Competition gets the blame. Cash timing, founder bandwidth and drift do most of the damage.
When a small business closes, the story people tell is usually about competition. A bigger company moved in. Someone undercut the prices. The market got crowded.
Sometimes that is true. More often, in my experience, the business died of something quieter and closer to home.
Being early feels a lot like being wrong. The hard part is surviving the long middle.
Price is never just arithmetic. It is a statement about what you believe your work is worth.
Money is very good at one job: buying the freedom to say no. It needs clear instructions to do it.
On the difference between visible faith and performed faith, and what remains when no one is watching.