When Business Gets Tough, Don’t Let Your World Get Smaller

I’ve had some interesting conversations with business owners this year, and I’ll be honest, some of them have been quite concerning. Primarily because of what difficult trading conditions are doing to their confidence.

I’ve spoken to founders who are questioning their abilities, doubting decisions they’ve made and wondering whether they’re actually cut out for business anymore. People who, not so long ago, were full of ambition and excitement about what they were building are now struggling to see a way forward.

What strikes me is how quickly we internalise the problem when things aren’t going well. Sales slow down, enquiries become less consistent or customers take longer to make decisions, and our first instinct is often to ask ourselves what we’re doing wrong. We start questioning our competence, our pricing, our offers and sometimes even whether we should be in business at all.

Yet how often do we stop to consider whether the environment we’re operating in is contributing to the problem?

I’m not suggesting we blame the economy for every business challenge. Sometimes our offers need work, our marketing isn’t effective enough or we need to improve how we sell. But we also have to acknowledge that we’re operating in a very different market from the one many of us built our businesses in.

Customer expectations have changed, technology is reshaping entire industries and the cost of doing business continues to put pressure on both founders and their customers. The strategies that previously delivered consistent results may no longer be as effective.

For many founders, achieving business growth during tough economic times will require more than simply working harder. It will require us to think differently about the businesses we’re building and the opportunities we’re pursuing.

But what concerns me most is that, rather than expanding their thinking, I’m seeing too many founders do the opposite. They’re making their worlds smaller.

Why Difficult Economic Conditions Are Causing Founders to Withdraw

When business becomes more challenging, it’s understandable that founders start making more cautious decisions. They scrutinise expenses, reconsider investments and become more protective of their time and money. In many cases, that’s exactly what responsible business management requires.

The problem comes when financial caution develops into a wider retreat from anything that feels uncertain.

I’ve watched founders abandon plans they were previously excited about, withdraw from business communities and stop attending events where they might meet potential customers or collaborators. Others have begun offering increasingly significant discounts, seemingly hoping that reducing their prices will persuade people to buy.

Then there’s the self imposed isolation.

I think this is one of the most damaging responses to difficult trading conditions, particularly because it often happens so quietly. When things aren’t going well, the last thing you necessarily want to do is surround yourself with people who appear to be thriving.

You scroll through LinkedIn or Instagram and everyone seems to be celebrating another record-breaking month, announcing a new launch or sharing how brilliantly their business is performing. Meanwhile, you’re sitting there wondering why things feel so difficult for you.

But here’s what I’ve discovered from speaking to business owners this year: while things aren’t terrible for everyone, they certainly haven’t been brilliant for everyone either.

There are founders doing well, of course, but there are also plenty navigating slower sales, changing customer behaviour and difficult decisions. Some are talking openly about it, while others are maintaining the appearance that everything is fine.

The trouble with that silence is that it reinforces the belief that you’re the only person struggling.

When you start believing that, you become less likely to ask for help, share your challenges or put yourself in situations where you might discover something useful.

You lose access to different perspectives, honest conversations, potential partnerships and information about what’s actually happening in the market. You may also miss opportunities that could make a meaningful difference to your business.

I’m not suggesting that attending a networking event will magically solve your cash flow problems. But withdrawing from your business community at the very moment you need fresh ideas and relationships is unlikely to improve your position.

There is a difference between protecting your resources and allowing fear to dictate your decisions. Founders need to recognise when they’ve crossed that line.

Rethinking Your Business Growth Strategy Instead of Discounting Your Value

Another response I’ve noticed is how quickly founders turn to discounting when sales become more difficult.

An offer that previously sold at £2,000 suddenly becomes £1,500. When that doesn’t generate the expected response, the price drops again. Before long, the founder is delivering almost the same amount of work for considerably less money, often without understanding why customers weren’t buying in the first place.

But what if price isn’t the problem?

Maybe your customers have different priorities now, or the challenge your offer addresses isn’t as urgent as it once was. Maybe your service is still valuable, but you’re communicating that value in a way that no longer resonates. It’s also possible that your traditional customer base is under greater financial pressure, while another audience would see your offer as a worthwhile investment.

These are different commercial problems, and they require different solutions.

This is why I believe business resilience has to involve a willingness to question the assumptions behind our existing business models. We need to examine whether our offers, audiences, messaging and delivery methods are still appropriate for the environment we’re operating in.

I explored this in more detail in my previous article, Your Business Model Might Be Expiring. Is It Time to Admit It?

The point isn’t that everything you’ve built is suddenly wrong. It’s that what worked before may need to evolve, and there is no benefit in remaining attached to a strategy simply because it was successful in the past.

Before you reduce your prices, investigate what’s changed. Speak to your customers, understand their current priorities and find out what they’re willing to invest in. Look at which offers are still generating demand and which are becoming more difficult to sell.

The answers might reveal that you need to reposition an existing service, change your messaging, introduce a different delivery model or target a new customer group.

Sometimes, they might reveal something even more interesting: that your next opportunity isn’t necessarily in the market you’re currently serving.

Could Exploring New Markets Create Your Next Business Opportunity?

One of the questions I’ve been encouraging founders to consider is whether they’ve become too dependent on their existing market.

Many of us build businesses around the people, industries and geographical areas we know best. That makes sense when we’re starting out, because familiarity gives us an advantage. We understand the customers, we have relevant relationships and we know how things work.

But that familiarity can also limit our thinking.

We become so accustomed to the opportunities and challenges within our immediate environment that we start treating them as though they’re universal.

If customers in our current market are reluctant to invest, we assume customers everywhere are reluctant to invest. If demand for a particular service has slowed, we begin questioning whether there’s a future for that service at all.

But different markets have different needs, priorities and stages of development. An offer that is struggling to gain traction in one environment could potentially address a significant gap in another.

That doesn’t mean international expansion is the right move for every founder. Entering a new market brings its own risks, from regulation and cultural differences to customer acquisition and delivery costs. A struggling business won’t necessarily become successful simply because it starts operating in another country.

However, exploring new markets doesn’t have to mean immediately establishing an overseas operation.

It can begin with research, conversations and relationships. You might discover opportunities to collaborate with international businesses, serve a different audience remotely or introduce an innovation you’ve encountered elsewhere into your existing market.

Sometimes the value isn’t in expanding geographically at all. It’s in gaining a perspective that helps you improve what you’re already doing.

That’s why I think founders need to become much more intentional about the people they’re speaking to and the environments they’re exposing themselves to.

When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with someone operating in a completely different market? When did you last ask another founder what’s working for them, rather than relying entirely on your own experience?

In my experience, people are often far more willing to share insights than we assume. But those conversations require us to be curious, open and willing to step outside our usual circles.

Why Kenya Is a Market UK Founders Should Be Paying Attention To

This thinking is one of the reasons I’ve become increasingly interested in opportunities beyond the UK, particularly in Kenya.

Kenya has earned the nickname Silicon Savannah because of its growing technology and innovation ecosystem. But its potential extends beyond technology alone, with opportunities and investment activity across areas including digital infrastructure, financial services, renewable energy and other developing sectors.

There are credible economic reasons to pay attention. According to the World Bank’s October 2026 outlook, Kenya’s economy is forecast to grow by 4.6% in 2026. Kenya’s official investment promotion agency, InvestKenya, also identifies digital infrastructure, fintech and renewable energy as areas of investment interest.

Of course, these figures don’t mean Kenya is without challenges. Like any market, it has economic pressures, regulatory considerations and risks that need to be understood. Growth at a national level doesn’t automatically translate into commercial opportunities for every business. But I think that makes a stronger case for exploring the market properly, rather than relying on assumptions.

Beyond the economic indicators, something that has stood out to me through my own experiences of Kenya is the openness of the people I’ve encountered. I’ve found people willing to have honest conversations, share perspectives and explore ideas about business and what might be possible.

For a founder interested in growth, that kind of access can be incredibly valuable.

We have more information available to us than ever before. We can research international markets online, study economic reports and use AI to investigate emerging sectors. Those tools are useful, and I encourage founders to make the most of them.

But there is still something different about being physically present in a market, meeting the people operating within it and asking questions that help you understand the reality behind the headlines.

You gain context that a report may not provide. You encounter perspectives that challenge your assumptions, and you may identify potential collaborators or opportunities that weren’t previously on your radar.

Even if you ultimately decide that international expansion isn’t right for your business, the experience of understanding a different market could influence how you approach your existing one.

For me, that’s a worthwhile reason to explore.

Why Changing Your Environment Can Change Your Business Perspective

There’s another reason I believe founders benefit from stepping outside their usual environments, and it has less to do with international expansion than with the way we make decisions.

Running a business can become incredibly consuming. Between client delivery, sales, marketing, team responsibilities and managing cash flow, there is always something requiring your attention.

It’s easy to spend an entire year responding to immediate demands without creating meaningful space to think about the longer-term direction of your business.

You might be working harder than ever, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making the decisions that will create better results in 12 months.

Sometimes you need distance from the day-to-day demands of running your business to recognise what’s no longer working. You need the opportunity to consider which parts of your business you want to develop, which opportunities are worth pursuing and which activities you need to leave behind.

Being around other ambitious founders can also change the quality of those conversations. You hear how other people are responding to challenges, discover approaches you hadn’t considered and begin questioning assumptions you’ve carried for years.

That combination of new relationships, fresh information and dedicated thinking time is incredibly valuable, particularly when you’ve spent months feeling stuck in survival mode.

It’s also a significant part of the thinking behind the Big Boss Retreat in Kenya.

I want founders to have the opportunity to explore a different business environment, meet new people and engage in conversations about potential collaborations, partnerships and investment opportunities.

But I also want them to have the space to consider what they actually need to do over the next 12 months.

Not just what they want their revenue to be, but what needs to change in their strategy, their business model, their relationships and the way they operate.

The retreat isn’t about promising that every founder will return with an international deal or a completely transformed business. It’s about creating access to people, experiences and perspectives that could inform their next decisions.

For founders who have spent much of this year dealing with uncertainty, I think that opportunity to look beyond their immediate circumstances could be particularly valuable.

Explore the Big Boss Retreat in Kenya

Don’t Let Difficult Times Convince You to Think Small

I know that business feels difficult for a lot of people right now, and I don’t want to minimise the reality of that. There are genuine economic pressures, and not every challenge can be resolved through a change in mindset or a more positive attitude.

But I also don’t want to see talented, capable founders spend the next year questioning their worth, abandoning their ambitions and gradually disconnecting from the people and opportunities that could help them move forward.

If your business isn’t performing the way you want it to, take an honest look at what’s happening. Examine your offers, your customers and your strategy. Be prepared to acknowledge where you need to improve, but don’t automatically assume that every difficulty is a reflection of your ability.

Pay attention to what’s changing around you, strengthen your relationships and start asking questions beyond your existing network. Explore different markets, industries and ways of doing business, even if you don’t yet know where those conversations might lead.

Most importantly, don’t allow the challenges of your current environment to determine the limits of your ambition.

The market might be difficult, and your existing strategy might need to change. But neither of those things means your possibilities have disappeared.

Sometimes the next chapter of your business begins when you stop looking for every answer in the same places you’ve always looked.