FBC – 217 – Don’t ever make this huge mistake (like I did…)

Don't ever make this huge mistake (like I did.)

Today, I want to tell you about one of my biggest mistakes that could have cost me everything. Thankfully, I corrected it before things got ugly but it was pretty close.

This is something we are all tempted to do for some weird reasons.

All the answers are in this episode.

So if you're just starting out, it's something that can happen to you down the road. So it's still very important to understand this. If you've already started and you've had some success stuff, this is definitely, definitely going to help you.

So here's the thing. You know, sometimes you start a business. You try a few things. Most of it will fail. But at some point you will find something that works. And when you find that, then afterwards, what do you do? You stick to it, right?

You stick to it. You scale it. You make it bigger. And you focus all your attention on it because, well, obviously, it's working for you. And this is a thing you should do.

But, you know, after a while, we all tend to do that, I guess. Because I've seen a lot of people and I've been guilty of that. And I have to discipline myself not to go through that again. But anyway, you get really comfortable and you stop actually paying too much attention to it.

And you start exploring other things because, if you're an entrepreneur, you're curious and you want to build something else. Right. And also, as I said, you want to have more than one income stream.

And very often what happens is that the one thing that brought you to where you are right now and allows you to have the flexibility to go and find something else, you forget about it and you start focusing on other stuff, your other projects. Which again, it's good if it's interesting for you and intellectually stimulating. But the danger is that you completely forget about your core business.

You know what you're actually good at. And what brought you there? And then what happens is that you spend all your time doing other stuff and eventually your main business that was giving you all your like your income starts dying out or slowing down. And when you come back to it, very often it's too late.

Don't ever make this huge mistake (like I did.)

So I've seen a lot of people in that situation where they work really hard. They build something that works really well. And then afterwards they start chasing other things. So remember what I said. When you have something working, it's a good idea to have something on the side that runs, preferably something like automated, so that if something happens, you're not starting from scratch or something.

So this is why I really advise you to have something like that on the side. But what happens is that we get distracted. It happened to me. My core business is my email business. And for a very, very long time, I have been looking at everything but my email business right to a point where I could have got in serious trouble.

Thankfully I started paying attention a few months before my main client actually stopped all the operations. And I had to reshape the whole business and everything. But for a very long time, trust me, I kind of lost interest and attention, you know? And this is not what you want to do. You don't want to be too far away from your main business.

So what I really suggest you guys do is that whatever your main business is, you know, your bread and butter, don't get away from this too much. OK. Operationally, of course. You know, just give it to someone else if it suits. Automate that stuff, but stay on it, like, strategically. Because things change really quickly.

When you find something that works, protect it like it is the most valuable asset in your business. Because it is. Everything else you want to build depends on that foundation staying solid.

The most dangerous phase of an entrepreneur's journey is not the beginning. It is the moment after the first big win, when you get comfortable and your attention starts drifting to what's next instead of what's working.

The huge mistake I made so you never have to

I made the classic error early, and it cost me more than money. I built for months in silence, convinced that the product had to be perfect before anyone could see it. When I finally launched, the market had already moved, and half of what I built solved a problem nobody had. That is the mistake. Falling in love with the plan instead of the customer. I have coached more than 2,000 students since then, and the single fastest way to tell who will make it is who shows their ugly first version to a real buyer this week. McKinsey research on product failure keeps pointing at the same cause: teams that skip early customer contact ship things the market never asked for. I break down the launch discipline I use now across my Substack essays and my LinkedIn newsletter. Stripe Atlas tells new founders the same hard truth: talk to customers before you build, not after. I learned it the expensive way so that you can learn it the cheap way.

Frequently Asked Questions: Protecting Your Core Business

Why do successful entrepreneurs neglect their core business once it is working? Because novelty is more stimulating than maintenance. Once something is running well, it stops feeling like a challenge. Entrepreneurs are wired to solve problems and build new things, so they naturally migrate their attention toward whatever feels unsolved. The danger is that “running well” is not the same as “running on its own.” Most businesses require ongoing strategic attention even when they appear stable.

How do you keep growing without abandoning what works? Treat your core business like a client you serve, not a machine that runs itself. Schedule dedicated time each week to review its health, even when nothing appears broken. Automate operations if you can, but never automate strategic oversight. Explore new opportunities only with the surplus attention and capital your core generates, never at its expense.

What is the warning sign that you have drifted too far from your core business? When you could not answer detailed questions about its current performance without having to look things up. When you are surprised by metrics that you should have been monitoring weekly. When your team starts making decisions that would have previously required your input, and you are fine with that because you stopped thinking about it. That level of detachment is the warning sign Martin nearly missed.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Related Reading

• FBC – 4 Part 1 – This is the story of my life: Success, Failure and The Hurdles.
• FBC – 3 – Escape your life of sacrifice! Don't settle for less than your dream lifestyle.
• FBC – 8 – The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• Other really cool tips that will give you an unfair advantage