Why Your "Why" So Important.

One of the best ways to truly understand something isn’t just to learn—it’s to teach.

This applies not only to skills but also to self-discovery.

That’s why working with psychologists can be so effective—even though, in reality, it’s mostly just you talking to yourself.

But you don’t need a psychologist to gain insights.

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Recently, I had the chance to talk with some incredible entrepreneurs and marketers.

One of those conversations was with the brilliant business consultant, Atlas.

It was just a friendly chat to get to know each other better and find common ground.

I didn’t say anything new—not about myself, not about my business, not about my goals.

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And yet, sometime later, it hit me.

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I didn’t just reconnect with my Why—I understood why it is the way it is.

And once you get that, your next steps become much clearer.

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The Start of the Journey

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21 years ago, when I was starting out as an entrepreneur, there were no social networks, no freelance platforms, no AI tools.

Even the internet was still dial-up.

The only real way to reach international clients was to build your own website.

Back then, just posting a couple of links on aggregator sites was enough—the leads would start coming in automatically.

That’s how I ended up creating a CMS to update my website.

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My First Product

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That product became the foundation of everything.

Instead of just selling website designs, I could now offer fully functional sites built on my own CMS.

At the time, I had no support team, no developers.

So I built the product to be as simple and intuitive as possible—so that clients could use it without my help.

And it worked.

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If I hadn’t shifted toward the service business, I might be competing today with WordPress or Wix.

But history doesn’t do “what ifs.”

And hindsight always makes us wiser.

Eventually, I chose a stable partnership service business and guaranteed payments over the risks of building my own product.

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Returning to Myself

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While talking to Atlas about my new flagship product, I had a sudden realization:

Even though I built a successful service business, I always felt something was missing—the product side of things.

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Looking back, I see an endless series of attempts to create a product within my service business.

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I gave those attempts all sorts of justifications:

• A stable additional revenue stream.
• A marketing tool to attract clients.

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But in reality, it was something deeper—a personal calling.

Over 20 years, I poured enormous amounts of money, effort, and energy into these experiments.

And the list was wild:

• Mobile games.
• Comics.
• Animated greeting cards.
• A "smart desk lamp"—a couple of years before Alexa even existed.

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And the most interesting part?

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‍Many of these projects could have turned into successful standalone businesses.

Looking at what products took off then—and what’s thriving today—I can clearly see the potential was there.

Yet none of them became a full-fledged product.

Not one of them paid off.

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‍The Harsh Truth

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‍To make a product successful, you have to dedicate yourself to it completely.

Especially back when building software required large, expensive teams.

In a service business, every employee who isn’t working on a client project is essentially a loss.

So whenever a new client order came in, developers were pulled off internal projects.

When those projects ended, they came back—but without enthusiasm.

For most of them, internal products were just filler work between client tasks.

Yet, we did manage to create one truly successful product.

For ourselves.

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‍The Best Idea Validation? Solving Your Own Pain

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‍As our company grew, the team expanded, and we opened new locations, it became critical to:

• Maintain control and oversight.
• Keep service quality consistent.
• Automate increasingly complex operations.

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And that’s how our internal business management system was born.It covered every aspect of the company:

• Hiring and recruitment.
• Internal workflows.
• Infrastructure.
• Knowledge base.
• Sales.

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It became our most successful product.

But it was built only for us.

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After my conversation with Atlas, I saw a simple yet important truth.

Through all my attempts at building products—including our management system—I was actually finding myself.

I was deeply involved in every aspect of those projects.

But only one product had my focus at all times.

Our management system.

And only now do I truly understand why.

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‍I Am a Product Person

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‍I love building products.

Solving real problems.

Yes, a service business solves problems too, but outsourcing often turns into nothing more than selling "heads."

And that was killing me inside.

It drained me to see client projects always take priority (Though that’s exactly how it should be in a service business.).

Hated that I couldn’t just say "no"—because making money right now mattered more.

Eventually, I burned out from my own business.

Once the system was running smoothly, I wasn’t really needed anymore.

So I started looking for something for myself.

Games.

Comics.

New ways to motivate the team.

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But none of it excited me.

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At the same time, I felt stuck—dependent on the business.

Now, as I build my own product, I keep hearing the same thing from different people:

"Your eyes light up when you talk about this."

It took me three years, a fortune, and a lot of stress to understand one simple truth.

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A Founder Must Know Their WHY

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And their true inner drive.

If service excites you—build a service.

If creating products is your passion—don’t trade it for quick cash.

I realized this quite late.

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You can build a successful business without knowing yourself.

But you might lose your mind in the process.

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‍Disclaimer.

Every business has its nuances, and every founder has their unique context and resources. Whether or not my advice applies depends on your situation, experience, and needs. But one thing is universal—use your brain.

Think about how to apply the advice in your context before acting.

Your way.