How to push through the hard times in your company

It has been a stressful few weeks.

I’m writing this blog as a mindset reflection on operating under pressure. Not just enduring, but learning through the challenges.

My goal is to become a world-class business operator. Part of that is documenting how you grow in the fire, not just after the success. I wish Chesky, Barry, and Brunson had shared more in real time at this stage. So this is me doing that.

The Situation 🫨

The Trump administration’s tariffs have dealt a significant blow to the Ecommerce ecosystem (i.e., our customers at SARAL).

Many of our brands import from China and Vietnam. With 100%+ tariffs, their COGS just doubled. That shift triggers cuts across the board: marketing budgets are slashed, teams are being laid off, and growth isn’t a focus.

Naturally, this affects SARAL. We're a platform that drives growth for brands, and growth isn't top of mind when your business is on fire due to tariffs.

On top of this, add all the usual “founder stress” on the people and finance side of the business (eg: firing a friend, taxes hurting cash flow, etc.).

This might be the hardest it's ever been. And it might get worse before it gets better.

How we’re reacting 💪

Most of the situation above is beyond our control.

But our response? 100% in our hands. The real test of a team's culture is how it operates under pressure.

Don’t blame the market

If there is one thing I hate doing as an entrepreneur, it is blaming the market for bad stuff.

While the market is real and has real effects, building resentment toward it has no advantage. The market is the market; it is our job to adapt to it.

We’re helping our brands with steep discounts to continue running programs and coming up with new strategies to help them follow a similar mindset and take advantage of the market.

In tough situations: Don’t blame the market. Work with it or around it.

Playing offense

I truly believe that offense is the best defense. We’re making aggressive moves behind the scenes to emerge stronger. The chaos is a signal, not a threat.

In tough situations: Think about the most offensive, aggressive move. How can you lean into the chaos? Consider doing that.

Strengthen the core

Amateurs cry and give up when it gets hard.

Professionals may cry, too, but KEEP PUSHING REGARDLESS. They see stress and loss as part of the game, not as a reflection of themselves.

I’ve read enough history to know that the greatest empires and the best businesses went through periods of immense pain and setback.

These are also the periods when they got stronger.

Every challenging situation is a chance to improve and work on your programs, processes, and people.

If the market is bad, we use it as an opportunity to fine-tune everything we’re doing. When the market gets better, we’ll be in a position to win on a larger scale.

In tough situations: Look for opportunities to improve your business.

Don’t forget the silver linings

We all have heard the saying.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining.

But often the silver linings aren’t apparent. As a team, we have built intentional visibility into our silver linings.

These can be small things like quick bug fixes, new sales opportunities, minor customer delight moments, or upcoming features.

Many companies have it way harder than we do. It can always be worse. Be grateful for what you have. Reinforce this to your team.

In tough situations: Ground your team in silver linings and build perspective.

Focus on the long term

I’m macro-optimistic about our space, naturally. Brands are going to want a partnership OS powering their influencer relationships. This will never not be true (at least for the next 10 years).

This tariff situation changes nothing fundamental about our vision.

We’re building towards that vision. Our focus remains on being the best OS in the market that helps our brands win. As long as we do that, we will succeed.

In tough times: Look at the macro, and keep building. Don’t stop. Build momentum.

Extract the lesson

Remember the famous saying,

This too shall pass.

Bad times don’t last. They will only last until you’ve learned the lesson they’re trying to teach you. Once you learn the lesson, you get out of the bad times.

In tough times: Ask yourself and your team, what is this trying to teach us?

Ignore the playbooks

The world is changing rapidly. Too many founders keep looking for playbooks or silver bullets.

There are no playbooks, especially in tough times.

Champions build their own playbooks. Think from first principles and create a specific playbook for your own company. Understand the problem deeply. Don’t delegate this. Dive in headfirst. Look at individual data points. Run experiments with tight feedback loops.

Then fix it with your team.

In tough times: Don’t seek playbooks, build your own.

You deserve the challenge

Know that God only gives the hardest challenges to people who can handle them. So if you’re in a tough spot, understand that (literally) God believes in you to figure it out.

If you want to be a world champion, don’t be surprised when the going gets tough. In every phase of business, you solve more complicated problems. That is why you get paid more, too.

In tough times: Know that God has faith in you. You'll figure it out.

The Mental Game 🧠

With all of that said, remember that it will still feel like shit. But don’t forget that this is what you signed up for. Quitting or complaining is not who you are. It’s not the culture you’re building.

The culture of your company is how your team operates under pressure. Coach them towards excellence.

Starting a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.

- Elon Musk

It’s brutal and beautiful. And if you show up daily, with your team, values, and a growth mindset, you’ll build a company people know of, and a team that’s unlike any other.

— YC. Over and out.