MJ DeMarco
I followed the science; all I found was money.
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I mentioned this in another thread, and it bears repeating, and its own thread.
You want a test to see if your business has the potential to scale?
The $1K Scale Test is a strategy visualization that’ll expose whether your venture’s got Fastlane potential, or if it’s just another time-sucking job masquerading as a business.
The $1K Test: Ask yourself... “If You Made $1K in Profits on One Day, What Would That Day Need to Look Like?"
This simple question isn't about revenue that gurus like to flex on Instagram.
I'm talking about PROFITS.
If you hit $1K in profits in a single day (which is $30K/mo in profit, an amount that starts to shift lifestyles and change lives) what systems need to be in place?
What processes?
What bottlenecks show up?
This thought experiment can help you identify if your business has a scaling problem inherent to industry or economic constraints.
Step 1: Reverse-Engineer the $1K Day
See it: $1,000 in profit after 1 day. What had to happen? Break it down like a mechanic tearing apart an engine...
Step 2: Systems Check—What’s Gotta Be in Place?
Step 3: Bottlenecks—Where Will It Break?
Step 4: Some Fastlane Best Practices
Start small, but think big. That $1K day becomes $2K when you duplicate what works. Rinse, repeat.
Cant Do $1K a Day? You’ve Got a Scale Problem! Fastlane Exit: CLOSED.
If you can’t hit $1K in profits daily and keep it steady, your business is a hamster wheel. It won’t build wealth. It won’t set you free. It’s a job with extra steps.
Scaling isn’t about “hustling harder”, it’s about building a Fastlane system that runs without you chained to it.
If your $1K day relies on you working 18 hours, begging for sales, or praying for a viral retweet from Musk, Cuban, or Gates, you’re not scaling; you’re surviving.
Fix the systems, clear the bottlenecks, or confess the reality: you’ve got a scale problem, and the Fastlane is a fairy tale.
Wealth comes from leverage: time, money, people.
Before starting a business -- run the The $1K Test and see what things look like.
Fail it, and you’re stuck in a fake Fastlane that exhibits Slowlane mathematics, picking up pennies while riding a tricycle that can't go faster than 2 mph.
You want a test to see if your business has the potential to scale?
The $1K Scale Test is a strategy visualization that’ll expose whether your venture’s got Fastlane potential, or if it’s just another time-sucking job masquerading as a business.
The $1K Test: Ask yourself... “If You Made $1K in Profits on One Day, What Would That Day Need to Look Like?"
This simple question isn't about revenue that gurus like to flex on Instagram.
I'm talking about PROFITS.
If you hit $1K in profits in a single day (which is $30K/mo in profit, an amount that starts to shift lifestyles and change lives) what systems need to be in place?
What processes?
What bottlenecks show up?
This thought experiment can help you identify if your business has a scaling problem inherent to industry or economic constraints.
Step 1: Reverse-Engineer the $1K Day
See it: $1,000 in profit after 1 day. What had to happen? Break it down like a mechanic tearing apart an engine...
- How many sales? If you’re selling $100 widgets with $50 in margin, that’s 20 sales. If it’s a $500 service, that’s 2 clients. Do the math--what’s your number?
- How many customers? Did 20 people buy one thing, or did 5 buy multiple? Where did they come from--ads, referrals, organic traffic, walk-ins to a store?
- What’s the delivery look like? Did you ship product, send a digital file, flip burgers, make sandwiches, or trade time for money?
- Costs? What costs are also scaling--materials, ads, labor? If you’re spending $900 to make $1K, is that sustainable?
Step 2: Systems Check—What’s Gotta Be in Place?
- Lead Generation: What's your funnel process? Think paid ads, SEO, email lists, or a referral system.
- Sales Process: What's it look like? Automated checkout, landing pages, or a phone pitch? Can it handle 20 transactions without you babysitting every one?
- Fulfillment: How do you get the product in the hands of customers? What software are you running? Is there a team, or is it automated?
- Cash Flow: How fast do you get the cash into your bank? 3 days? 30 days? Invoicing?
- Inventory? Do you have any? Do you need warehousing? Third party fulfillment center?
- Labor: Is it possible by yourself? Need employees? Multiple locations? Multiple chefs in the kitchen?
Step 3: Bottlenecks—Where Will It Break?
- You’re the Bottleneck: If every sale, decision, or shipment runs through you, you’re the problem. Fix it by delegating or automating—hire a VA, use Zapier, train someone. Do something!
- Demand Weakness: Not enough leads? Your marketing’s weak. Glengarry Glen Ross: The leads are weak! Test new channels--Facebook ads, TikTok, door flyers, doesn't matter if it works. Usually only 2 or 3 channels will represent 80% of your inbound leads.
- Fulfillment Failures: Can’t deliver 20 orders without chaos? Upgrade your tools--Shopify, a 3PL, again, a VA or employee.
- Profit Bleed: What isn't enjoying economies of scale? Renegotiate suppliers, shippers, cancel the low-ROI ads, or raise prices and pivot to a more premium brand image.
Step 4: Some Fastlane Best Practices
- Nail a Value Skew, or Better Two or Three: Offer something so unique that people can’t say no--faster delivery, better quality, a no-brainer bundle. Unscripted and TGRRE goes deeper into value skew.
- Stack Traffic Sources: Again, your best traffic sources will likely only come from 2-3 sources. Problem is, its like kissing frogs looking for your soulmate. You might need to dabble with 20 sources to find those 2-3 heavy hitters. No matter what, build an email list.
- Avoid ONE OFF Products If Possible: A one off product is one and done. Like selling a book, or something that does not compel repeat buys. Conversely, if you sell a food product, or a personal grooming product, one customer offers far greater Lifetime Customer Value ... one customer might order hundreds of times. This is where scaling magic can happen.
- Automate the Grunt Work: AI agents, AI tools, there is likely an automation for some grunt work.
- Act, Assess, Adjust: Run small experiments--$50 ad spend, a new headline, a 10% discount. Double down on winners, kill the losers. Gather data which beats guesswork.
- Leverage Other People’s Audiences: Influencer marketing has been my best channel for marketing -- except I rarely pay for it. See below and the power of Productocracy.
- PRODUCTOCRACY: Aim for the productocracy so new customers become your unpaid sales force. A productocracy is when other people love your product so much, they tell others.
Start small, but think big. That $1K day becomes $2K when you duplicate what works. Rinse, repeat.
Cant Do $1K a Day? You’ve Got a Scale Problem! Fastlane Exit: CLOSED.
If you can’t hit $1K in profits daily and keep it steady, your business is a hamster wheel. It won’t build wealth. It won’t set you free. It’s a job with extra steps.
Scaling isn’t about “hustling harder”, it’s about building a Fastlane system that runs without you chained to it.
If your $1K day relies on you working 18 hours, begging for sales, or praying for a viral retweet from Musk, Cuban, or Gates, you’re not scaling; you’re surviving.
Fix the systems, clear the bottlenecks, or confess the reality: you’ve got a scale problem, and the Fastlane is a fairy tale.
Wealth comes from leverage: time, money, people.
Before starting a business -- run the The $1K Test and see what things look like.
Fail it, and you’re stuck in a fake Fastlane that exhibits Slowlane mathematics, picking up pennies while riding a tricycle that can't go faster than 2 mph.
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