Look at your bank account. Go ahead…
Whatever number you see, I can tell you exactly why it’s not higher.
Three simple numbers will determine whether you’ll build an empire or struggle to retire.
3 numbers that are between you and whatever size business you want.
Thats it…
I know this because I’ve directly generated nearly 300 million in revenue for companies ranging from 600k to nearly half a billion dollars.
And every single success came down to the same math.
No secret strategy, hack, luck or talent necessary.
Math.
The 50 million dollar question nobody’s asking
Here’s what aggravates me, pisses me off even, about most business books I read…
They’re teaching you to be artists when you need to be mathematicians.
They want you to “craft your unique value proposition” and “build authentic customer relationships” and “create world-class customer support teams.”
Meanwhile, some kid in his garage who can barely spell “entrepreneur” is printing money because he understands one thing you don’t…
Marketing is math.
And math doesn’t give a flying crap about your feelings.
Let me prove it to you.
The day everything changed
Picture this: I’m standing in a boardroom style office with the executive team from a 8 figure company.
They’ve asked me to come on board because growth has stalled.
Well the company had tried it all - better products, customer service onshoring, hiring top talent - nothing worked.
One of the executives starts explaining their customer journey map. Shows exactly how a customer moves from awareness to the high ticket offer.
I asked three questions:
“What’s your cost per acquisition?”
“What’s your customer lifetime value?”
“What’s your conversion rate?”
Silence
One of the marketing executives jumped in “Well, it depends on the channel, and we have various segments, and”
“Look” I said. “If you can’t answer those three questions, you are flying blind. No wonder you’re stuck.”
Harsh? Probably.
But they didn’t bring me on board to keep doing what they were doing. Ultimately that company generated approximately 9 figures a few times over while I worked with them.
Every business on earth, whether you’re selling tacos or enterprise software, lives or dies by those three numbers.
Why Smart People Fail at Simple Math
Here’s the truth: the smarter you are, the more likely you are to struggle at business.
Because smart people complicate everything.
They build sophisticated funnels when a simple sales page would do.
Or create a 12 step customer journey when the customer just wants to buy.
I’ve seen this play out hundreds of times. The entrepreneur with the 200 page business plan usually fails.
The one with a plan on a napkin builds something that lasts.
Want proof?
The Math That Builds Empires
When I was making $8 an hour at Home Depot, dreaming of something bigger, I thought successful entrepreneurs had some secret knowledge I didn’t.
Turns out I was right.
It just wasn’t the secret I expected. I thought it would be about product, or leadership, or innovation.
Turns out, it was about understanding that business is just an equation.
CPA < LTV x CR = You Win
If your cost to acquire a customer is lower than the value they provide the customer, and you can make that happen to enough people you can reach - you win.
That’s literally it.
Master this equation and you can grow any business you want.
Ignore this equation and you’ll join the 90% of businesses that fail, regardless of how smart you are or how hard you work.
Artist or Mathematician?
You can go back to building customer journey maps, long business plans and all the other complicated nonsense that’s keeping you where you are now.
Or you can accept a simple truth: starting and scaling businesses is a math problem. One that you can solve.
Because if you can do that… if you can just follow the numbers…
I promise you your business will never be the same.
Ready to do some math?
Cody Alexander
From The Edge