When you’re down and out, looking up at a mountain in your way, sometimes the only way up is to level up.
Up the ante, raise prices, increase the fees to play in your game, put yourself up on the next level in quality and cost. You’ve got to be worth it. You can’t overcharge for bad apples and not make someone want to upset your apple cart. But, as long as you aren’t selling complete junk—and as long as you are indeed in demand—the only way forward might be up.
That’s hard to hear if you’re broke.