What I Learned About Business From Making Meth
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Don’t worry, I’m a cop. It’s legit.
It would blow your mind how easy it is for meth to be made.
I had the opportunity to learn from chemists that work for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) the other day and needless to say, the class was DOPE…
Clandestine Lab is a term that refers to a lab that can be stationary or mobile, essentially it can be anywhere. Think Breaking Bad in the motorhome, that would be a Clandestine Lab.
But it can be ANYWHERE else.
On a boat,
In an underground bunker,
On a hotel roof.
You name it.
I’m not saying it’s SAFE to do anywhere, but to actually build your meth biz, you just need enough space to hold the equipment and cook.
Kind of crazy… but also very interesting from a business perspective.
Let’s break this down here and cover a few things related both to business AND meth.
The Minimum Viable Product
Efficiency and Adaptability
Risk vs. Reward
Providing Value
The Minimum Viable Product:
Otherwise referred to as the MVP.
In business, this is essentially the least amount that you need to spend to get a product, service, or business of any kind up and running.
In this way, it’s all about proof of concept.
Thankfully for up and coming drug lords out there, the target audience is already predetermined and meth has been a proven product for decades. The lifetime value of the customer (LTV) is also very promising…
That is unless your product ENDS their life. A line you have to be willing to ride.
The MVP of meth production is something to take note of:
It can be cooked just about anywhere
Ingredients are easily obtained at fairly low costs
Basic production is not rocket science
Your ROI is huge
And that’s really what you’re looking for to start anything. Low maintenance MVP with high ROI.
Quick note on the ROI. From production to street, you’re looking at a 500–1200% ROI. Wow.
Efficiency And Adaptability:
As a new drug lord, you’re bootstrapping your biz.
Overhead costs need to be low and it’s important to utilize the most out of all of your supplies.
There’s a practice that is used throughout the process of double checking your work and going through a few steps more than once.
Doing this makes sure that you get the very most out of the products you use.
We can all learn from this practice by taking a hard look at our own businesses and determining which points in the process we leave money on the table.
Are you not nurturing your current customers enough and need better retention rates?
Is there a part of the process that you do really well that you can build out as a service for some extra cash?
It’s important to take a look internally to double check your work for quality and to not leave any scraps on the table.
Risk vs. Reward:
This is where the rubber meets the road.
This is where every entrepreneur (from drug lord to real estate investor) has to pony up, dig deep down within and ask the $1M question:
“Does the risk outweigh the reward?”
It’s a HARD ‘no’ for me with this business model, but some would disagree.
Pros:
Easy-ish to make
Low start up
Low overhead
Huge ROI
Crazy addictive
Huge customer base
Cons:
Super illegal (do I need to go on?)
Ridiculously dangerous chemicals to inhale during the process
Crazy dangerous to make if something goes wrong (meth labs blow up all the time)
Super shady crowd you need to associate with (you have to find a tribe that you are passionate about serving… these peeps are a rough tribe to say the least)
Did I mention SUPER illegal?
Providing Value:
To really reach a large audience and obtain a following of devoted fans with your product/service, you want to focus on the VALUE you can provide.
Any business, big or small, should revisit that one single question as often as needed in order to stay in line with its vision and intentions as a company.
In the drug sales world, some might be able to articulate that value.
This is mainly in the form of feeding the addiction.
That addiction is a POWERFUL thing.
Lives are ruined.
Lives are lost.
Families are destroyed.
Not to mention all the dental issues…
“Clients” will do just about anything to get that FIX and as a drug lord, you can provide them with that fix.
A good business comes up with a solution to a problem their avatar has.
So, if you choose to look at it from this light, value is provided.
When it’s all boiled down, whatever business you’re running or starting, these are the things that you need to consider.
The meth biz is no different.
You need an MVP to get started and reach “proof of concept.”
You then want to be efficient with the use of your services and adaptable to changing environments.
It’s key to take a hard look at what you provide and the audience you provide it to. This will ensure you don’t leave money on the table.
As you go deeper into this venture, it’s important to weigh out the risks vs. the reward and what all you are willing to do in order to achieve your desired outcome.
Finally, if you can’t articulate the value you’re providing, neither will your potential customers. Figure that out and lean into it.
Business is business.
Utilize the opportunities that are provided in your life to learn from how others operate.
Whether you agree or disagree with the product is irrelevant.
Step back, examine the model, open your eyes to the big picture and you’ll be surprised what you can learn.