Step 1: Master Unit-Level Economics Before Scaling

Scaling without solid unit-level economics is like building a skyscraper on quicksand. You must perfect profitability at the smallest level before scaling it up.

I apply Adam Coffey’s 30-20-10 Rule:

✔ 30% Gross Profit – Ensures enough margin to cover operating costs and growth initiatives.
✔ 20% SG&A (Sales, General, and Administrative expenses) – Keeps overhead in check.
✔ 10% Net Profit – Guarantees bottom-line profitability and reinvestment potential.

📌 Rule of Thumb: If you’re not hitting these metrics, DO NOT SCALE. Instead, refine pricing, cut inefficiencies, or optimize operations before expanding.

 

Step 2: Optimize the Core Pillars of Business

🔹 Marketing: Direct Response Over Brand Awareness

A good marketing campaign isn’t just about looking pretty—it’s about generating sales. Every dollar spent on marketing should return a multiple in revenue.

• Advertising: Raising awareness about an event or offer.
• Promotion: Actively engaging people to participate (think experiential marketing).
• Publicity: The organic buzz (media talking about it).
• Public Relations: Controlling the narrative around your brand.

📌 Key Principle: If marketing isn’t measurably driving revenue, it’s just an expense.

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🔹 Sales: Converting Attention into Revenue

Sales is about building relationships and closing deals. There are three critical components:

1. Outbound Sales – Direct outreach (calls, emails, face-to-face).
2. Inbound Sales – Attracting customers through marketing, SEO, and content.
3. Sales Funnels – A structured path that moves a lead from awareness to purchase.

💡 Sales = Communication + Trust + Relationship Management

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🔹 Operations: Efficiency is Profitability

Operations ensure products and services are delivered seamlessly. If this system is broken, marketing and sales won’t matter because customers won’t stay.

Key components:
✔ Order Fulfillment – Delivering what’s promised, fast.
✔ Process Optimization – Streamlining workflows for efficiency.
✔ Quality Assurance – Preventing costly mistakes and returns.
✔ Technology Utilization – Automating processes for speed and accuracy.

📌 Key Principle: Your business should run smoothly without you micromanaging every process.

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🔹 Finance: Know Your Numbers or Perish

A business that doesn’t track its numbers is doomed. Financial literacy isn’t optional—it’s the foundation of intelligent decision-making.

✔ Cash Flow Monitoring – Ensuring liquidity at all times.
✔ Profitability Metrics – Tracking gross margin, net margin, and EBITDA.
✔ Accounts Payable & Receivable – Managing payment terms to avoid cash crunches.
✔ Tax Optimization – Structuring finances to legally minimize tax liability.

📌 Key Principle: If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

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🔹 Leadership: Developing a Strong Team

A business is only as strong as its leadership and team. You can’t scale without developing leaders who can manage teams independently.

✔ Hiring & Training Leaders – Empowering decision-makers.
✔ Culture & Branding – Instilling mission and values.
✔ Accountability Systems – Ensuring efficiency through clear KPIs.

📌 Key Principle: A leader’s job isn’t to do the work—it’s to create an environment where the best work gets done.

 

Step 3: Scale to Maximum Operational Capacity

Once the business is optimized, it’s time to scale intelligently.

✔ Build operational and financial models to define your maximum capacity.
✔ Track KPIs to ensure efficiency isn’t lost as the business grows.
✔ Expand while maintaining the 30-20-10 rule.

📌 Key Principle: Never scale a broken system—it only magnifies inefficiencies.

 

Step 4: Acquire Businesses to Accelerate Growth

Once your core business is cash-flowing and optimized, it’s time to acquire other businesses to accelerate growth.

✔ Use retained earnings to fund acquisitions.
✔ Target synergistic businesses that complement your current operations.
✔ Use creative financing strategies (seller financing, SBA, roll-ups, etc.).

M&A Process:
1️⃣ Identify strategic targets aligned with your business goals.
2️⃣ Conduct due diligence on financials, operations, and risks.
3️⃣ Negotiate valuation & deal structure to maximize returns.
4️⃣ Integrate operations post-acquisition to extract efficiencies.

📌 Key Principle: Acquisitions create exponential growth—when executed correctly.

 

Step 5: Implement the Wealth Flywheel

Once you’ve built a profitable, scalable company, you must turn cash flow into lasting wealth.

A properly structured wealth flywheel ensures your money is working for you.

✔ Bond Portfolio (Treasury Notes, Corporate Bonds) – Stable, low-risk investments.
✔ US Equities (Dividend stocks, blue-chip companies) – Income + capital appreciation.
✔ Derivatives (Options, futures) – Strategic leverage plays.
✔ Alternative Assets (Crypto, fractional real estate) – High-reward growth potential.
✔ Precious Metals (Gold, silver) – Inflation hedge.
✔ Real Estate (Multi-family, commercial) – Passive income + asset appreciation.

📌 Key Principle: Build assets that generate wealth long after you stop working.

 

Step 6: Legacy Planning – Giving Back & Structuring for Generational Wealth

True wealth isn’t just about making money—it’s about building a lasting impact.

✔ Place assets in trusts/foundations to secure wealth for future generations.
✔ Choose a charitable cause and donate at least 5% of proceeds annually.
✔ Ensure long-term financial security while giving back to society.

📌 Key Principle: Your success should benefit more than just you—it should create lasting change.

 

Closing Parable: The Builder and The Blueprint

A skilled builder wanted to construct the tallest tower in the city. Instead of rushing, he spent years perfecting the foundation, ensuring it could support massive weight. While others built quickly and saw their towers crumble, his stood strong for generations.

In business, your foundation is everything. Master unit-level economics, optimize your core business, scale intelligently, acquire strategically, build wealth, and secure your legacy. That’s how you create something that lasts.

 

Final Thoughts

Most entrepreneurs focus on the wrong things—they chase growth before optimizing operations, they acquire businesses before mastering their own, and they neglect wealth-building until it’s too late.

This six-step framework ensures that your business:
✅ Grows profitably
✅ Scales efficiently
✅ Creates long-term wealth

The goal isn’t just to build a business—it’s to build a legacy. The question is: Are you following a blueprint that will stand the test of time?