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There’s a decision you’ve been sitting on. You know exactly which one — it took about half a second to think of it just now.

Maybe it’s the Tuesday stall at the George market that hasn’t covered its own table fee since March. Maybe it’s the supplier you keep meaning to move away from, or the business partner you should’ve had a straight conversation with back in autumn. You’ve been calling it “still deciding.” You’re not. You decided in March. You just decided to keep losing money on it, quietly, every week since.

That’s the part nobody warns you about with hard decisions. Stalling doesn’t buy you thinking time. It locks in the option where nothing changes — and you re-pick that option every single morning you open up.

The information you’re waiting for isn’t coming

Ask yourself what exactly you’re waiting to find out. Most founders answer with something vague — “how the season goes,” “whether things pick up,” “if he sorts himself out.” Sit with that for a second. Would any actual number change your answer? If a good July came along, would you suddenly want to keep the stall, the supplier, the partner? Be honest.

Usually not. You already know how this ends. The waiting isn’t research. It’s just putting the bad conversation somewhere you don’t have to look at it today.

Some founders genuinely are being sensible about this — this year especially, plenty of small businesses here are choosing caution on purpose. By one recent count, 84% of South African small businesses are prioritising steady stability over aggressive growth this year, according to Xero’s latest state-of-small-business report. That’s a real strategy, not an excuse.

Stability and stalling look the same from a distance

Here’s the difference. Strategic patience has an end date and a reason attached to it. “I’m waiting for my landlord’s renewal terms before I decide on the second stall” is a decision with a deadline. “I’ll sort it out when things are quieter” isn’t — because things are never quieter, and you know that too.

We did this sum a few weeks back with the client who was quietly costing more than he paid. Same trick, different disguise. The moment you can put a number or a date on what you’re waiting for, you’ll know within a minute whether you’re being patient or just avoiding the phone call.

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p class=”wp-block-paragraph”>Before you close up tonight, three honest ones:

• Say the decision out loud, in one sentence. Not the feeling around it — the actual decision.
• What would need to be true for you to act on it? If nothing would change your mind, you’ve already got your answer.
• Pick the day you’ll act. This week, not “when it’s quieter.”

You don’t have to make the call tonight. You do have to stop pretending you haven’t already made it.

Reply and tell me the decision you’ve been sitting on — I won’t tell you what to do about it, but half this club has probably been circling the same one.