The success has a twin brother: patience

I was about to write some mathematical equations to try to explain this to you, but it's morning now and I'm very dumb in the morning, so I'll stick to text. What I want to discuss is the importance of time. And the importance of waiting. What we see is a lot of companies trying to get results in a very short period of time. This is not wrong, but can be very wrong. And usually is. It's not surprising that almost 80% of new companies close in their first five years of operation. Why?

The cement must dry before you build the next floor

That's it guys. A company must be built in a steady and consistent way. The business plan should be the foundation: you have everything planned, you consider several contingencies and possibilities, you have the purpose clear in your mind. Then you give some time to absorb the ideas and to build an action plan. You will have to talk to investors if your business needs money. You will have to talk to your business partners when it comes to management and strategy. Take a look at this graph:

It basically shows the first three major phases of a business:

1. From 0 to 5: your business is new, it doesn't have many customers, it's not known, etc. You cannot expect a lot from it, but you have to keep going until you reach the phase 2.
2. From 5 to 15: if you manage to go through phase 1, it's likely that your business will grow and experience a very good moment. And phase 3 is natural.
3. From 15 on: stability. The growth is less intense, but you still manage to keep a good portion of the market and a steady growth.

Ok, of course this is a summary. We could analyse much better these three phases, but this is not the purpose here. The thing is...

Be patient and build a solid and consistent company

Focusing on profit is one of the most common bias I've ever seen. It's like building a house focusing only on the rooftop. Profit is a consequence of a well structured and sustainable company. And to build it, you need to give time. Time for all the pieces come together.

So... Don't skip steps. Don't diminish the important processes and phases of building your business. Just like the cement... You have to wait until it dry before you start building the next structure. Your company is not different! So take it easy boy! :)