The Power of Purpose: Navigating Uncertain Times

When the pandemic first hit, many businesses panicked. At Parkeo, on the other hand, we got a call that changed everything. A logistics company urgently needed space for their e-commerce delivery operations. But they weren’t looking for just any parking lot — they needed a tailored solution. That’s when we realized our real value wasn’t just renting out empty spaces, but actually solving problems.

That shift in mindset made all the difference. Later, a tech company approached us looking for parking for their urban mapping fleet. Instead of just offering them a spot, we dug deeper: What did they actually need? Security? A central location? Flexible access? After some searching, we secured a space in a hotel undergoing renovations. It was a perfect match: the hotel earned extra income, and our client got exactly what they needed.

Over time, we started to see a clear pattern:

1) People Don’t Want Products — They Want Solutions

The moment we stopped talking about “available spaces” and started asking, “What problem are you trying to solve?”, our conversations changed completely.

2) Underutilized Assets Are Hidden Opportunities

That hotel had an entire empty floor sitting unused. Without our intervention, it would’ve stayed that way for months.

3) A Clear Purpose Makes You More Agile

When your “why” is solid, making decisions becomes faster and more consistent.

4) Flexibility Is a Silent Superpower

Here’s what most people miss: Your core business is just a starting point. As a founder and business developer, I’ve learned to:

• Adapt the model, not the mission: We stayed committed to optimizing urban spaces, but how we did it changed dramatically, from parking to hybrid logistics hubs.
   

• Find unexpected adjacencies: When traditional parking demand plummeted, we noticed multiple clients needed the same unusual thing: covered, secure spaces for specialty vehicles. That became a new revenue stream.
   

• Know when to let go: We scrapped two “perfectly good” services because they didn’t solve urgent, pandemic-era problems.
   

The big lesson? In times of uncertainty, hold onto your purpose like a compass, but be ready to redraw the map. Our best opportunities came from saying “Yes, and…” to needs that initially seemed outside our scope.

And this lesson isn’t just for us. The next time your business faces a crisis, ask yourself:

• What specific problem do we actually solve?

• What underutilized resources do we already have?

• What adjacent needs could we address without losing our core identity?
   

Purpose isn’t just a fancy tagline, it’s what helps you see opportunities that others miss. For us, it meant realizing we weren’t really in the parking business, but in the urban space optimization business. That small distinction changed everything.

Looking back, the businesses that thrived had one thing in common: they kept their purpose rock solid but stayed flexible in their execution.

In a world where uncertainty is the only constant, that might just be the most sustainable advantage there is.

Key Takeaways

✅ Purpose turns obstacles into opportunities
✅ Every industry has hidden, underutilized assets
✅ Flexibility in execution ≠ compromising your vision
✅ The right questions uncover unmet needs

What adjacent problems is your business uniquely positioned to solve? Your next big opportunity might be hiding in plain sight.