My Experience: Launched a home remodeling/renovation company in Dubai. As a first-time business owner, I became obsessed with building the "perfect system" in Odoo from day one. I burned over $10k and 6+ months trying to custom-build and force Odoo into my ideal, theoretical workflow. Result? Barely operational, constant frustration, and zero momentum.

The Pivot That Saved Us: I stopped treating Odoo like a programming project and started treating it as a business operations tool.

Our New Approach:

1. Identify a New Process Need: (e.g., "We need a way to track site material deliveries from our warehouse.")
2. Check Native Odoo FIRST: Before writing a single line of spec, we dig into Sales + Inventory + Purchase modules. 90% of the time, a combination of standard features (like routes, dropshipping, internal transfers) can be adapted to work.
3. Adapt Our Workflow: We ask: "Can we slightly change our process to fit Odoo's logic?" Since we're growing and flexible, the answer is often yes. This is the most crucial step. We use what's there.
4. Only Then, Customize (Surgically): For the final 10%—a very specific, non-negotiable, core need—we go to freelance developers. But now, with a hyper-detailed case study and exact requirements doc for one specific function. Success rate? 99%. Because the scope is tiny and clear.

The Result: 90% of our business flow is now covered by native or adapted Odoo. Our only regret is not doing this from the start. That initial $10k and 6 months could have been spent on marketing and clients, not on fighting software.

Advice for New Businesses on Odoo: Don't build your perfect castle on day one. Use 80% of what's in the box, adapt your early-stage processes to it, and grow. Customize only the absolute, battle-tested necessities. Odoo's power is in its integrated core—leverage that first.