Customers saw us as a service provider, not a product company, so the transition was very hard

bro i did it like this: instead of going full product i made a hybrrid product + service model. customers buy the product but pay extra for things like approval data prep etc. this way i live in both worlds

But a question for you: did your client count increase after switching to a product? Because if you switched to product to increase margins but the client count stayed the same, total revenue hasn't changed at all. Can you explain a bit about whether your client count went up?

In this situation, give your long-term clients a plan: 'we will only offer the product within 3 months, services will end.' Some will switch to the product, some will go elsewhere. Painful but clean. Or make the product version configurable only by the customer, avoiding the service-person bottleneck.

bro you made a solid move! the service model pays most entrepreneurs but actually enslaves them. as you move to product, your freedom increases too but like keep going, youll succeed!

From a business model perspective, services revenue follows a lifecycle, while product revenue is scalable. Converting one to the other means demographic separation. Yours was a successful transition.

While explaining this, I remember my own experience... A client said 'why did you switch to product we were supporting you.' Yes, they were supporting me to chain me down. Choosing freedom is the issue then you deliver.

Noted, thanks.

let me summarize the topic, since severaal different answers were given but btw when making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

hope this helps.

Let me summarize the topic since several different answers were given. honestly cutting your own salary is a temporary tactic; if it lasts more than six months, something will break.

I've been dealing with this for a long time. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. Second-time founders don't make the same mistakes but find new ones.

Thanks for writing this, that's the right way. Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

Proven by experience.

Saved.

i completely agree. if the gap between accounts receivable and accounts payable turnover days is widening, revene won't save you.

correct me if I'm wrong.

I was thinking the same thing. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

Good luck with that.

There are three things to check when doing this. When the closure decision was made is as decisive as the decision itself.

This is my opinion I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

I'd appreciate it if you shared the outcome.

The discussion got scattered let me summarize. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say. Just leaving this note it might be useful.