Episode 494: The Swamp

Hey everyone. Well, if you have not been living under a rock and you're in business, my guess is you probably paid attention or saw everybody talking about the Alex Hormozi $100 Million Money Models book launch. They sold well over 3 million books, sold $100 million worth of content over the last— or over a 2 to 3 day period of time. Incredibly impressive. And of course, as in something that large, there's going to be people that are going to be coming out talking about all the things that they don't like about it. And that's actually not what I'm going to do on this episode. I certainly thought about doing the classic, you know, reverse engineering what, what he did and kind of what are the lessons that we can pick up. I mean, and maybe that's relevant, but I specifically wanted to pull something that I actually got from one of acquisition.com and Alex Hormozi's emails that I do slightly disagree with, but also agree with at the same time that I think is relevant for all of you that listen to the podcast, our audience, anybody that is in this, you know, $300,000 to $3 million space and is looking to be able to grow and to scale your company. If you're new to the podcast, welcome. My name is Bradley Hamner. I am host of the Above the Business podcast as well as founder of Blueprint OS, where we help people get above the business, become the architect, and have a blueprint for their company. So I'm entitling this The Swamp, and that comes off of the email that actually Alex had written talking about the swamp. And he considers the swamp to be this $1 to $3 million revenue range for business, and he views this as a very challenging middle ground, but I see it as honestly one of the more rewarding stages for small business owners. See, he refers to this $1 to $3 million space as the swamp because in his view, it's a tricky spot where business owners face a very critical decision. Are they going to, you know, stay comfortable in the spot that they're in, or are they going to aggressively try to begin to scale. And often that requires significant reinvestment in the business, typically in the form of hiring top-tier talent and/or, and/or working harder than ever themselves before they go and invest several hundred thousand dollars in one position. And while I do very much understand and agree with his assessment of those challenges, I think he overlooks the immense value of that stage in business. See, it is important that you understand where he's coming from. He sees a business and sees, quite frankly, almost all businesses in this spot of $1 to $3 million about how do I immediately get them to $10 million, or how do I even take those companies $200 million. His books, literally, $100 Million Offers, $100 Million Leads, and now $100 Million Money Models. He tends to think in that level of scale, which is incredibly inspiring. And so he is very much right in that, in that space. If your outcome is to go build a $100 million company, you, or even go and build a $10 million or a $30 million company, you do have to begin to kind of start thinking differently. Now we'll see what AI is able to do for us over the next 5 to 10 years, but at least for right now, you're certainly going to have to go hire top-tier talent. And so either you work harder so you don't invest that money in the $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 position, or you do decide to reinvest a significant portion of your profit into going and hiring that person. And so let's think about this. I think for many entrepreneurs, a $2 to $3 million business that's generating 20 to 30% net profit is quite frankly the dream. I mean, that is somewhere between $400,000 and $900,000 in profit annually, plus a reasonable salary that you're paying yourself. And so that level of income for many entrepreneurs and business owners allows them to live a very comfortable lifestyle. In fact, we consider that to be a lifestyle business, one that prioritizes fun, freedom, flexibility, and financial success. It allows you to have private schools for your kids, luxury cars, great vacations, and just overall financial freedom. And that— look, I don't think it's just about the money. I think it's about the balance of growth, profit, and then really personal fulfillment. And so last week I discussed this concept of a lifestyle business, and I mentioned that I was going to specifically talk about Alex Hormozi's idea of the swamp. And again, a lifestyle business, which is a concept and a thought that I picked up from Daniel Priestley, is one that is prioritizing fun, freedom, flexibility, and financial success. And often someone like an Alex he's going to want to promote and prioritize much more on a performance business, and that's great. And if that's what you want to build, then by all means go and build that. But everybody that we work with, that's not the thing that they're chasing after. They're certainly not looking to build the next Amazon, raise venture capital. They just simply want a business that's going to support their desired Lifestyle while also giving them meaningful work. I mean, think about this. You have a $2.4 million business with a team of 12 people, and that's generating, say, $200,000 plus in revenue per person. That business can yield $500,000 in net profit, and that's quite frankly a life-changing income for most entrepreneurs and small business owners. I don't think it's always about scaling to $10 million and beyond. I think it's about creating sustainable, profitable businesses that align with your personal goals and outcomes. And so Hormozi is absolutely right that scaling beyond $3 million often does require— not always, but often can require— some significant investment, whether that's hiring that $250,000 COO are reinvesting the profits into significant marketing efforts. But I think here's the key. I don't think not every business owner— and again, in our community, I don't think every business owner has the desire to scale to that level. And if you're somebody that has already scaled past $30 million or on your way to $3 million, congratulations, you're certainly beating the odds. But for the vast majority of business owners, living in that $1 to $3 million space is absolutely one of the best places to be able to be. And so I think at the heart of discussion is really just importance of defining success for yourself. Look, profitability and growth absolutely are essential, but they're not the only metrics that matter. I think a successful business— and of course I'm not going to define what that looks like for you, but in general, I think it aligns with your vision of fun in the business. It aligns with your vision of freedom and flexibility. You know, for some that means $40,000 a month in personal income. For others, it's ability to take 12 to 20 weeks off, or maybe even just work from a coffee shop in Europe. So the thing is, what does that look like for you? And so while I absolutely, you know, I try typically not to just take a contrarian take, but my hope is, is that I've just given you a few things to be able to think about in your own journey. And while Alex's perspective on the swamp is indeed valuable, It's not the only way to view that $1 to $3 million range. I think that stage can represent truly the dream outcome for many small business owners and entrepreneurs, a profitable, sustainable business that supports their desired lifestyle. So I'm curious, what is your take on the swamp? Do you think it is a challenge to overcome, or do you think it is a destination to embrace and enjoy? I'd love to hear from you. All right. If you've not been following us, by the way, on YouTube, we're posting these videos on YouTube. I would love to be able to, if you could, to be able to like and subscribe. We've got some really cool things that are going to be coming out with, for our YouTube community starting in 2026. So post in the chats below. What do you think about the swamp? How do you see it in your own journey? All right, everyone, until next time, lead well and go be great.