FBC – 197 – This secret sauce is the difference between winners & quitters…

This secret sauce is the difference between winners & quitters…

Today I want to arm you with a weapon that will allow you to enter and STAY in the big league guys. This is one of the reasons why some people never win and the same reason why some big companies like facebook have managed to stay on top.
All the details and my personal story are inside this episode.

So I come from a troubleshooting background and for those who don't know, I worked in support for three years. And then afterwards, I was a deliverability director for email services companies. So I had to do a lot of troubleshooting. I had to take care of clients’ accounts and figure out, dude, what's happening here and how to fix it.

You know, regardless what stage you're in, you are going to encounter problems. So if you're just starting out and it's just you, you will be the one who needs to figure out what these problems are and how to solve them. If you have a little bit more money and stuff, you can have some people actually, you know, looking into this.

So first thing is what is the problem? So this one might seem like stupid, like, dude, what do you mean what is the problem? So you need to define what the actual problem is. Right. So, oh, you know, the electricity went down or, you know, for example, your computer won't start right. Or the operating system doesn't start. Doesn't mean that the whole computer doesn't work.

Right. Could be the operating system that doesn't work or there's a problem in the operating system. OK. So you need to define exactly what the problem is. You'll tend to think that it's obvious. But trust me, it's not when people call you and they're like, oh, man, we're all going to die.

You need to figure out, dude, what's the actual problem? OK. All right. So what's the problem? OK. The second thing you need to figure out, what's the impact of the problem?

This secret sauce is the difference between winners & quitters…

So the impact is not what's visible. For example, let's say you're in your room and then electricity goes off and you're like, oh, man, electricity is down. So what you need to determine is, is it an isolated problem or is it a widespread problem?

So here in Bali, for example, it happens that electricity goes down, you know, bam, it goes down. Right. So what is the first thing I do? I will try to figure out if it's just me or if my neighbours have the same problem. OK. And you know, it's something people don't think about. Right.

So this is very important, because if you're not identifying this, you'll be running in circles and looking in the completely wrong direction where, you know the solution is not right. So once you've identified it's isolated or if it's if it's widespread, then you can work towards the solution. Is it the fuses, or is it the generator, or is it the supply from the road?

See the difference. Right.

So in the case of your business where maybe your email service went down, you need to find out when the problem started. Right there is a big difference between when you noticed the problem and when the problem actually happened. Ninety nine percent of the time, there is a big difference. OK.

Because you do have a life. You're sleeping. There are other things that you have to do. And it could be that you watched a report, you know, three weeks after the problem actually started and that's when you notice it. And you're like, oh, dude, man, we're in trouble. But it could be that the problem started two months ago. OK. So what do you need to identify here is OK.

So this is when I noticed the problem because I wasn't paying too much attention. I was busy doing other stuff, which, you know, it's perfectly understandable.

Now, when did that actually start? OK. So you have to retrace the steps.  So basically go back in time to a moment when everything was working fine and then you just run the search and then you see a sharp drop or a sharp increase or something. So once you've done that, once you identify when it actually started, then you're in a way better position than “We're all going to die”.

Only then can you begin to fix everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What separates solopreneurs who win from those who quit?

Consistency under boredom. Winners ship the unsexy work (emails, follow-ups, iteration) every week for 12 to 24 months. Quitters chase novelty after 60 days of flat results. The skill gap is rarely talent; it is the ability to keep doing the same effective thing long after it stops feeling exciting.

How do you build the consistency muscle without burning out?

Cap your daily commitment to 90 minutes of revenue-producing work, protected and non-negotiable. Anything beyond that is bonus. Burnout comes from 12-hour days for one week followed by zero output for three. Steady 90-minute blocks across 200 days beat sprint-and-collapse cycles by a wide margin.

Should you change tactics if results are slow or stay the course?

Change tactics only after two consecutive 60-day sprints with no movement on at least three metrics. Constant pivoting destroys compounding. Most solopreneurs pivot at day 45, then again at day 90, and never give a single play long enough to actually produce the breakout result it was capable of.

What is the cost of quitting one project after another?

Each restart costs about 90 days of cold-start friction and erases the audience, SEO, and trust you built in the previous attempt. After three restarts you have used up roughly a year while a competitor with one focused project compounds. Pick one bet, ship for 18 months, then judge.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue has been building automated online businesses since 2013. He runs The Vault, a six-figure system covering Etsy, lifestyle design, AI automation, and growth hacking, without a personal brand, without filming his face, and without selling courses. He coaches solopreneurs on building durable income streams that don't require a team or a 60-hour week. Find him on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Related Reading

• FBC – 8 – The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• FBC – 10 – A Key Difference Between “Winners” And The Rest
• FBC – 12 – This Is Where It All Started For Me…
• FBC – 13 – Do You Have What It Takes? You’ll Be Suprised..