I Dropped $5K on Alex Hormozi’s Workshop – Was It Worth It?

1. Introduction & Event Overview

Okay, first things first — some quick housekeeping. Quin and I will both be at the American Lending Conference on September 3rd and 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. We’ll have a booth set up for Lendr, so if you’re attending the conference, definitely come by and say hi. We’d love to meet you.

Now, diving into this episode — it’s going to be a fun and juicy one. About six weeks ago, I spent two days at Alex Hormozi’s Scaling Workshop in Las Vegas. I’ve been compiling my thoughts since, making sure I captured the key takeaways clearly. There were so many insights, and I wanted to present them cohesively for this episode.

First, I’ll cover the structure of the event and how it all unfolded. In fact, the primary reason I attended wasn’t for my private lending company but to focus specifically on scaling my lending business. With that goal in mind, I aimed to identify and remove bottlenecks or unseen issues, and the workshop absolutely delivered on that. As a result, the experience was truly transformational.

I’ll also share key takeaways relevant to our lending company, my biggest insights overall, and discuss whether the workshop is worth it for you if you’re considering attending.

2. Workshop Experience & Logistics

The workshop was a jam-packed two-day event with very little downtime. You really felt like you were drinking from a firehose — nonstop, back-to-back sessions with minimal breaks. The first day started at 9 AM at the acquisition.com headquarters in Vegas, which was surreal. Seeing the logo on the building after watching so many videos was a cool, almost strange feeling.

 

One of the first things I noticed was how polished the team was. The process was smooth, everyone professional yet warm and welcoming. They had anticipated every little hiccup. For example, my badge had the wrong company name, but they fixed it within 30 seconds without missing a beat. That level of preparation impressed me deeply.

The entire flow — from onboarding and sign-in to meals, meet and greets, one-on-one sessions, and Q&A — was perfectly curated. Additionally, they managed details like collecting business cards, email follow-ups, and providing directions seamlessly. Because of this, I reflected on my own onboarding process: Is it seamless enough? Furthermore, can I plan better for unexpected issues? That was a big takeaway.

Is it seamless enough? Furthermore, can I plan better for unexpected issues?

On a lighter note, the food at the event was unreal. I didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised. There was a fully stocked drink fridge (although no white Monster energy drink, which was a slight disappointment). The meals were catered with options like chicken, steak, and fresh vegetables, definitely above the usual conference fare. The organizers clearly went above and beyond.

The location was great — just off the Vegas Strip — which meant I could mix business with a little fun. There was a meet and greet before the sessions started, though I wasn’t there early enough to network extensively. I was primarily focused on the material, but some attendees might find more value in that networking opportunity.

Regarding cost, the seat was $5,000, and I attended solo. Adding flights, lodging, and transportation, the total investment was around $7,000 to $8,000. For me, it was absolutely worth it, as I have already implemented ideas that have paid for themselves many times over.

The class size was about 100 people, grouped by revenue, which made sense. It was beneficial to interact with peers in similar revenue brackets. Surprisingly, you had direct access to Alex’s team, but limited one-on-one time with Alex himself. Instead, breakout groups met with heads of marketing, sales, onboarding, and more, which was still very valuable.

The agenda was action-packed with no fluff. Moreover, every session built upon the previous ones, ultimately culminating in an overarching framework called the Value Accelerator Method — a system focused on increasing company value by amplifying strengths and eliminating value detractors.

3. Key Concepts & Frameworks

The Value Accelerator Method boils down to this: How do you accelerate your company’s value? What activities add value, and what drains it? The workshop’s backstory was fascinating — Alex and Layla, running Gym Launch, were doing $4 million a month but felt overwhelmed and burnt out. Despite the revenue, they were stressed and frustrated, even considering shutting the business down.

How do you accelerate your company’s value? What activities add value, and what drains it?

They consulted an investment banker who advised them how to make their company sellable. Using a house-selling analogy, the banker said: Before selling a house, you fix all the deferred maintenance, which often makes you realize the house isn’t so bad after all. Similarly, by addressing structural business issues, Alex and Layla’s company became a well-oiled machine they no longer wanted to sell.

A few core value detractors stood out, like key man risk — when the company relies heavily on a single individual (often the owner). Interestingly, the advice was not to worry about this until you’re generating over $3 million in annual revenue. For startups and smaller businesses, key man risk is normal.

Two primary frameworks were emphasized:

• Theory of Constraints: Imagine your business as a system of pipes where the flow represents company value. The constraint is the clogged pipe that slows everything down. Your job is to find and clear the biggest choke points one at a time. Focus all your efforts on solving that one issue before moving on.
  
• Building a Sale-Ready Company: A business that’s easy to sell is also easier to run. Phase one focuses on growth through value accelerants — boosting recurring revenue and increasing margins. After reaching around $5 million EBITDA (profit), you begin addressing value detractors more aggressively.

Ultimately, a sale-ready business is one that buyers love and founders enjoy operating — a true win-win whether you decide to sell or continue running it.

4. Top Takeaways & Detailed Insights

Here are the 10 major key takeaways I gathered from the workshop. There were so many valuable lessons, but these stood out as the most important for me:

1. Double down on what already works.
One vivid analogy they used was from boxing. A coach advised a fighter not to get cute with fancy moves or unpredictable jabs but to stick with the punches that consistently land. In business, this translates to focusing on the proven strategies that generate revenue instead of chasing shiny new ideas or pivoting prematurely. Many people get bored or distracted and try new product lines or channels before fully maximizing what’s already working. The workshop emphasized, don’t get cute. Scale what’s effective. Don’t uproot your whole model until you have a clear scaling constraint. The order of operations is simple: cash first, leverage later. Focus on what generates immediate returns before adding complexity.

Focus on what generates immediate returns before adding complexity.

2. Escaping the swamp — the $1 to $3 million revenue zone.
They described this phase as the “swamp” because businesses in this range struggle to hire top talent due to budget constraints. Without strong hires, the business doesn’t run efficiently, and owners often find themselves overwhelmed, stuck doing everything themselves. This phase feels like trudging through mud. The advice was clear: embrace the grind. Don’t waste time trying to sidestep the hard work with gimmicks or distractions. Push through, double down, and once you surpass $3 million, you can finally hire people to take over some responsibilities and lift your head above water.

3. One offer, one channel, one avatar to a million dollars.
This was a clarification for me. I had previously thought the milestone of “one million” meant annual revenue, but they specified it meant $1 million per month. The advice is to laser-focus on one customer type (avatar), one marketing channel, and one offer until you reach that level. Trying to diversify before hitting that mark spreads resources thin and causes distractions. Whether your channel is YouTube, podcasts, or paid ads, stick with it exclusively. This focus builds consistency and strong, scalable growth.

Whether your channel is YouTube, podcasts, or paid ads, stick with it exclusively.

4. Velocity testing rule for creatives.
They stressed the importance of frequent creative testing in advertising. For every $10,000 spent on ads monthly, you should be creating at least 10 new creatives every month. Many teams, including mine, under-iterate and fail to test enough variations. Fresh creatives prevent ad fatigue and keep your campaigns performing well. This rule was an eye-opener — I realized I haven’t refreshed my ad creatives in months, which is likely limiting my results.

5. More, better, different — the progression of scaling efforts.
This simple but powerful framework encourages you to first do more of what works. If that plateaus, focus on doing it better — improving processes like onboarding, marketing, or customer service. Only after these two steps should you try something different, a last resort for growth. Many entrepreneurs jump to trying new tactics too early, but the workshop emphasized mastering more and better first before risking the unknown.

… the workshop emphasized mastering more and better first before risking the unknown.

6. Stop solving tomorrow’s problems.
This takeaway was a relief to me. Issues like key man risk, business sellability, and other “future” concerns don’t need attention until your profits hit around $5 million EBITDA. Until then, focusing on current problems and milestones is more productive. They recommended “parking” worries about those future challenges and prioritizing the immediate, practical work that moves your business forward.

7. Humbling realization about business metrics.
The workshop included a workbook where you input your revenue, number of employees, lifetime value (LTV), customer acquisition cost (CAC), and other metrics. I noticed many attendees struggled with calculating LTV or CAC. Initially, I felt confident I was ahead of them. However, I quickly realized those people were running businesses 10 times larger than mine. It was a humbling moment reminding me that business expertise isn’t just about knowing formulas but also applying them at scale.

… business expertise isn’t just about knowing formulas but also applying them at scale.

8. Guard your calendar like Alex does.
Alex Hormozi’s strict control over his calendar was impressive. Unlike me, who reacts instantly to every Slack message or email, he avoids distractions by turning off notifications and focusing exclusively on high-leverage tasks. This disciplined approach enables proactive work instead of constant firefighting. I recognized how much my scattered attention undermines productivity and decided to guard my time more fiercely.

9. Unreasonable empathy in sales.
The sales mindset was reframed for me. Instead of viewing sales as persuasion or convincing customers, the workshop taught that sales require deep empathy. Most objections come from fear rather than logic. By simply asking prospects, “What are you worried might happen?” you create a safe space to address their concerns genuinely. This approach is about being human — guiding prospects through decisions with care, not pressure.

Instead of viewing sales as persuasion or convincing customers, the workshop taught that sales require deep empathy.

10. Referrals signal true status, not testimonials.
I learned that testimonials are relatively easy to get and only surface-level validation. Referrals, however, show deep trust because someone is willing to put their reputation on the line to recommend you. A client who refers others is essentially saying, “I trust this person enough to vouch for them publicly.” This level of endorsement is a powerful indicator of genuine status and business health.

Throughout the workshop, the team emphasized data tracking relentlessly. They posed questions like: What is your LTV to CAC ratio? What was your revenue last month compared to six months ago? They argued that if you cannot pull these metrics easily from automated dashboards, you’re not tracking closely enough. Many still manually gather data from multiple systems, which limits timely decision-making.

… if you cannot pull these metrics easily from automated dashboards, you’re not tracking closely enough.

Their ideal setup included real-time dashboards showing KPIs across all portfolio companies, tracking metrics like monthly EBITDA and LTV to CAC ratio consistently. This data-driven approach was a major eye-opener for me and shifted how I prioritize measurement in my business.

5. Additional Thoughts

Alex Hormozi was surprisingly funny, charismatic, and genuine in person — much more than his serious video persona suggests. The workshop gave me a glimpse into a world-class sales funnel, from free content to $5,000 workshops and up to $35,000 masterminds, which was fascinating to witness firsthand.

There were some downsides: travel and cost, limited direct access to Alex, and the fast pace with no recordings or photos allowed. The group Q&A was partially scripted with pre-selected questions, which felt limiting. Despite this, the overall value far outweighed these cons.

If you’re a business owner looking to break a revenue plateau, scale to multiple seven figures, or prepare for a sale, this workshop is worth considering — especially if you’re ready to implement changes immediately. On the other hand, if you run a lifestyle business or have a clear path already, you might want to skip it.

For me, it was an invaluable experience — inspiring, eye-opening, and worth every penny. If you have questions or want to discuss how to apply these ideas to private lending or your business, reach out at podcast@joinlendr.com.

Contact us!
joinlendr.com
podcast@joinlendr.com
Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube