| I think you will want to consider it as more than just an issue of arrogance. You're showing your hand to your competitors (or potential competitors) as well as potential employees, etc. etc. It's fine to share the details with some close confidants, if you feel it will help you and them. But are the numbers at this stage really as valuable as you think?
From the info you've given, you're talking a gross margin of just over $100k last year. That is nice as a young person bootstrapping a start-up with only two employees. It isn't great as a business, depending on what you want it to be. If your goal is to run a lifestyle business, than why share the details of your revenue and margins? That seems to me to be completely about ego. How will knowing your revenue and margins enable somebody to help your business? I suspect if you just told them about what you're doing, you'd still get similar feedback and ideas about how to improve or grow your business. If you're looking to create a large company from your start-up, you've got a long way to go. Your current revenues need to triple or quadruple. You need to grow exponentially. The info you're sharing, in this case, just lets everybody know how far you have to go, and could put doubts into if you'll actually make it. By all means talk about your business, but be smart about what you share, and with whom. As a test, see what sort of response you get when you stop mentioning revenues and margins to people. Do you feel they are giving you less feedback? Or less valuable feedback? Do you feel that by mentioning the numbers to everybody in sight, it makes you feel better about what you're doing, rather than the effect it is having on them? Do some A/B testing on yourself and see what happens. Out of curiosity, what made you post this question? Maybe the answer to your question is in that alone. |