TPS #34– How to Gracefully Pivot

Hey there,

It’s Hunter, and I’m glad to have you here this Saturday.

The old saying goes, "The only constant in life is change."

This couldn't be more true in the world of business. Markets shift, customer preferences evolve, and new competitors emerge.

Sometimes, the most strategic move is to pivot — to make a fundamental change to your business model or strategy.

Most take this as a sign of doing something wrong.

But I like to think of it as doubling down on what works.

I’ll let you in on a secret.

Pivoting isn’t a sign of failure.

It's an opportunity. It's a sign that you're in tune with your environment and ready to adapt to meet your customers' needs.

But pivoting isn’t always easy. Here's how to do it gracefully:

1) Embrace a Growth Mindset: 

Pivoting can be scary.

It's natural to feel attached to your original vision, but embracing change is crucial for growth.

Start with adopting a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities and is open to learning from failure.

It won’t be easy at first.

But this is the critical first step to changing how your mind sees setbacks.

Have you ever heard of the Australian Thunderbirds?

Probably not. They went extinct 40,000 years ago.

That’s what happens when you can’t change.

This is the real word.

Adapt or die.

2) Validate Your New Direction: 

Before you pivot, do your research.

You won’t jump into a pool without confirming there is water in it.

But I constantly see people diving headfirst into a market or startup without any confirmation of demand.

Validate your new business idea just as you would a startup.

This might involve conducting market research, talking to customers, or testing your product or service on a small scale first.

If you had an ad budget for a product for $1,000…

Then If you blew it all on one campaign with 0 results, you would be out of luck.

But if you started by testing a $100 sample size.

You would have room to pivot.

I’m not saying you don’t go all in.

Just be smart about it.

3) Communicate Clearly: 

It's essential to communicate your plans to pivot with your team, investors, and customers.

I had a Spanish teacher during my freshman year of high school.

For some reason, she thought that the “immersion” theory of learning a language could apply to the classroom as well.

So during class, she only spoke Spanish.

To no surprise, we, the students, had no idea what to do or what she was talking about.

(I mean, we were just starting to learn Spanish, after all)

This is why clear communication is so important.

Explain why you're making a change and how it will benefit them in the long run.

If they still don’t understand.

That’s because you didn’t communicate clearly enough.

Which isn’t their fault, but it is now your responsibility.

4) Take It Step by Step: 

A pivot doesn't have to happen overnight.

Even though you might want it to.

When I first built my landing page to my original offer…

I was marketing personal brand services.

Obviously, that has nothing to do with what I’m doing now.

But it was an integral step in the process.

And the fact of the matter is this:

You can’t skip steps.

You can try, but as the great Hormozi once said:

“The fastest shortcut is realizing there are no shortcuts and just getting to work.”

(yes, I’m paraphrasing a bit)

5) Evaluate and Adjust: 

Finally, you've made the pivot.

(Congrats, by the way, it’s not easy)

It’s time to evaluate.

Do you see the results you expected?

If not, don't be afraid to make further adjustments.

This is the constant iteration part I never stop talking about.

Remember the story of Twitter? Before it became the social media giant, it was a podcast platform called Odeo.

But with Apple's entry into the podcasting space, Odeo had to pivot. And Twitter was born.

In business, as in life, change is inevitable.

It's how we respond to that change that determines our success.

So here's to pivot with grace and resilience.

In your corner,

Hunter.

P.S. I'd love to hear your stories about when you pivoted your business.

Reply to this email, and let's share our experiences and insights. (You ain’t the only one)

PS: Whenever you're ready, here are two-way I can help you:

1. If you're serious about improving your systems and pivoting, get all my FREE templates & ALL premium systems → Shop

2. Get more time for your family, hobbies, and what you love with best-in-class workspaces to scale your business → ProfitPilot