Lazy Leverage

Jon Matzner and Peter Lohmann
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Talking about using leverage in life and business.

  1. 12 SEPT.

    Why Your Team's AI Tools Are Still Just Fancy Shovels (And How to Force the Bulldozer) | Lazy Leverage #71

    In this episode, Peter sits down with Jon Matzner to discuss the integration of artificial intelligence in small business operations. They begin by exploring the host’s day-to-day challenges and how to stay on top of AI implementation within his own company. Jon shares how Sagan uses AI to streamline processes and emphasizes the importance of founders being actively involved in meaningful AI adoption. They also discuss how to differentiate between tactical and strategic uses of AI to create real value. The conversation dives into the need for a strategic vision to guide AI projects and how to build trust and consistency within the team. They offer practical advice on identifying opportunities for AI implementation by looking at company outputs and SLAs. Finally, the episode covers continuous process improvement, experimenting with new technologies, and rebuilding trust with teams. Listeners will gain key insights into leadership, AI strategies, and transforming workflows in small businesses. Key Topics: (00:46) AI at Work: Transforming Small Business (01:35) When AI Gets You Tangled in Ops-I don’t even know who does what in my company (06:31) AI Beyond the Buzz: Assistance vs Strategy (16:07) If you have AI, what is your manager’s job? (21:31) AI: Still an Art, Not a Science (26:25) Lean Lessons: Fix What Matters (31:40) We should get a factory, Jon! (or not?) (35:18) Strategic Choices and Competitive Advantages (42:48) Leading with Trust and Consistency, not with AI (58:20) The baby formula (better with twins) - final thoughts Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    1 h

  2. 5 SEPT.

    From Wall Street to Water Heaters: The Counterintuitive Playbook for 4x Growth in 3 Years | Lazy Leverage #71

    Jon sits down with Aizik Zimerman, who bought J. Blanton Plumbing three years ago at $6 million in revenue and has since grown it to a $25 million run rate—without acquiring a single company. His secret? He doesn't think he runs a plumbing company at all. "We're a consumer sales and marketing business," Aizik says. "We just happen to install plumbing." This mindset shift explains why he has two full-stack developers, a fleet of overseas recruiters, and runs 10 marketing events per week across Chicago. Jon talks to Aizik about his unconventional approach to the skilled labor shortage. While competitors struggle to find plumbers, he's built a 40-person global team handling everything from inbound calls to permit pulling. This allows him to pay his field technicians $4-6 above market rates without raising prices, creating what Jon calls "labor specialization at $10 million instead of $200 million." They dive deep into the power of obsession. Aizik admits he listens to home services podcasts for fun and treats business like a game where you need to master both consumer branding and blue-collar labor management. As Jon notes, channeling Naval: "It's hard to be the best plumber in the world, but straightforward to be the best plumber-marketer combination." They also break down bet sizing, multichannel marketing density, and why organic growth beats acquisitions when you're printing money. Aizik's approach is to find what works, then do 10x more of it. Key Topics: (05:40) From 20 to 130 Employees: The Growth Story (13:51) Solving the Skilled Labor Crisis with Global Talent (18:56) Single-Task Global Employees and ROI (22:37) Labor Specialization: The $10M Company Secret (25:27) Revenue Stair-Steps: $6M to $25M Journey (32:21) Multichannel Marketing and Geographic Domination (35:17) The Naval Principle: Being the Best Combination (44:21) Bet Sizing and Risk Management Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    52 min

  3. 29 AOÛT

    Why Cold Calling Property Owners is Like Asking if Their Pipes are Leaking | Lazy Leverage #70

    Why do some businesses thrive on cold outreach and educational content while others find these tactics completely ineffective? Peter draws on his own recent experience where, despite running monthly webinars all year with heavy promotion across multiple channels, his property management company barely attracts 20 live attendees (half being employees). Meanwhile, a hastily organized webinar for his other audience of property management business owners pulled 250 attendees with minimal effort. "You can't cold call somebody and say, 'Hey, do you have any leaky pipes?'" Jon quips, making the point that property management marketing differs from other industries. When someone needs a plumber, they need one NOW. When someone needs a property manager, they either desperately need one or they don't. There's no middle ground you can market your way into. Next, Jon and Peter talk marketing economics. With a $45,000 lifetime value but a one-year payback period where they lose money, Peter's property management business faces unique challenges. Jon proposes radical solutions: downselling to free management forever (monetizing through maintenance fees) or creating intro offers that recover customer acquisition costs immediately. They explore the difference between home services (search-driven, time-sensitive, skilled labor constrained) and home improvement (demand creation, higher ticket, schedulable). Property management sits awkwardly between these models, explaining why consolidators prefer acquiring 150-door portfolios over organic growth. Finally, Jon pushes Peter toward more aggressive marketing tactics: exploding offers, upsell sequences, and the Hormozi principle that "sales create sales." While Peter worries about cheapening his brand, Jon argues he's nowhere near that danger zone. Understanding your industry's fundamental dynamics matters more than copying tactics from other sectors. The real work of leadership is setting and showing the standard, whether that's in marketing strategy or morning standups. Key Topics: (04:34) Why Companies Acquire vs Grow Organically (17:23) The 3% Buyer's Pyramid Problem (25:05) Free Management Forever Downselling Strategy (32:05) The Power of Enriched Data Collection (36:50) Hormozi's "Sales Create Sales" Philosophy (42:55) Setting Standards as Leadership Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    41 min

  4. 15 AOÛT

    Why Your 100-Person Newsletter Beats a 100,000-Person Audience (And Commands 10x the Price) | Lazy Leverage #69

    Jon and Peter crack open one of the most perplexing puzzles in modern B2B marketing: why Peter's tiny 15,000-subscriber newsletter drives a significant fraction of what Daring Fireball makes with 2.5 million monthly visitors. And why Shaan Puri, with his top-10 business podcast, converted exactly 6 customers from 550 referrals to Somewhere. The conversation starts with their origin stories - Jon's 2009 CrossFit philosophy blog that got him flown places at 24, Peter's Twitter journey that Moses Kagan pushed him into -but quickly evolves into something more profound. They're seeing a fundamental shift in how skeptical business owners make purchasing decisions. The old playbook of interrupt marketing, Facebook ads, and growth hacking for maximum eyeballs is dying. Replacing it are high-trust vertical communities where people actually pay to participate. In fact, Jon says that he’d rather own a vertical community than a vertical SaaS right now. In an era of AI-generated content slop, business owners will increasingly retreat to closed communities for their most important decisions. Jon and Peter dissect why generic business influencers fail while niche operators thrive. The secret sauce isn't just authenticity - it's having skin in the game and being willing to piss people off. As Jon puts it, channeling Chappelle: "You don't always have to be funny, but you always have to be interesting." Key Topics: (08:15) The B2B Marketing Crisis: Why Vendors Can't Reach Customers (11:00) Shaan Puri's 1% Conversion Rate Problem (19:29) Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook (22:58) Why Vertical Communities Beat Vertical SaaS (27:57) The Peter Playbook vs. The Media Playbook (32:21) Authenticity and Showing Up Online (35:47) The Michelin Guide Strategy for Customer Acquisition (41:00) Having Skin in the Game: Why Business Influencers Fail (45:46) Final Thoughts: Automatic Blinds and AI Customer Databases Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    49 min

  5. 9 AOÛT

    A Peak into Strategy - Good or Bad Idea? | Lazy Leverage #68

    Jon and Peter dive into one of those ideas that sounds crazy at first but might actually be brilliant: buying luxury vacation properties as a business expense that doubles as a killer member benefit. Jon's been noodling on this concept for months, and it's finally survived his brutal idea-filtering process (which involves annoying everyone from his CFO to random Twitter buddies until the bad ideas die off). Here's the pitch: Sagan would purchase several properties—think ski chalets, beach houses, maybe something in Mexico—and offer them to members at 50-75% below Airbnb rates. The kicker? Thanks to bonus depreciation and some creative tax structuring, the whole thing could essentially pay for itself while adding a premium benefit that helps with member retention. Peter initially pushes back hard on the operational nightmare this could become. Nobody wants to field calls about broken ice makers or dirty towels. But as they hash it out, the vision gets clearer: professional property management with multiple layers between Jon and any actual guest issues, properties strategically located for both vacations and corporate retreats, and a focus on serving their high-trust member base rather than random Airbnb guests. Successful entrepreneurs develop strategy not through formal PowerPoints and weighted decision matrices, but through relentless debate, pattern recognition, and asking "will this actually f***ing work?" over and over until the answer becomes clear. Key Topics: (01:49) The Art of Business Ideation: Volume Shooting vs. Analysis Paralysis (11:56) Introducing the Vacation Property Concept for Sagan Members (15:29) Bonus Depreciation and Tax Strategy Explained (21:29) Solving the Property Management Problem Before It Starts (27:51) Facilitating Global Team Meetups at Member Properties (31:11) Location Strategy: East Coast, West Coast, International (34:06) Building the Management Structure and Avoiding Operational Headaches Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    40 min

  6. 31 JUIL.

    The StoryBrand Framework: Why Your Marketing Message Is Confusing Everyone | Lazy Leverage #67

    Jon sits down with Wes Gay, a StoryBrand certified consultant who's been living and breathing the framework for almost a decade. He’s here to break down why most business messaging falls flat (and how to fix it). The conversation dives deep into the seven-part StoryBrand framework, which treats your customer as the hero of their own story while positioning your business as the guide. Wes walks through each step: hero (your customer), problem (what they're struggling with), guide (you, with empathy and authority), plan (clear steps to success), call to action (what they should do next), and success or failure (the stakes). What makes this framework so powerful is its simplicity. Instead of talking about how great your company is or listing features, you focus on solving specific problems for specific people. Wes shares real examples, from CarMax's three-step car selling process to how changing one button from "Schedule a Demo" to "Talk to an Expert" increased leads by 40%. The second half gets tactical about finding your ideal customer. Wes reveals his favorite exercise: asking business owners to identify their favorite customers from the last two years - the ones who paid full price, said yes fastest, and became repeat buyers. Usually, one type emerges as 85% of the business. They wrap up discussing how StoryBrand thinking can help refine Sagan's messaging, moving beyond "we provide global talent" to something more specific about helping growing companies hire affordably. People don't buy what's best, they buy what they understand best. Key Topics: (01:36) The 7-Part StoryBrand Framework (21:58) Why Sagan's Messaging Could Be Clearer (And How to Fix It) (32:22) The Exercise That Reveals Your Real Target Customer (46:20) How One Button Change Increased Leads by 40% (47:08) Ideas for Using AI to Mine Customer Testimonials for Better Messaging Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    1 h 3 min

  7. 24 JUIL.

    Why Your AI and Automation Projects Keep Failing (And How to Actually Make Them Work) | Lazy Leverage #66

    Jon sits down with Brian Wilson, a retired Marine Corps Major who now heads Sagan's Knowledge and Automation group, to break down why most business owners are terrible at implementing AI and automation (and it's not for the reasons you might think). Right off the bat, Brian gives us a reality check: most people creating content about AI and automation have never actually turned wrenches in a real business. They're content experts, not practitioners. He shares stories from live training sessions where it takes 23 minutes just to get someone to admit what their actual problem is, because everyone's been conditioned to think they need complex tech solutions instead of addressing the real issues. They dive deep into the "duct tape and zip ties first" philosophy: why you should always try the simplest possible solution before building anything fancy. Brian tells the story of talking a nonprofit out of a $20,000 custom CRM when a $1,600/year data entry person could handle everything with a spreadsheet. The second half gets into the psychology of why business owners get seduced by shiny new tools instead of mastering the fundamentals. Using Marine Corps doctrine and CrossFit analogies, Jon and Brian explain why the most successful people use the simplest tools with virtuoso-level execution. They wrap up by introducing Sagan's new "skill sprints", 30-day challenges designed to build real automation habits through daily practice with a cohort, starting with company wikis in August. Key Topics: (03:08) Why Most AI Content Creators Have Never Actually Solved Real Problems (11:18) When SaaS Solutions Actually Make Your Problems Worse (16:08) The "Duct Tape and Zip ties First" Philosophy of Automation (24:36) Why Action Produces Information (And Planning Doesn't) (34:27) The Power of 30-Day Skill Sprints for Building Automation Habits Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    43 min

  8. 22 JUIL.

    The Reality of Small Business Litigation: Defense, Offense, and Everything In Between | Lazy Leverage #65

    Jon and Peter tackle one of the most stressful parts of running a business that nobody talks about: getting sued. Or threatened with lawsuits. Or dealing with angry lawyers sending nasty letters demanding ridiculous amounts of money. It happens to almost every business owner, but nobody shares war stories because of shame, legal settlements with gag clauses, and the general awkwardness of admitting you're in legal hot water. Jon and Peter break that silence with practical advice from the trenches. They cover how to tell the difference between someone who's actually dangerous (rich people who can afford to throw $20K at a lawyer just to mess with you) versus someone who's all bark and no bite (anyone who mentions their "brother-in-law the lawyer"). You'll learn why the person who can afford legal fees longest usually wins (regardless of who's actually right). The conversation gets into the nitty-gritty: when to involve your attorney, how to respond to demand letters without making things worse, and why having an employee handbook might save your ass even if you never look at it. They also discuss the psychology of disputes and how staying calm and professional can defuse situations that could otherwise cost you thousands. Plus, they touch on going on offense: when it's worth suing someone (spoiler: almost never) and how AI is starting to level the playing field in legal disputes. Key Topics: (00:47) Sagan Command Center: Building Simple Tools That Actually Work (10:18) Peter’s Game-Changing Browser Extension for Organizing Links (18:23) Dealing with Legal Disputes as a Business Owner (31:51) How to Recognize Serious Legal Threats vs. Empty Bluster (46:51) Demystifying the Economics of Litigation (57:14) Going on Offense: When to Sue and When to Walk Away Stay connected for more insights and strategies by following: Jon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MatznerJon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lazyleverage.beehiiv.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Peter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pslohmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on X and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peterlohmann.com

    1 h 7 min
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À propos

Talking about using leverage in life and business.

Informations

  • Création
    Jon Matzner and Peter Lohmann
  • Années d’activité
    2024 - 2025
  • Épisodes
    72
  • Classification
    Contenu explicite
  • Copyright
    © Jon Matzner and Peter Lohmann
  • Site web de l’émission
    Lazy Leverage

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