Small Business Strategies and Market Dynamics with Jon Matzner, President at Lazy Leverage

In this episode of the Small Business Mentor podcast, Alan Pentz is joined by John Matzner, President at Lazy Leverage. They delve into using global resources efficiently, cautioning against over-leveraging with debt, the importance of humility and adaptability in business, and the power of output thinking. They explore the challenges of entering different industries and highlight the value of building solid systems, particularly in using offshore talent effectively. Additionally, they discuss the importance of maintaining authenticity and integrity in business dealings.

Jon is a seasoned national security expert and accomplished business leader who divides his time between Dubai, UAE, and San Diego, California. With a robust background in government service, Jon was recently stationed in the Middle East, traversing the globe on behalf of the US Government. His tenure involved collaborating extensively with local and regional allies, focusing on non-proliferation and counterterrorism strategies. Transitioning from public service, Jon ventured into entrepreneurship, founding multiple businesses, selling three, and acquiring numerous others. He's deeply passionate about "Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition," employing systematic approaches and tapping into top-tier global talent to revitalize traditional businesses. Jon also shares insights through his free newsletter, Lazy Leverage, offering valuable entrepreneurial perspectives.

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Quotes:

"I don't think people realize how not. I don't wanna say profound, but just how important? What I just said was, if you can pay 20% more for labor, for auto mechanics without raising your price to customers, you can put companies out of business in the war for talent, and nobody knows how you're doing it".
"It's a way to do business that uses global talent, but it's not limited to just hiring somebody for six bucks an hour. It's a way you do end-of-day reports. It's the type of technology you use. It's the way that you give them a feeling of belonging rather than just being up at four in the morning by themselves in the dark. All of that stuff is how you make it work. It's not just like I go to work and get somebody for the flat box”.
"You should either do long slow distance at 12 minutes or sprints at six-minute pace, but you don't want to be in the middle, and what I think is gonna happen to our it's it's they call them garbage miles, basically barbells. And one of my theories that I've been working on these days that I think makes sense is that people with their staff get stuck in the garbage middle, which is either you should pay for somebody who's 100 and 80 gs a year, or you should go global".
“The one that he uses a lot is Grandma knows how to make Thanksgiving dinner without a recipe. She just knows how to do it. But the minute you try somebody else to make that Thanksgiving meal, if they don't have a recipe, they're not gonna make it. And so a lot of businesses are run like grandma. Oh, I just know when it's done, and when you try to build a business, not just a job, you have to think in outputs, which is a 365-degree internal temperature of the turkey. Not when Grandma thinks it's done”.

Episode Resources: