Most business planning is optimistic. You write down what you hope will happen. You build the best case. You focus on the upside.
The premortem does the opposite. And it is one of the most useful things you can do before you start.
Here is how it works: you imagine that it is twelve months from now. Your business has failed. Not limped along — actually failed. And your only job now is to figure out why.
This sounds bleak. It is not. It is one of the most honest and practical planning tools there is, because it forces you to look at the real risks before they become real problems — when you can still do something about them.
**The most common answers, when people do this exercise:**
I ran out of money before I had enough customers. I lost motivation when it got hard and nobody noticed. I underpriced everything and burned out. I didn't market consistently — I posted a lot at the start and then disappeared. A family emergency derailed me and I never got back on track. The market wasn't actually there the way I thought it was. A competitor was cheaper and I hadn't thought about how to differentiate myself.
Now: for each of those, what could you have done in the first month to prevent it?
A small emergency fund before you launch. A clear plan for what you do when motivation dips — because it will. A pricing model you have actually run the numbers on. A content schedule you can realistically maintain. A backup plan for the months life happens.
These are not complicated solutions. They are just things most people do not think about until it is too late.
**Three warnings I will also give you here, because I wish someone had given them to me:**
The people around you. Not everyone will be excited. Some will give you bad advice dressed up as concern. Some are afraid that if you succeed, something shifts. Learn to tell the difference between genuinely useful feedback and fear wearing the costume of wisdom.
Talking too much before you do. There is research showing that talking about a goal gives your brain a similar reward to achieving it — which means you can feel like you have done something when you have not. Tell fewer people. Do more. Show results, not plans.
Scaling too fast. The most common cause of small business failure is not a bad product. It is growing before the foundation is solid. Serve ten customers beautifully before you chase a hundred. Get your systems right. Understand your numbers. Then grow.
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None of this is meant to scare you. It is meant to make you unscary to yourself.
You have done the thinking. You know your ikigai. You have your pricing. You have your tools. You have looked at what could go wrong and you have thought about what to do if it does.
You are ready.
The only thing left is to begin.
*La dolce vita is not a destination. It is a decision you make today, with what you have, wherever you are.*
*— Lizzy*
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*This series is part of the Grow With Me Entrepreneurial Starter Course. If you want to do the full course in person, get in touch.*