How to Handle "The Dip" in Your First 90 Days

There is a very specific kind of silence that happens around Day 45 of a new project.

The initial "New Year's Resolution" energy has officially run out. Your friends and family have stopped clicking on your links out of polite curiosity. You’ve put in dozens of hours of work, but your Google Search Console looks like a flat line, and your subscriber count hasn't moved in a week.

This is The Dip.

It’s the gap between starting something new and seeing the first real signs of life. It’s the period where the work gets harder, but the rewards stay the same (or feel non-existent). Most people—probably 90% of the people who started a blog or a business at the same time as you—will quit right here.

But here is the secret: The Dip is actually your biggest competitive advantage. If it were easy to get through, everyone would do it, and your niche would be so crowded it wouldn't be worth entering. The silence is actually a filter.

Why the First 90 Days Feel So Heavy

When we start, we have "Inspiration Debt." We’re spending energy we haven't earned yet based on the dream of what the business could be. But around the two-month mark, that debt comes due. You realize that building a "Niche of One" isn't a series of viral hits; it’s a series of Tuesday mornings spent writing when you’d rather be doing anything else.

In 2026, we’ve become addicted to instant feedback. We post a photo and get "likes" in seconds. We ask an AI a question and get an answer in clicks. But a business? A business is a biological system. It needs time to grow roots before it can grow leaves. If you dig up a seed every two days to check if it’s growing, you’ll kill it.

Three Strategies to Survive the Silence

1. Stop Checking the Dashboard

In the first 90 days, your "stats" are almost entirely useless. They aren't a reflection of the quality of your work; they are a reflection of how long you've been around. Instead of tracking "Page Views" or "Revenue," track your input.

• Did I publish 2 posts this week?
• Did I send my newsletter on Friday?
• Did I spend 90 minutes in deep work today?If the answer is yes, you won the day. Period.

2. Shrink Your Horizon

When we’re in The Dip, we tend to look at the mountain peak and get overwhelmed by how far we still have to go. Don't do that. Focus on the next 10 feet. Can you just make it to next Monday? Can you just finish this one paragraph? By shrinking your horizon, you prevent the "future-tripping" that leads to burnout.

3. Find "Micro-Signals" of Success

While your big numbers might be flat, there are usually tiny signals that you're on the right track. Maybe one person replied to your email saying "This helped." Maybe a keyword you targeted finally showed up on page 8 of Google (hey, it’s better than page 100). These are your breadcrumbs. Follow them.

The Dip Survival Checklist

The Only Way Out is Through

If you’re feeling the weight of The Dip right now, I have good news: You’re right on schedule.

Every successful person you follow has sat exactly where you are sitting. They felt like a fraud, they felt like they were shouting into a void, and they seriously considered calling it quits. The only difference between them and the people you've never heard of is that they decided to write one more post.

The first 90 days aren't about making money or getting famous. They are about proving to yourself that you can show up. Once you've proven that, the growth follows naturally.

My Advice?

When you feel like quitting, commit to a "Low-Bar Week." Tell yourself you'll do the absolute minimum required to stay alive—maybe just one short post and one email. Just don't break the chain. Once you get through the next 14 days, the momentum usually starts to shift.