We are a Calm Company
We’ve all seen the headlines: mass layoffs, entire departments dissolved overnight, aggressive hiring sprees followed by equally aggressive firings. It’s a sad pattern that seems to have become normalized, especially in certain sectors of the business world. What we’re witnessing is an intense cycle of boom and bust — VC-funded companies ballooning their teams when money flows easily and then cutting human beings loose as soon as capital dries up or market conditions tighten.
I’ve seen too many friends and colleagues experience the shock of a layoff and then enter a downward emotional spiral. The questions that arise are painfully human: “What did I do wrong?” “How will I support my family?” “Am I not good enough?” Such moments reveal the human cost of corporate decisions made primarily to satisfy short-term investor demands. These cycles cause enormous stress and emotional damage — not just to the individual laid off, but to entire teams, communities, and families.
All of this has served as a stark reminder: we need more calm companies. When I say “calm companies,” I’m talking about businesses that fundamentally operate with a different philosophy. Instead of frenzied sprints toward unrealistic growth targets, calm companies embrace sustainable, measured growth that respects both their employees and their customers. These companies understand that profits are not just a means to make shareholders happy, but a resource that helps ensure stability, fairness, and resilience.
At SEOJuice, I've embraced the calm company model from the start. I want to share what that means for you — our customers and community — and for other small business owners who might be looking for a better path.
What is a Calm Company?
A calm company begins with purpose. Instead of fixating on “growth at all costs,” a calm company asks: “What is this business for?” The answer is usually twofold. Internally, a calm company aims to improve the lives of the people working there. That might sound idealistic in a world that often measures success by quarterly earnings, but I firmly believe that if the people building the product are healthy, happy, and respected, they’ll produce far better work.
Externally, a calm company defines a purpose that serves its customers or users. For SEOJuice, that purpose is to help businesses grow their SEO sustainably, using honest, long-term SEO strategies rather than shortcuts or black-hat tactics.
At its core, a calm company is profitable — but not in the frantic, erratic way that some startups chase profitability or exit strategies.
Profits in a calm company are like the fertile soil in a well-tended garden. They’re not the end goal in themselves; they’re what gives the company stability. When a company is profitable with good margins, it doesn’t have to live from fundraising round to fundraising round. It doesn’t have to make panic-stricken decisions when an investor’s sentiment shifts. It doesn’t need to slash jobs to appease the market. It can deal with slow seasons, economic downturns, or unexpected challenges without immediately resorting to layoffs or other drastic measures.
This stable financial foundation also creates breathing room. Calm companies can think ahead. They can say “no” to opportunities that don’t align with their values. They can avoid signing complicated enterprise contracts that would force them to hire a flurry of new staff, add layers of compliance, and ultimately produce a stressful environment. In other words, calm companies have the luxury of choice. It also give me the choice of clients. Who do I want to work with? A calm company is not backed into a corner by desperate circumstances. With that choice comes a more deliberate culture and more thoughtful decision-making.
I don't have any investors, and I'm picky about the clients that I work with. I'm building a business with peace of mind as the main driving force. Sadly, that means SEOJuice is not for everyone. When I started, the first 6 months, 80% of my support time went to the 20% of the most annoying customers, who I've eventually said no to, and fully refunded. Earning more money is not worth it for me.
Why Does This Matter to You as a Customer?
If you are a customer of SEOJuice or any calm company, you’ll experience a more human-centric approach to product development and long-term collaborations. Rather than seeing sudden pivots or erratic changes, you’ll notice consistent improvements, steady feature rollouts, and honest communication. I won’t promise you “overnight SEO success” because, quite frankly, that’s not how it works. We know search engines move slowly, like enormous ocean liners that can’t be turned on a dime. Achieving high rankings and sustainable traffic takes time, patience, and quality content.
In a calm company, we focus on giving you long-term value. We’re not panicking about hitting artificially inflated growth targets or forced to push out half-baked products just to impress a board or a VC fund. Instead, we invest our time in truly understanding your needs, refining our tools, and providing genuinely useful insights that will serve your business year after year.
When market conditions change, we don’t rush to implement hasty cuts that disrupt your service. Instead, we rely on the stability we’ve built up to continue serving you consistently. Over time, you’ll gain more trust in us as a partner who won’t vanish at the first sign of trouble.
A Model Worth Considering
To other small business owners reading this, I want to present the calm company model as a practical alternative. Let’s consider the key attributes of a calm company and how you might incorporate them into your own business:
| Key Attribute | What It Means & How to Implement |
|---|---|
| Profitability with Good Margins | What It Means: Aim for healthy margins rather than chasing hyper-growth. How to Implement: Grow more slowly if needed, say “no” to unsustainable opportunities, and focus on long-term resilience. |
| Purposeful Work & Meaningful Culture | What It Means: Define a clear purpose for your company that values employees as people, not just resources. How to Implement: Set core values early, treat employees with respect, encourage their input, and align decisions with these principles. |
| Freedom & Flexibility | What It Means: Provide flexibility in work schedules, location, and workload. How to Implement: Allow remote work, flexible hours, and trust employees to manage their own time, resulting in happier, more productive team members. |
| Fun & Mindfulness | What It Means: Incorporate enjoyment and deliberate decision-making into the workplace. How to Implement: Host casual team events, add playful elements to products, and evaluate new projects by how they affect team stress and values alignment. |
| Sustainable Growth Over Frenzied Scaling | What It Means: Grow at a steady, manageable pace rather than chasing rapid, risky expansions. How to Implement: Focus on product-market fit, maintain stable margins, and scale only when it makes sense to ensure long-term agility and health. |
Hustle Culture is Toxic
To fully appreciate the calm approach, let’s consider the opposite: the hustle company. Such companies often start with a “growth at all costs” mindset. Fueled by external investment, they hire aggressively and set unrealistic goals. Managers work under constant pressure, and that stress trickles down to every employee. Work-life boundaries blur. People start feeling guilty for not answering Slack messages at 10 pm. Rushed deadlines lead to compromised quality. Instead of thoughtful strategy, decisions are made in panic mode.
Such companies might appear successful for a time, especially if they manage to secure multiple rounds of funding. But underneath the glittering facade, the fundamentals are often weak. When the market cools, or investors lose confidence, the whole structure teeters. The result? Layoffs, uncertainty, and shattered morale. Also Burnout. The very people who helped build the company get tossed aside in an effort to keep the ship afloat just a little longer.
Customers of frenzied companies also suffer. When priorities shift abruptly, product quality can drop. Features get abandoned half-built. Support lines become less responsive. The initial promises made to customers go unfulfilled because internal chaos prevents consistent delivery. In the long run, this erodes brand trust and hurts everyone involved.
As we chart the path forward for SEOJuice, we’re grateful to have you with us. Your trust allows us to stay calm, choose sustainable options, and remain dedicated to our purpose. We hope our journey demonstrates what’s possible when a company rejects frenetic chaos and embraces intentional, value-driven growth. Together, we can influence a shift toward calmer, healthier ecosystems in business — ones where success isn’t measured just by financial metrics, but by the genuine good we do for everyone involved.
Thank you for your support, your patience, and your belief in a better way.
Warmly,
Vadim