Small course corrections.

By Alan W

You don’t always need a new strategy.

Sometimes you just need a small course correction.

Although I’m using a platform business model in this example, the principle applies to almost any business.

Things change while you’re building.

Customer behaviour changes.

Demand changes.

Supply changes.

Priorities change.

If you don’t notice it early enough, you can end up solving the wrong problem.

I think of it like a pilot flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

If the wind changes direction, the pilot doesn’t turn the plane around and start over.

The destination stays the same.

The fundamentals stay the same.

The pilot simply adjusts the course.

That’s often how good businesses are built too.

At ClearShift, we saw this clearly.

In the beginning, we focused heavily on finding establishments.

We needed demand.

We needed real requests.

We needed movement.

Then we started getting more requests than we could comfortably fulfil.

Very quickly, it became clear that our biggest problem was no longer demand.

It was supply.

We needed more vetted, ready, reliable professionals.

So we shifted our attention.

We didn’t change the business.

We didn’t panic.

We simply adjusted the course.

That turned out to be the right move, because establishments usually need help quickly.

If you can’t fulfil their request in time, you risk losing them.

Professionals, on the other hand, were often more willing to wait for the right opportunity.

Later, as our pool of professionals grew, word of mouth started helping on the supply side.

That allowed us to put more attention back onto establishments again.

That’s how these businesses move.

Not in a straight line.

Not according to a fixed formula.

But through constant monitoring and small adjustments.

And this applies far beyond platforms.

A service business may need to improve follow-up speed.

A retail business may need to adjust its stock mix.

A consulting business may need to explain its offer more clearly.

The business itself may still be sound.

It just needs a course correction.

That’s the real work:

paying attention,

staying calm,

and adjusting in time.

Because sometimes the difference between momentum and frustration is not a brand new plan.

It’s a small adjustment.

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