Unknown artist
Sometimes you may hear from an entrepreneur: “Well, why is it so hard to make money?” When every day is like juggling under a circus dome without a safety rope, any reserve of energy, will and optimism will sooner or later be exhausted to zero.
As a rule, such a question arises when Product-Market fit has not yet been found or when the usual business model has lost relevance due to tectonic shifts of market plates. After all, the entrepreneur has no complaints when customer demand exceeds the company’s ability to meet it many times over. Managing rapid growth isn’t easy either, but it’s a qualitatively different type of problem. Growing twice instead of three times in one year is certainly frustrating, but agree that this bitterness can’t be compared to the torment of bankruptcy.
Nothing wears people down like endless uncertainty. Like high radiation, it invisibly generates a multitude of derivative problems. So what makes a business predictable? People, processes, IP, laws, or maybe capital? Sure, but there’s something more important. I think the key is the value of your service as perceived by customers. If the value isn’t there yet or isn’t there already, nothing can compensate for that deficit. On the contrary, if your users need and value your product very much, even if it’s far from perfect, they will graciously forgive you the inconvenience and help you cut and polish it.
I once heard advice from a seasoned black belt: “If in the chaos of a fight you are disoriented and don’t know what to do, straighten your posture by looking up." Straight posture creates the structure you need to more easily withstand your opponent’s pressure and then begin to counterattack. Similarly, if your head is spinning from an overabundance of self-initiated company fires, focus on the compass question, “What value does my ideal customer get?”
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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”Who are you and what do you do?"
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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