Key points

• It is day three since I set a goal to grow my service to a value of KRW 10 billion and sell it within 20 months.
• I think I became so focused on keeping the business going that I lost sight of why I had started it.
• Today, I thought about the principles I want to follow in running my business. Through a conversation with ChatGPT, I narrowed them down to three: value, growth, and sustainability.
• From here on, I want to look at whether my service is useful to customers, how quickly it is growing in the market, and whether I can keep that growth going.

This morning, on my way to a meeting, I watched Toss CEO Seunggun Lee’s talk (in Korean) again. I had seen it several times before, but today, the word “growth” struck me.

It is day three since I set a goal to grow my service to a value of KRW 10 billion and sell it within 20 months. Setting that goal has made me look back at what I have overlooked in running my business. I wondered why, after so many years, I still had not built a sound business model.

Whenever results failed to materialize and the numbers got worse, I was caught up in solving the problems right in front of me. If I could just get through this, things would be fine. An organization would soon have a contract project for me. A better opportunity would come along. I spent a long time hanging on, waiting for the next job.

I had not paid enough attention to how much I was helping customers solve their problems, or whether that was leading to business growth. I think I became so focused on keeping the business going that I lost sight of why I had started it.

Today, I thought about the principles I want to follow in running my business. Through a conversation with ChatGPT, I narrowed them down to three: value, growth, and sustainability.

First is value. I want the service I build to be useful to customers. I do not want to create yet another service they do not need. My priority is to see whether my work solves a problem in the market and helps customers.

Second is growth. Just because something has value does not mean people will pay to use it. Customers need to choose the service I believe is useful, and those choices need to produce business results. I need to see whether the market recognizes that value and is willing to pay for it.

This goal has a 20-month deadline. To build KRW 10 billion in value in the roughly 600 days remaining, the pace of growth matters too. Rather than settling for a vague sense that things are improving, I want to check whether the business is actually growing.

Third is sustainability. Right now, I am working hard on my own, but hiring people and putting the necessary infrastructure in place will cost money. The business needs to earn enough to cover those costs and keep operating. I will also need funds to try new things when circumstances change. To me, sustainability includes that financial breathing room.

The goal was simple: sell for KRW 10 billion. After setting it, I looked at what I had and where I stood yesterday. Today, I decided on the principles I would follow in running the business.

From here on, I want to look at whether my service is useful to customers, how quickly it is growing in the market, and whether I can keep that growth going.