Why business should be built backwards

My business projections looked good on paper.  

• Monthly costs: RM25k (rental, salaries, products, utilities)

• Daily target: RM1k

• Solution: Sell 2-3 detail packages at RM600-800 each

• Can la, 2-3 only wat....

Here's what actually happened:

Customers walked in, saw my RM100 basic wash, and said "That one." My premium RM600-800 packages? Can sell, but only occasional, despite my best effort promoting them.

Reality check: 6-8 cars x RM100 = RM600-800 daily. Still RM200-400 short. Every. Single. Day.

There was a point I blamed my crew.  

• "Why you guys not upselling the premium packages?" "

• You sell three of these a day, can work less and paid more!"

I eventually realized I was looking at the wrong picture.

These guys were cleaning 6-8 cars daily to perfection. Working their asses off in the heat. Doing exactly what I hired them for - excellent car cleaning.

Upselling? Not in their job description. Not in their skillset. Not their failure. It was MINE.

I built the entire business model on hope:  

• Hope that customers would want premium packages

• May be get more margin from coating and tinting

• Hope that my crew could sell like salespeople

• Hope that math would somehow work out

The truth that took me RM60k in debt to learn:

I built my business backwards.

I took on RM25k in costs FIRST. Then tried to figure out how to sell enough to cover it. Like buying a RM500k house then figuring out how to afford the payments.

Here's what I should have done:

1. Test the market: "What will people actually buy?" Answer: RM100 car washes
2. Calculate realistic daily revenue: "How many can we serve?" Answer: 6-8 cars = RM600-800
3. Design the business: "Can I run profitably on RM800/day?" Answer: Not with RM25k overhead!

But I did it reverse. Committed to costs, then prayed for sales. That's not business. That's gambling with extra steps.

Today? Complete 180. I look at realistic daily sales FIRST. Then ask: "Can I build a profitable business around this?" If the answer is no, I don't add costs hoping for miracle upsells. I find a different model.

The business I run now?  

• Zero rental (work from home)

• Zero salaries (AI tools handle most tasks)

• Zero inventory (company hold all stocks)

My worst day? No sales, no losses. My best day? Pure profit.

No more blaming anyone for not selling enough. No more hoping customers choose the expensive option. No more backwards math that leads to debt.

Just clean, simple business logic: Revenue first. Costs second. Profit always.

Want to see exactly how I structure zero-overhead businesses? Where your worst case is breaking even, not breaking down?

Reply to this email. I'll show you my complete framework for building forward, not backwards.

Because the crew you blame today might be the only ones working properly. The real problem might be in the mirror.

Always cheering you on,

Kon