Beyond 8 Figures

By: A.J. Lawrence
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  • Summary

  • At Beyond 8 Figures, we believe in DELIBERATE entrepreneurship. It means creating a solid foundational framework for your entrepreneurial journey, building from a place of passion, and intentionally aligning your actions with your goals so that you can create success on your terms. Join A.J. Lawrence, the journeyman entrepreneur with several 7 figure exits, as he shares honest conversations with successful entrepreneurs about their experiences starting and scaling businesses to $10M and beyond, the realities of being a modern-day entrepreneur, advice for practicing deliberate entrepreneurship, and more!
    2023 A.J. Lawrence
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Economics Leadership Management
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Episodes
  • Build an 8-Figure Business That Runs Without You with Reg Zeller, CaneKast

    Build an 8-Figure Business That Runs Without You with Reg Zeller, CaneKast
    Nov 20 2024
    There’s nothing quite like watching a team take full ownership of their roles. Empowering employees means letting them make decisions, sometimes mistakes, and supporting their growth every step of the way. Talking with Reg Zeller, it was clear how he values giving his team real autonomy and stepping back to allow others to lead and learn. In this episode, he explains how this approach has led to a stronger, more resilient company culture, and it’s inspiring to see how much he trusts his team.About Reg ZellerReg Zeller transitioned from a successful corporate career to building a thriving portfolio of small manufacturing businesses. Growing up in a one-stoplight town with friends in blue-collar trades, he knew early on that he wanted to own a business. After earning a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, he spent 17 years with Fortune 500 companies like Honeywell and General Electric, gaining hands-on experience in nearly every corporate function. But his entrepreneurial drive never faded.In 2017, he acquired his first foundry and quickly saw how well the industry aligned with his values of resilience, hard work, and community impact. Today, through his holding company, CaneKast, Reg has acquired five foundries with plans to expand further. Known for empowering his team and building a strong culture, he’s on track to grow CaneKast into a $100M business while staying true to his small-town roots.Have you ever noticed that the most challenging part of growing a business isn't the strategy or the market—it's getting out of your way? My recent conversation with Reg Zeller blew me away because he's mastered something I struggled with in my entrepreneurial journey: building a thriving business without constant intervention.After years in the Fortune 500 world, Reg has done what many dream of but few achieve. In just five years, he's built CaneKast from a single $2.7M foundry into a $15M powerhouse. But here's what caught my attention—he did it by systematically removing himself from the business. He even jokes about his "8-hour work month," but the results speak for themselves.What fascinates me most is how Reg flipped the traditional entrepreneurial playbook. Instead of being the driving force behind every decision (a trap I've fallen into myself), he's focused on creating systems and teams that perform better without him. Having built and sold companies myself, this is pure gold for any entrepreneur feeling chained to their business.Here's why this matters if you're building a bootstrapped company:Your business value multiplies when it doesn't depend on you (something I learned the hard way)Teams innovate faster when given real autonomy to make and learn from mistakesYou create genuine scale through systems, not heroics You free yourself to focus on strategic opportunitiesYour stress levels drop dramatically (trust me on this one)What makes Reg's story particularly valuable is his brutal honesty. He openly admits to being a "terrible operator" and shares how he built a team that runs the business better than he ever could. As someone who's been there, this level of self-awareness is rare and invaluable.The practical takeaway? Start identifying where you're the bottleneck and systematically work to make yourself unnecessary. I know it sounds counterintuitive - I had to wrestle with this myself - but the less the business needs you for daily operations, the more valuable it becomes.Want to hear the entire conversation and learn precisely how Reg removed himself from operations while growing his company's value 5X? Listen to the complete episode at Beyond8Figures.com. I dig deep into his strategies for building self-running systems and how he's creating a business designed to outlast him.If you're wrestling with stepping back from daily operations or looking to build more value in your business, you should take advantage of this. As someone who's built and sold companies, I can tell you - Reg's insights are pure gold for any entrepreneur ready to scale beyond their limitations.Having built and sold multiple companies, I understand the delicate balance of stepping back strategically while maintaining business momentum - it's why I now help other entrepreneurs create systems and teams that can thrive without constant owner involvement. Through Beyond8Figures and my consulting practice, I guide business owners in identifying critical operational bottlenecks, implementing the right metrics and processes, and transforming their role from operator to strategic leader - all while protecting and enhancing current business value. So, if you're ready to build a more valuable business that doesn't depend on your daily presence, book a call with me or DM me on X to explore how we can systematically increase your company's value while reducing its dependence on you.Key Insights:Set clear, scalable processes. Develop systems that work for both small and large operations. Make sure all tasks—from onboarding ...
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Redefining Strategy and Decision-Making with AI with Hamza Mudassir, Strategize.inc

    Redefining Strategy and Decision-Making with AI with Hamza Mudassir, Strategize.inc
    Nov 13 2024
    A.J. here. My recent conversation with Cambridge Professor Hamza Mudassir completely changed how I think about business strategy in the age of AI. Hamza isn't just another academic—he's led three $650M+ exits and has uniquely positioned himself at the intersection of practical business success and cutting-edge AI research.About Hamza MudassirHamza Mudassir is a Strategy Lecturer at Cambridge University, where he brings digital disruption to life for his MBA, EMBA, and MPhil students. He’s also the founder of two ventures—Platypodes.io and Strategize.inc—where he helps businesses navigate big changes in AI and corporate strategy. With an MBA from the Cambridge Judge Business School, advanced AI strategy training at MIT, and M&A at INSEAD, Hamza combines deep expertise with hands-on experience.Over the years, Hamza has held top roles at companies like Amazon, Jagex, and Adstream, leading them through significant growth and successful sales—three in the past six years! His insights on strategy and AI frequently appear in Harvard Business Review and Fast Company, bringing his unique take on the future of business to a broad audience. Outside work, he’s a die-hard gamer with every console imaginable, often joined by his two Ragdoll cats for gaming marathons while helping his daughter reach her dream of being a KPop star.What struck me most was his insight that the era of rigid business frameworks is ending. These frameworks were created when we had limited data and needed simple models to understand complex business environments. But now, AI can simulate millions of scenarios, incorporating centuries of business wisdom, market dynamics, and competitive responses.During our conversation, I shared how I recently helped increase an acquisition price by $150K simply by using AI to analyze negotiation patterns. This isn't theoretical, and Hamza explained how it's happening now, and entrepreneurs who need to pay attention risk being left behind.What fascinated me was Hamza's prediction that within 5-10 years, AI will assist in things like negotiating and making most routine business decisions, leaving entrepreneurs free to focus on big-picture innovation and exceptional situations. He compared where we are now to "the Wild West of AI" - a time of incredible opportunity for those willing to embrace it.Also, what resonated with me was that the best businesses aren't the ones with the fanciest strategies—they're the ones that consistently execute the basics well. But as entrepreneurs, we all know how hard it is to maintain that consistency while juggling fires, opportunities, and daily chaos. This is where AI becomes your secret weapon - not for replacing your judgment, but for:- Testing decisions against millions of scenarios before committing resources- Identifying blind spots in your thinking (we all have them)- Keeping you focused on proven growth drivers when shiny objects appear- Providing pattern-matching insights from centuries of business history- Challenging your assumptions with data-driven perspectivesIn this episode, we dive deep into practical steps entrepreneurs can take to leverage AI for better strategic decisions, including:- How to ensure your business data is clean and properly structured- Ways to experiment with current AI tools to analyze patterns in your business decisions- Focusing on using AI to maintain consistency in your core business processes- Identifying areas where AI can help you stick to proven strategies instead of chasing every new opportunityIf you're building a business that needs to thrive in the AI age (and that's all of us), this is an episode you can't miss.Key Insights:Use AI to test your ideas. With AI, you can create a “digital twin” of your business and try out different ideas without taking real-world risks. The AI will learn your decision-making style and help you see what works.Make time for deep reflection. Running a business can be isolating, especially when making big decisions. Find ways to reflect safely, like using unbiased feedback or finding a space where you can think freely about your direction.Get comfortable with uncertainty. The entrepreneurial journey often involves unexpected twists and turns. Embrace flexibility and be ready to adapt as new information or challenges come up. Sometimes, having a mindset that allows for uncertainty is a key strength.Plan for “What ifs” with AI. Use AI to run many “what if” scenarios, including rare but impactful situations. This can prepare you for surprises and keep your business steady through unexpected changes.Model your business ecosystem. Simulate how competitors, customers, and policies affect your business. This will help you make smarter choices by showing how different moves might play out in the market and how all players are connected.Hamza's best advice for entrepreneurs:"You could have an AI that can effectively not just navigate a digital twin of your company and make great ...
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    52 mins
  • Why Buying a Business Beats Building One with Walker Deibel, Acquisition Lab

    Why Buying a Business Beats Building One with Walker Deibel, Acquisition Lab
    Nov 6 2024

    When I first got into entrepreneurship, I thought starting from scratch was the only way. I built my agency from the ground up, but after learning from people like Walker Deibel, I see that business acquisition often makes way more sense. Imagine taking over a business that already has customers, revenue, and operations. You can scale faster without all the initial growing pains—it’s a smarter, quicker way to grow compared to starting fresh every time.


    About Walker Deibel

    Walker Deibel is an outstanding entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience buying and scaling businesses, having successfully acquired 7 companies and co-founded several startups along the way. He’s the author of the best-seller Buy Then Build, a must-read for anyone looking to grow through business acquisition. As an M&A advisor with Quiet Light, Walker helps online businesses navigate their exits. Through his program, Acquisition Lab, he shares his personal journey and practical strategies to teach entrepreneurs why buying an existing company can be the smartest path to growth—and how to do it right.

    Key Insights:

    • Focus on recurring revenue models. When buying a business, prioritize those with recurring revenue, like subscription models. This gives you a reliable income stream and makes the business more stable, allowing you to plan and scale with greater confidence.
    • Look for underperforming businesses. Find companies that aren’t doing well because of bad management or outdated systems. After buying them, improve operations, marketing, or customer service to increase profits and grow the business.
    • Combine resources. If you buy multiple businesses, find ways for them to share resources, like employees or marketing efforts. This saves money and helps all the businesses grow more efficiently.
    • Plan for the future sale. From the start, think about how to make the business more valuable when you want to sell it. Improve profits and streamline operations so you can sell it at a higher price later.
    • Modernize traditional businesses. Find older businesses that could benefit from modern updates like better online marketing or e-commerce. You can increase their value by bringing them up to date.


    Walker's best advice for entrepreneurs:

    "If you can bridge the old economy and the new economy, that's actually the very unique opportunity that we have in our lifetime."


    Connect with Walker Deibel:

    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • X
    • Buy Then Build
    • Acquisition Lab


    Follow Beyond 8 Figures:

    • LinkedIn
    • X
    • Website
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    42 mins

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