WARNING to Overly Optimistic Entrepreneurs: The Desperate Phase

There’s a phase in every entrepreneur's journey that nobody wants to talk about—but it’s real. It’s raw. It’s brutal. I call it the desperate mode.

I went through this after my second company crashed and burned. I was drowning in debt, tied to a huge office lease, and paying salaries to a team of programmers—without any incoming revenue. That’s when I hit desperate mode.

I believe every entrepreneur starts with big dreams. No one dreams small. We’re naturally big thinkers. But here’s the problem: the same optimism that fuels our ambitions often blinds us from the brutal reality of business.

Being optimistic gets you dreaming. Being realistic gets you to tomorrow.

Optimism Without Realism Is Dangerous

Let me be honest—being optimistic is powerful. It gives you the courage to build something massive. But if you can’t survive today, you’ll never reach that big dream. If you don’t have the cash to pay your team tomorrow, no matter how bold your vision is, your business is at risk.

I learned this the hard way. In my first three businesses, I was too focused on my dreams and not focused enough on my bottom line. I ignored the daily struggles—like salaries, bills, and operational problems—thinking everything would “work itself out.”

But guess what? If your daily bottom line doesn’t meet your daily responsibilities, your future will never happen. You’ll wake up one day to find the foundation of your business already crumbled.

That’s when desperation kicks in. And desperation kills creativity. It makes you lie—white lies at first—just to survive another day. You stop thinking clearly, you chase short-term cash instead of long-term value, and you lose the vision you once had.

Don’t Ignore the Bottom Line

If your business is doing well right now, then yes, dream big. Look forward. Focus on the future. That’s our job as entrepreneurs. But when you're struggling to survive today—when bills are due and cash is tight—that's not the time to dream. That’s the time to act.

The desperate phase comes when you keep ignoring your daily business realities. You delay hard decisions. You cover cracks with hope instead of solutions. And eventually, it all collapses.

In desperation, entrepreneurs become unfocused. They switch directions impulsively just to make quick cash. But that shift disrupts everything you've been building. Your plans, your systems, your team—they all suffer.

I made this mistake too. I spent years focusing on big goals, ignoring the “boring” parts of business—like budgeting, checking expenses, and day-to-day management. I thought optimism would be enough. It wasn’t.

Big Dreams, Small Steps

Here’s the truth: there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, but live small. Keep your expenses low. Pay attention to your cash flow. Check your numbers, even when it’s uncomfortable. Handle the “boring stuff,” because that’s what keeps your business alive.

I believe optimistic entrepreneurs have the greatest potential to change the Philippines. But if we forget the importance of realism—of staying grounded—we risk losing everything we've built.

And I don’t ever want to go back to that desperate mode again.

Because when you're desperate, your decisions become unethical, your creativity disappears, and peace leaves your heart. It’s a dark place. It’s not good for you, your team, or your dream.

The Key: Balance the Present and the Future

Desperation isn’t always avoidable. But it is manageable—if we face reality every day, while still keeping our eyes on the future. Don’t focus on just one.

So my advice to all the big thinkers out there: it’s okay to start small. It’s okay if your first steps feel “pointless” or insignificant. What’s not okay is doing nothing but dreaming.

Take action—small, consistent, realistic action. Because if you can’t survive today, you won’t make it to tomorrow.

Build slow. Build wisely. And never sacrifice your present in the name of a future that depends on it.