Promising Projects, Patience... and the Danger of Resting on Wilted Laurels
I was visiting a web site — to be specific, an online marketplace in the style of eBay that I have previously used to sell online — and got to thinking about that old saying about "Resting on your laurels."
Merriam-Webster defines "Resting on your laurels" as:
"to be satisfied with past success and do nothing to achieve further success."
In the case of the project in question, they won multiple web awards in the late 1990s and early 2000's as the "best low cost alternative to eBay."
23 years later, it remains "a beautiful and user-friendly ghost town that nobody uses." A link to the same 2002 article singing its praises has been proudly displayed prominently in the site for almost as long. Aside from a small hardcore group of "cheerleaders" (who — incidentally — tolerate absolutely no voices of doubt or dissent from visitors) traffic and exposure remains... very low.
Which is disappointing, considering the potential there.
I still keep an "online store" there because I "bought in" with a lifetime membership in 2003 and so it costs me nothing, but at the same time I sometimes have to wonder whether "free" is actually "a good deal" when you only get negligible results.
Anyway...
Regardless, it got me to thinking about the numerous "great ventures" in the world that get off to a roaring start and then slowly fade away because they essentially end up "defined" by their initial rush of success... and "somebody" makes the determination — conscious or unconscious — that based on those early glory days, the project "should" be able to sustain itself.
Which, of course, it almost never does.
In some cases, it's a great life illustrator of how some people might be great creative builders but they are truly lousy maintainers. I have known quite a few small business owners who had grand visions and built pretty incredible things that garnered wards and accolades, but totally lost interest when to came to the daily nitty gritty of actually running something, and constantly innovating and adding on, both of which are essential to long term success.
In our microcosm known as the Greater Hive Ecosystem, I see that happen fairly frequently with new communities that get off to grand starts with much fanfare; even issuing their own Hive-Engine tokens that experience immediate "moonshots"... and then quietly fade away into nothingness, perhaps because the founders decided it was just too much boring work to relentlessly promote and engage over a period of years... which is basically what it takes to create success.
In some ways, these things all work a bit like marriages. If you believe that "all the work is DONE" just because you have rings on your fingers and a piece of paper... you're in for a very rude awakening. In truth, the work is just beginning!
Sometimes the whole "resting on your laurels" syndrome reminds me a bit of the "stagnant" person who had a stellar career as a high school football quarterback... but never went on to do anything else, and sees their entire life through the lens of their (undeniable) greatness in high school.
Way Back When...
Many years back, I spent a few years freelancing as a "Microbusiness Consultant," primarily helping people from the IT industry (where I had been, myself) set up and run their own independent businesses.
I only did it for a few years, gradually growing frustrated by the large number of people who had great concepts but the wheels would fall off the wagon soon after the reality of running a business replaced that of building a business.
In the end, my take-away was that a large number of small/individual businesses fail not because they are based on dodgy ideas and premises, but because their principals grow tired and bored before the business has had a real chance to succeed. They quit after 12-18 months of lackluster results when — in fact — they should expect to put in 3-5 years to become authentically profitable.
Often, that "wilted laurels" truism really comes into play... if they got off to a running start.
"But we averaged 2,000 units a month for the first three months, and now sales are down to under 500 units a month!"
And what are you doing to help ensure a continual uptrend in sales... six months and a year down the road?
"Oh God... I had no idea it was going to be this much boring wooorrrrrrkkkk!!!"
Be careful of resting on those laurels of initial greatness... they wilt, soon enough!
Case in Point...
Since the start of this cautionary tale was peripherally related to eBay, let's return to eBay as a significant example of "needing to grind it out, in order to succeed."
eBay was a "high buzz" and high flying IPO stock when it first came to market... and (adjusted for splits) reached $10.95 per share on April 30th, 1999.
A lot of (older) people in the investment arena know the story of eBay's meteoric stock price rise... but they are a lot less aware that it took until October 2010 — 11 years! before eBay's actual results warranted that 1999 valuation to finally be permanently exceeded. And had you chosen to hang on for the entire ride, you would have realized about a 6500% gain, as of this writing!
Or you could have bailed, with a 65% loss, somewhere in 2008.
The choice is yours...
Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your week!
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Created at 2023-02-21 00:18 PST
0751/2006
My current job is to help artisans develop their business with digital tools and I live every day what you describe. Your article reminds me of this visual of an iceberg that represents success, we only see the submerged part and yet everything else is the most important, management, perseverance, and long-term vision.
Almost the reverse of the normal iceberg graphic, in some ways. I pretty much live, eat, breathe and sleep all the "busy-work." Sometimes it almost feels like I have forgotten that there's a tip to that iceberg!
True entrepreneurs are passionate people who sacrifice many things for the sake of work. What are the things that give our lives meaning and purpose? What are the goals and aspirations we pursue? Questions that help us to take a step back perhaps.
I specify that I use translators because I do not understand everything that is written and I hope to interpret well, if this is not the case I apologize in advance.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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It's like that old saying goes: "The moment you think you've made it, you're finished." So keep on keeping on! And if you do take a break, make sure it's to recharge and come back stronger, not to bask in past glories. Cheers to growth and progress!
Wise saying... along with "if you think you've stopped LEARNING, you're dead."
I'm pretty much always tinkering, adjusting, making sure everything is going as it is supposed to be... and also ready to "pivot" and try a completely new direction, if need be.
Can I give this an Amen? 😁 I have to say that it is as plain as the nose on my face and yet, so many never see it.
Playing the long game is not for the faint of heart. Truly. I have been here since June 2017 and even though I am not one of the earliest people, I have watched so many fade away and communities dry up and become extinct.
I have always said that it is no place to earn a living or to live on. Hopefully, it is not ever going to be a retirement plan, but, rather a supplement to retirement. I never put any of my own money in case it ever fell flat. I couldn't cry over money that was never really mine, can I?
I'm in it for the long run. I still find it fun and when it stops being fun, I will probably call it a day.
All this fun and money too. Who could resist?
I like Hive and the communities here because (mostly) I really enjoy the whole blogging experience and have been going at it since 1998... and the fact that we do get some rewards is definitely a nice bonus. And since I'm basically lousy at sticking to a savings plan, slowly building Hive Power is a cool form of "forced savings," even though I'm actually powering down at the moment because we need the money to pay a hefty property tax bill, at the end of March. Thankfully, it's our final large tax bill (hopefully!) because I turned 62 last year and we're now qualified for various exemptions for seniors below a certain income level.
There are definitely some people I miss... a couple I particularly miss... but I'll keep plugging, as you said as long as it is still fun!
Have a great weekend!
Mentioning Ebay reminded me of last summer ordering a tire rim for my son's truck when we couldn't find one locally. It's not small expense unless you are ebay sending out a tire rim but to send it back they wanted more than what the tire was bought for because they insisted the size description listed was right. It wasn't until after kept searching for one locally that the junk yard we got it from told us why the one on ebay didn't fit. It was made for Cadillac's, which the description did say along with will fit all year models of these vehicles listed, his was a Sierra truck, was that one side the rim was the right size but the other side wasn't. It was one inch more. Unless you flipped it and measured both sides you were left scratching your head. Maybe the person selling it didn't realize that, I don't know but once we sent Ebay the picture of the measurement of the other side they sent us a refund and a you can keep the rim...I guess if they have to pay for returns it must be just as costly. lol. Great article though, I think there's a lot of potential for younger people if they got onto Hive, even other blogging platforms and plugged away at it over a number of years it'd nest them away a tidy sum for retirement.
Strong points are often weaknesses, as well.
For me, part of the joy of eBay is being able to deal with individuals, rather than mega-corporate entities... the downside to which is that quite a few sellers are a bit like your experience sounds; they may "have" something, and it's legit enough... but because they are not "dealers" or experts, you end up a bit at the mercy of incomplete information.
eBay returns can be VERY costly because their system is designed to process only "fastest way." Sold something to someone in China a few years back and even though there was a reasonable way for the buyer to ship it back "the sustem" insisted that it HAD to be FedEx express service at a cost of $300+ for a small box it had cost me $40 to send, in the first place.
I guess at about the 5-year mark I got past my original skepticism as to the longevity of Hive, and I feel more comfortable suggesting it as a venue, at least for the "right" people.