Inflated bubbles burst
When I started University, I was impressed at how often some people had things to say in class. As I started really listening and getting to know the people, I realized that the loudest voices were rarely the wisest voices.
I wouldn’t have thought that this stayed pass University but, turns out, the market is also like that. Some people and businesses we hear about, others we don’t.
But, there’s only 2 main types of people who can really talk about you: peers (colleagues, reviewers, etc) and customers.
Although it’s always great when peers recognize the value and quality of your work, if customers don’t talk (or care) about you, your bubble will burst.
Many businesses focus on the wrong things (how much money a peer gave them, industry reviews, etc) but, even if that helps, you can be successful without peer approval but cannot without customer approval.
Focus on the right things, inflated bubbles eventually burst.