In 2009, I quit my job to launch Ethercycle. Back then being a consultancy hadn't crossed my mind.
Quite the opposite, I wanted to build an ecommerce SaaS app for bike shops. A little over a year after we started, we realized that our business model was flawed. We had made ourselves too dependent on other people. At the same time, we had met a lot of people who misunderstood what we were trying to do. These new friends did, however, understand that we knew the Web, and they would often ask: "Could you maybe help with our website?" Looking at the problem rationally, it became obvious that we needed to pivot.
Startups typically need to pivot and evolve their business model over time, especially as customers start to use the product or service. In order to pivot and keep your business moving forward, set limits. If a business model isnt working, you have to set a limit on saving it.
Decide in advance, before your emotions get the best of you, how much time, money, and effort youre willing to put in to iterating a business model before accepting that it isnt working. Failure doesnt have to be scary if you embrace it early, learn from it, and move on to the next thing. The last thing you want to do is rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.