💡 Find Fit Before Grabbing Growth (Issue 96)
💡 Find Fit Before Grabbing Growth (Issue 96)
Don't throw away good money
One big mistake many new business owners and startup founders make is chasing growth before they’ve achieved true product-market fit.
I see people spending a lot of time and money on growth tactics before they even know if customers will consistently keep buying. I also see owners investing money in advanced business needs before they generate enough revenue and growth to warrant it (e.g., a fancy website, expensive office space, hiring employees).
Building a new business is about creating the right engine to power it. If you don’t even know if the engine is working, why would you dump more fuel into it? That’s a waste of money and floods the tiny engine.
That little sputtering business engine can’t handle a ton of volume yet. And you certainly don’t want to build more potential revenue engines if you don’t know whether the first one functions reliably!
Instead, take your time to get the business model right. Keep testing, tinkering, and adjusting the engine until it runs robustly. That’s why I tell people to keep their 9-5 jobs while they build their solopreneur business on the side. Creating a business that will support you takes time!
When you have found fit:
Customers clearly want what you are offering.
They are demanding more of what you are selling.
People are consistently buying, sticking around, and coming back for more.
Your customer base is growing every week.
The sales and delivery processes are reliable.
Positive outcomes are repeatable.
Your business is becoming profitable and sustainable.
Now, you can push for growth and scale your business to increase revenue. You can tune your business engine to remove bottlenecks that slow down customer acquisition and fulfillment. You can create offers that scale without your constant active involvement (e.g., automated fulfillment, digital products, courses).
It’s hard to be patient when you are building an exciting new business and seeing early promise. I get it! But, premature scaling has killed many companies that weren’t really ready for growth yet.
Make sure your business model (i.e., engine) is running well before stepping on the gas!
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.