Add Real Value, or You're Just a Tax.

There are two kinds of middleman, and the market eventually tells them apart. One genuinely makes both sides better off - closes a real gap, removes real risk, saves real time. The other just stands in the way and skims, adding nothing, surviving only on the two sides not yet realising they don't need him. The first is permanent. The second is on borrowed time.

Be the first kind, always. Ask of every deal: am I making both sides richer than they'd be without me? If yes, your position is unshakeable and you can charge with a clear conscience. If no, you're a tax, and taxes get repealed the moment anyone notices. Real value is the only moat that lasts.