30 Hard Truths About Business

Show up, do what needs to be done, and deliver the same clear message over time, regardless of conditions or mood. Define your values as a business and as a person, stick to them, and you’ll outperform competitors who may be better, but less consistent.

Your business should reflect your values, vision, and goals, but it is not you and it doesn’t define you. You define it, and that distance is what allows you to make better decisions, change direction when needed, and grow.

Many businesses slow themselves down by trying to solve future or imaginary problems, which leads to analysis paralysis instead of progress. Think, plan, implement, then improve based on real feedback and real results.

Use it wisely to test faster, iterate smarter, and implement sooner. The advantage no longer comes from access to tools, but from knowing what to keep, what to discard, and when to move. 

A good plan only becomes valuable when it’s executed at the right time, because a plan that stays in a drawer is just a plan, no matter how good it looks on paper.

Valuable knowledge comes from people, experience, and the right online resources. Capture it, sort it, and turn it into a simple library you can actually use, otherwise it stays random information.

If you ignore your wellbeing, the business eventually pays the price. The strongest businesses are built when personal and business investments support each other.

Relying only on warm introductions or existing connections limits growth and makes the business fragile. The ability to create trust and momentum with people who don’t know you yet is a real business skill.

The traditional ladders are no longer relevant. Those with the right mindsets and skills will identify the best routes to get to where they want. Others will keep on looking for ladders.

They look for someone they like or someone they feel similar to. Make sure your story, tone, and presence allow the right people to recognize themselves in you and in your business.

There are different kinds of stories you need to tell at different moments, and in practice there are six core types that cover most situations. Make sure you have all six, real and true, and know when to use each one across the buying journey.

It can work for you or against you, and it affects every decision you make, no matter how good your product or service is. Over time, mindset becomes the difference between progress and getting stuck, and between what works and what doesn’t.

Failure is part of business, everyone meets it at some point. Plan your moves so that when failure happens, it’s fast and cheap to handle, then learn from it and change things accordingly.

Also called unique selling proposition, is one of the most important assets your business can have. Here is our formula. Nothing beats it: I help [target market] achieve [clear result] within [timeframe] using [methodology, IP, or process], so they gain [clear advantage or value].

You have two ears for a reason, especially when it comes to feedback. Listen carefully to what people say, but just as importantly, listen to why they say it, because that usually tells you much more.

One of the most frustrating parts of owning a business is that clients only see a fraction of the work. Most of the difficult, crucial parts stay hidden behind the product or service. That’s simply part of the reality of running a business.

No business grows by relying on one person’s knowledge alone. Use other people’s expertise and experience so you can focus on what actually matters.

Some people fulfill their business plans and aspirations, only to realize they’re living someone else’s life. Double check that the decisions you make come from the right place, not from expectations that aren’t yours.

Make sure you have people you can think out loud with, brainstorm with, challenge ideas with, and share decisions with. Growth rarely happens in isolation.

When you build a system, you’re not entirely dependent on your own availability or on specific employees. The less fragile the model, the easier it is to move faster, make better decisions, and scale.

Focus sharpens your offer and makes your USP stronger and more valuable. In the end, it comes down to three things: what it is, how much it costs, and why someone should buy it from you.

When your focus is on not failing, opportunities disappear. When you focus on growth, opportunities show up, and your decisions become proactive instead of protective, short-term focused, and risk-averse.

If you need to explain it, it probably needs sharpening. More often than not, it also means your target market won’t get it, or the implementation will be too complex to work well.

It takes something familiar and changes the angle, the experience, or the context in a way people suddenly care about. Think of everyday products that became desirable not because they were new, but because they were seen differently.

But they can also be yesterday’s dinner. Don’t act on instinct alone. Smart decisions always take strategy into account.

Solutions change, and there’s rarely only one business solving the same problem. Stay focused on the problem itself, and make sure you keep solving it better than anyone else.

That includes customers, peers, partners, and other businesses that grow alongside you. When that ecosystem is strong, growth becomes more resilient and organic.

It usually fades when you take action, not when you think more about it. Movement creates perspective, keeps your mind busy, and turns vague worry into something you can actually deal with.

There’s an Icelandic proverb that says that denying the existence of a ghost only makes it grow bigger. Every business has at least one. An ignored issue, an avoided decision, or a hard conversation. Name yours, because what stays unspoken usually gets stronger, not smaller.

Being busy, active, or in motion doesn’t necessarily mean you’re progressing. Make sure what you’re doing is actually moving the business forward, not just keeping it moving.