FBC – 355 – Fast Success OR Steady Growth? Which one is better?

If you could pick, what would you choose between fast success or steady growth?

The answer might seem pretty obvious, but is it really?

In this episode I will give you my take on the subject and the answer might surprise you.

All the details and more in this episode.

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I absolutely love this quote, which says, “Slow success builds character, whereas fast success builds ego”.

And I totally agree with this with this quote because some of the dudes who are at the top, they're not going anywhere. They've been there forever. And you've seen some people who came out of nowhere and then they crashed and burned. And looking at my own experience and the experience of some of the people I know, slow success is like you've been through everything, right? You've been through the good, the bad and you've seen everything.

And it armed you with the perseverance and the adaptability. I suppose success means that you had to adapt, my friend, because things move, things change. So that means every day you put in some work and work and work to actually end up paying right now.

And you've built such a huge foundation that it's hard for you to go anywhere afterwards. And also, since you've formed these habits of showing up, of putting in the work, putting in the hours and stuff like that, you're less tempted to go and become like super lazy and complacent when you get to where it is that you want it to get.

You know that slow success is giving you all these good habits of putting in the work. Whereas, you know, if you have, like, really fast success and stuff, it means that very, very often you haven't been through hell and you probably don't know what it's like.

And if something bad happens to you, you might not be prepared and you might actually go and crash and burn. I mean, some people have the character. They don't need the hardship to go and build the character. They have it within them. And, you know, if something bad happens and they resourceful as well, they will be able to adapt and pivot and stuff.

Fast success or steady growth

But I think that slow success is a very, very good teacher. I really like it. There are a bunch of areas in my life where I had very little success as well.

It's not like one day I just did something magically and then it worked. I tried stuff for a long time and eventually found the formula and then I trained my brain to be always in this active mode and to develop some of these reflexes that helped me today. I've gathered enough knowledge.

But also my habits and my dedication are not going anywhere. And I've done that for so long. I mean, for so long that now it's a part of me. OK, so I think it's a great quote. And, you know, it's true.

I mean, to a certain extent, some people can come out of nowhere. But you don't know what they've done to get there. You know what I mean?

When people say fast success, well, it could be that you weren't paying attention to maybe the 15 years this guy was working. I think it was Lionel Messi who said I think it took him like 17 years forty six days or something to become an overnight success.

That’s really true. So I could be wrong about this fast success stuff, but I really, really like the long process as well. I don't know what the term is that I like to suffer or something, not that I like it, but I think there is growth in it and there is beauty in it because it builds the character, it arms you for everything else in life. All right.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is fast success or steady growth better for a solopreneur in 2026?

For most solopreneurs steady growth is the safer bet because cash flow, reputation, and skill compound at predictable rates. Fast success is real but rare, often survivor bias, and almost always built on years of unseen steady work before the public moment. Plan for steady, prepare for fast.

Why does fast success often collapse if the foundation is steady growth quality?

A viral month brings traffic the operation cannot serve. Without steady systems, the surge exposes broken onboarding, missing automation, and undocumented decisions. Within 90 days the audience drifts. Fast success on a steady foundation amplifies revenue. Fast success without it amplifies refunds and reputation damage.

How do you know when to chase speed versus when to chase stability?

Chase speed when you have proven the core offer with at least 20 paying customers and the systems handle current load. Chase stability before that point. Speeding up an unproven offer multiplies a small mistake into a public one. Stabilising a proven offer multiplies a small win into a real business.

Can you combine fast success and steady growth in the same business?

Yes. The combination is steady operations underneath, with occasional sprints on top. Steady wins are the default speed. Sprints are launched two or three times a year around a launch, a season, or a partnership. The sprint never replaces the steady. It rides on top of it.

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.

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