Welcome to the first issue of Slow & Steady — a semi-regular newsletter about staying a small company on purpose and running a remote business.
As this is still very much experimental, there is a good chance that we will go off-script from time to time, though. 😉
Why "Slow & Steady," you ask?
I learned about the “Slow and Steady Wins the Race” idiom on my first trip to the United States almost a decade ago while attending a conference in San Diego (Hi, ValioCon friends! 👋 ).
Persistent, consistent, and diligent progress, even if it is somewhat slow, will produce better results than rushing to get somewhere or achieve something, as the latter can result in mistakes or may prove unsustainable or unreliable.
The philosophy behind it spoke to me immediately. So much so, I ordered a fitting “Slow & Steady” shirt from ugmonk the same day.
ugmonk, a tiny family business making millions in revenue, is also one of many companies proving the point I’m trying to make: To grow a healthy and sustainable business, you don’t need to follow the typical startup path often glorified within the community.
Don’t get me wrong, focussing on raising money or showing up to every startup event in the world is not a bad thing per se, and if your goal is to create the next unicorn, there is probably no way around it.
However, if your goals are more… tangible, there are other routes you can – and maybe even should – take.
For example: Focus on your product instead of running from investor meeting to investor meeting, trying to sell something before you’ve even built it. Create a list of potential customers instead of angels you want to pitch your idea. Find industry events your ideal customer attends instead of trying to win the next startup award.
In my experience, if you’re making $1 in annual profit, you are already way ahead of more startups than you probably think.
So, diving deeper into this topic will be one of the recurring themes here and is the reason why it is called “Slow & Steady.”
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