Starting a business changes the way you see the world. Suddenly every store, every ad, every restaurant visit becomes research. But here’s the twist — most founders spend so much time in the kitchen, they forget to sit at the table. They obsess over building, tweaking, and selling, yet never truly live the customer’s experience of their own business.
That’s a mistake. If you’ve never eaten at your own restaurant, read your own book, taken your own course, or bought from your own store, you’re flying blind. You’re operating with assumptions instead of reality. And assumptions don’t build loyalty — experiences do.
The truth is simple: founders who walk in their customers’ shoes spot problems faster, improve what actually matters, and build businesses that people want to come back to.
Why Founders Rarely See Their Business Like Customers Do
Most entrepreneurs live in the back office — not the storefront. They focus on inventory, margins, suppliers, and marketing, while customers live in an entirely different universe. Customers don’t care how you got the product, they care how it feels when they use it.
There are three main reasons founders rarely see what customers see:
- Insider bias. You know too much. You can’t unsee the work behind the curtain, so you forget how confusing things look from the outside.
- Operational tunnel vision. You’re focused on keeping the machine running, not noticing how the machine feels to those riding it.
- Feedback filters. You rely on what customers say, but customers don’t always tell the full truth. Some hold back, others exaggerate.
The only way to cut through the fog is to live the experience yourself.
Eating at Your Own Restaurant: The Power of Lived Experience
The restaurant analogy is timeless. Imagine a chef who never tastes their food. They might follow the recipe perfectly, but without tasting, they’d never know the seasoning is off or the dish arrives cold.
Business works the same way. Reading a customer survey is not the same as being the customer. When you eat at your own restaurant:
- You notice the wait time.
- You feel the atmosphere.
- You experience the service.
- You taste the food as it truly arrives.
No spreadsheet can capture that level of detail.
The Digital Parallel: Taking Your Own Course
This principle isn’t limited to physical businesses. Digital entrepreneurs fall into the same trap. A course creator builds lessons, uploads modules, and launches — but do they ever take the course themselves?
Walking through it as a student might reveal:
- Confusing navigation between modules.
- Broken links.
- Audio that sounds fine in editing but harsh through earbuds.
- Lessons that drag longer than a normal attention span can handle.
Every flaw is magnified when you step into the customer’s role.
The Blind Spots You’ll Only See as a Customer
When you buy, use, and experience your business like an outsider, you uncover truths you’d never catch otherwise:
- Hidden friction. Is checkout smooth, or do customers fight with your cart system?
- Product reality. Does your packaging survive shipping intact, or do items arrive beat up?
- Service consistency. Do employees treat you the same way they treat strangers?
- Communication tone. Do your emails sound welcoming or robotic?
These aren’t abstract details — they’re deal-breakers that determine whether customers stick or churn.
How to “Walk in Their Shoes” the Right Way
It’s not enough to casually glance at your own website or order a product once. You need a deliberate system for stepping into the customer’s perspective.
Step 1: Secret Shop Yourself
Buy from your business like any stranger would. Don’t tip off staff or use insider shortcuts. Pay, wait, and experience it all.
Step 2: Document the Journey
Keep notes on every step. Was the website intuitive? How long did shipping take? What did the packaging look like when it arrived? Did the confirmation emails make sense?
Step 3: Compare Expectation vs. Reality
Think like a new customer: were your expectations met or missed? Where did the experience delight you, and where did it disappoint?
Step 4: Share Findings With Your Team
If you uncover friction points, don’t hide them. Share with your team and brainstorm fixes. Show them you’re willing to hold yourself accountable, too.
Step 5: Repeat Regularly
Customer experience shifts as your business grows. Test again every quarter to ensure improvements hold up.
Why This Creates Trust and Loyalty
Customers can tell when a founder actually lives their own product. It shows up in the details — the smooth checkout flow, the friendly follow-up email, the way the service just works without hassle.
By walking in their shoes, you demonstrate empathy. You’re not just selling to them; you’re standing with them. That’s the foundation of brand loyalty.
Real-World Example: The Bookstore Founder
Consider a founder who launched an indie bookstore. Sales trickled in, but complaints about “long waits” kept appearing. He brushed them off, thinking people just didn’t understand supply chains. One day, he placed an order himself.
It took 14 days to arrive. No updates, no tracking, no communication. Suddenly, the feedback wasn’t abstract — it was his lived reality. Within a month, he fixed the supplier system and added proactive email updates. Complaints dropped, and sales jumped.
The shift came not from a spreadsheet, but from sitting in the customer’s seat.
When Founders Avoid This Step, Businesses Suffer
Skipping this process creates blind spots that compound over time:
- Customers feel unheard.
- Quality issues go unnoticed until reviews pile up.
- Systems break quietly until they implode.
- Growth stalls because nobody notices what’s broken at the ground level.
You can’t manage what you don’t experience.
Why Founders Must Lead by Example
When you walk in your customer’s shoes, you’re not just improving the business — you’re setting a cultural standard. Your team sees that details matter, that empathy matters, and that leadership isn’t about hiding in the office but experiencing the front lines.
If the founder takes the time to experience the business, it signals to everyone else that the customer’s perspective is non-negotiable.
Every entrepreneur thinks they understand their customer. But until you live the experience yourself, you don’t. Walking in their shoes isn’t a luxury — it’s survival. The founders who thrive aren’t the ones who guess; they’re the ones who taste, test, and feel what their customers do.
If you want to build a business that doesn’t just run but resonates, it starts here. And if you’re ready for the blueprint to scale that business into lasting success, dive into THE PLAN — your step-by-step guide to building something that works for you and your customers alike.
