The Surprising Benefits of Patient Growth
(4 Minute Read) Slow Growth Leads to Great Things
šš¼ Iām Alek, a repeat founder. Iāve built and sold one company so far. I share what Iāve learned from building companies in 5-minute reads every week.
The Surprising Benefits of Patient Growth
Six months ago, I decided to run an experiment. I wrote about the experiment in Adapt or Endure? A Founderās Guide to Navigating Changing Circumstances. The experiment: Would I be better off building a consulting business with a software arm?
Before that, I was building a software company. I supported the software company with income generated through consulting work.
Over the last six months, I flipped my thinking. Consulting was my primary focus. Software was secondary.
Today, Iāll share the results of the experiment. What has this slight change in thinking taught me? What have I learned in the process?
What Iām Doing Now with SolidlyAI
I was running a software business with a consulting arm. Now, Iām running a consulting business with a software arm. Before we dive into what Iāve learned, let me start by explaining what this looks likeā¦
I have many client projects going on at all times.
Some client projects take as little as 5 hours per week. Other projects are as much as 20 hours per week. Iām leading two types of projects:
Data Projects: I am working with clients to understand what is possible with their data. Iām working with clients to build those ideas.
MVP Projects: I am working with clients to take their ideas from 0 ā 1. I am helping them design and build a āminimum viable productā that they can launch.
I have a healthy pipeline with relationships at all stages.
I have a mix of project contracts at different phases:
existing customer(s) considering expansion/extension
new customer(s) in contract phase
new customer(s) where we are aligning on the details of a potential scope over email
There are more projects coming through the pipeline than I have time for, which is a good place to be!
A lot of people ask me where these projects come from. The answer is simple. Simpler than they want it to be... āConnections.ā Most of these projects have come from people I have worked with before. I spent many years:
doing high quality work.
building personal relationships with no business goals.
It is a simple formula. Be a good person who does good work. Do it for a long time. People will want to work with you!
I am not at 100% capacity.
At most, Iāve worked on 3 projects at once. At my busiest Iāve worked <30 hours per week on client work. I have spare time. I spend my spare time on sales and building the SolidlyAI software.
The Need for Patience
I want to be at 100% capacity now. I want high-velocity contracts. But, that is never the pace my clients move.
At most clients, I have one or two people advocating for me to get/stay involved. They have their own priority lists. They end up with dependencies out of their control. In several cases, Legal teams will review the contract terms. Legal teams have taken weeks to review drafts or make edits.
The Power of Patience
I wanted these projects to start today. But, if they had happened more quickly, I would have missed out on other things.
Able to charge higher rates.
Because these projects have taken time to sign, I now have a surplus of demand for my time. When demand exceeds supply, you can charge higher rates. So, the average rate that I am charging clients has increased.
Development of a waitlist.
If I end up with more projects than I have time for, then I can stagger start dates. I could sign a project today that would start in January or February.
It will be hard to sell new projects when I am spending >40 hours per week on client work. To sell a new project, I would have to wait for my time to free up. Then, I would start looking for more work. During that sales process I would be at <100% capacity (and getting paid less than what I could be).
So, the ability to plan these projects further ahead will increase the stability of my income.
Building the SolidlyAI software to a better state.
I won't have time when I am full-time consulting. Enterprise software sales takes time. So, I won't be able to sell the SolidlyAI software to anyone.
With my change in strategy toward consulting, I needed to change my strategy for software. I needed to switch away from enterprise. The last few months have allowed me to transition toward a consumer-focused product.
SolidlyAI still has many of the enterprise focused features it started with. Large businesses can still use it to make the most out of their meetings. I invested my extra time into creating a very low barrier to entry way for individual people to get started. SolidlyAIās meeting notetaker is available to anyone. You can get started with one hour of free notetaking!
Conclusion: The Surprising Benefits of Patient Growth
The focus on growing my consulting business has paid off. The experiment was successful. SolidlyAIās software products will continue in parallel.
Patience is Key: Growing this business to where I want it will take time. I need to stay patient to fill my schedule with the right clients and let SolidlyAI develop at its own pace.
Surprising Benefits from Patient Growth:
Higher Rates: With excess demand, I can charge more for my time.
Waitlist of Projects: The steady approach has given me a waitlist of future projects. The waitlist helps me plan ahead and keep my income steady.
More Time to Improve SolidlyAI: Between consulting projects, I have time to code. I can build SolidlyAIās software to a better state.
Iām now running a consulting company with a software arm. Slow, patient growth allows me to build a business that will last.
#Entrepreneurship #SelfEmployment #Startups #Bootstrapping #Founders
By sharing my experiences, I hope to provide insight and advice to entrepreneurs facing similar challenges. Please leave a comment or email me with any questions.