth 200 million so i was like really [Music]