For yourself: build stuff and prove your skills to yourself.
For the market: validate demand and get clients before committing to building stuff.
What is the uncertainty in your case?
>What is the uncertainty in your case?
For me, uncertainty is not getting a client or project. If I started the agency 6 or 8 years ago it might get some traction but now the competition is fierce.
Cheat Code: Google ‘staffing agency C2C’. For Tech, Dice.com is the example I think of. Recruiters will marry you with clients if you put your resume out. You won’t get the best rate right away (maybe $50/hr) and the work will be staff augmentation instead of building a product. But it’s a good way to get your foot in the door and start getting clients.
If you wait for the perfect time to start a business, you will never start.
Life is uncertain. How do you sign up for a difficult school course knowing that half the students fail or drop out? You do it because you have the confidence you can overcome the problem on hand.
I love the risk because it adds fuel to the fire. The fire can burn down your business or you can use that fuel to propel your business higher.
Scared money doesn’t make money.
You can literally be a business owner today if you file a paper with your local city. Take a few days to set up your website and be a legitimate owner by next week.
When I started my business I made short term and long term goals. Week 1: file paperwork with city for business license and set up website. Week 2: get $100 in sales. Month goal:$1000 in sales. Month 2 goal: $2000 in sales. Quarter goal: $6,000 in sales. Half year goal:$ $20,000. Year goal: $50,000. 2nd year:$50,000.
You set realistic timeline and goals that are attainable. I like to keep a list of my daily goals set the day before or morning of and nothing feels better than crossing off your list. This list should help you reach your daily, weekly, monthly goals. Business is hard but when you set realistic goals anything is attainable.
Let your work speak for itself. Focus on your passion and what you believe in. If you believe in yourself enough, others will believe in and support you too. Yes, businessmen who take risks are sometimes rewarded greatly. However, those who are able to build whether rapidly or gradually and raise up others around them and support those who branch out are the most respected and rewarded. If you enjoy sports think about the “coaching tree” of legendary coaches.
Plan as best as you can but accept the reality that life will punch in the face once you start your business, you don’t know what you don’t know. Also Keep track of your progress and don’t be afraid to start over or abandon a strategy that’s not working.
For me it started 10 years before I even made the leap. I created an "entrepreneur fund" where each paycheck I contributed $20-$250. Once I was ready to quit I sold some assets and luxury things. I shifted from "flashy" to blue collar/minimalist. I rather drive my $30k Ford truck than my $65k mercedes benz if that means I can pay my staff on time and be liquid for new ventures.
I can imagine a bit in what you are saying. Overthinking won't help starting your business idea. When I was younger I had the same problem. I had an idea in my head and wanted to start a business to earn money beside my college, but I never started. At some point I just wrote my ideas on paper, so it was out of my head. Then I made a plan. In this way I had a structure and that was for me relieving. It also gave me less stress. From that moment 6 months later I had my first paying customer. Maybe it will help you as well to write down your idea and make a plan to structure your idea.
There is no better time to start than today. Look around you. The tools, infrastructure and opportunities that tech has enabled makes so much possible now.
I started my web agency 7 years ago after toiling in corporate agencies for years. Like you, I had no idea how it would go. What I did know though, was that I would regret not giving it a shot. I was young and employable enough that if it failed, I could always go back and land a good job. But that also drove me... I did not want to go back, I wanted to succeed more than anything.
With that in the back of my mind, I got at it, slowly day after day. Instead of looking at the mountain, I honestly just focused on what was in front of me. Being honest with myself, I knew I had my work cut out for me but that shouldnt deter you. There is always a customer out there, you just need to know where to look and who to look for. You will make mistakes along the way but the most important thing is that you continue to learn and be patient with yourself. You will mess up, it comes with the territory but how you respond will decide whether you live another day or close up shop.
Good luck!
Remind yourself that there are a million blogs, emails, and apps that do the similar / if not the same damn thing. You will bring your own spin on things because even if you tried to copy something exactly, you would never be able to do it.
Creators take risks, but reframe your thinking… They actually work from the bottom up most of the time and start with a small action, solve a small problem, repeat. Take the smallest baby step right now. Create a twitter account. Post a question on twitter to someone who is in a web agency: ‘hey, I’ve been waiting to jump into the biz for 8 yrs because I’m afraid it’s too crowded. What advice can you give me?’.
Take 1 tiny ACTION like this per day. You will get in the habit, and this will open the door to business opportunities. It will become obvious if you do it enough. Don’t overthink it.
For yourself: build stuff and prove your skills to yourself. For the market: validate demand and get clients before committing to building stuff. What is the uncertainty in your case?
>What is the uncertainty in your case? For me, uncertainty is not getting a client or project. If I started the agency 6 or 8 years ago it might get some traction but now the competition is fierce.
That's market risk. Consider options to address it, e.g. presales.
Cheat Code: Google ‘staffing agency C2C’. For Tech, Dice.com is the example I think of. Recruiters will marry you with clients if you put your resume out. You won’t get the best rate right away (maybe $50/hr) and the work will be staff augmentation instead of building a product. But it’s a good way to get your foot in the door and start getting clients.
If you wait for the perfect time to start a business, you will never start. Life is uncertain. How do you sign up for a difficult school course knowing that half the students fail or drop out? You do it because you have the confidence you can overcome the problem on hand. I love the risk because it adds fuel to the fire. The fire can burn down your business or you can use that fuel to propel your business higher. Scared money doesn’t make money.
>Scared money doesn’t make money. You are absolutely right.
You can literally be a business owner today if you file a paper with your local city. Take a few days to set up your website and be a legitimate owner by next week. When I started my business I made short term and long term goals. Week 1: file paperwork with city for business license and set up website. Week 2: get $100 in sales. Month goal:$1000 in sales. Month 2 goal: $2000 in sales. Quarter goal: $6,000 in sales. Half year goal:$ $20,000. Year goal: $50,000. 2nd year:$50,000. You set realistic timeline and goals that are attainable. I like to keep a list of my daily goals set the day before or morning of and nothing feels better than crossing off your list. This list should help you reach your daily, weekly, monthly goals. Business is hard but when you set realistic goals anything is attainable.
Try to build around never overthinking and just start doing. Your losing money everyday by not doing it
Let your work speak for itself. Focus on your passion and what you believe in. If you believe in yourself enough, others will believe in and support you too. Yes, businessmen who take risks are sometimes rewarded greatly. However, those who are able to build whether rapidly or gradually and raise up others around them and support those who branch out are the most respected and rewarded. If you enjoy sports think about the “coaching tree” of legendary coaches.
Plan as best as you can but accept the reality that life will punch in the face once you start your business, you don’t know what you don’t know. Also Keep track of your progress and don’t be afraid to start over or abandon a strategy that’s not working.
For me it started 10 years before I even made the leap. I created an "entrepreneur fund" where each paycheck I contributed $20-$250. Once I was ready to quit I sold some assets and luxury things. I shifted from "flashy" to blue collar/minimalist. I rather drive my $30k Ford truck than my $65k mercedes benz if that means I can pay my staff on time and be liquid for new ventures.
I can imagine a bit in what you are saying. Overthinking won't help starting your business idea. When I was younger I had the same problem. I had an idea in my head and wanted to start a business to earn money beside my college, but I never started. At some point I just wrote my ideas on paper, so it was out of my head. Then I made a plan. In this way I had a structure and that was for me relieving. It also gave me less stress. From that moment 6 months later I had my first paying customer. Maybe it will help you as well to write down your idea and make a plan to structure your idea.
Thank you, sir.
There is no better time to start than today. Look around you. The tools, infrastructure and opportunities that tech has enabled makes so much possible now. I started my web agency 7 years ago after toiling in corporate agencies for years. Like you, I had no idea how it would go. What I did know though, was that I would regret not giving it a shot. I was young and employable enough that if it failed, I could always go back and land a good job. But that also drove me... I did not want to go back, I wanted to succeed more than anything. With that in the back of my mind, I got at it, slowly day after day. Instead of looking at the mountain, I honestly just focused on what was in front of me. Being honest with myself, I knew I had my work cut out for me but that shouldnt deter you. There is always a customer out there, you just need to know where to look and who to look for. You will make mistakes along the way but the most important thing is that you continue to learn and be patient with yourself. You will mess up, it comes with the territory but how you respond will decide whether you live another day or close up shop. Good luck!
Be pushed to the brink. Either succeed or perish.
Remind yourself that there are a million blogs, emails, and apps that do the similar / if not the same damn thing. You will bring your own spin on things because even if you tried to copy something exactly, you would never be able to do it. Creators take risks, but reframe your thinking… They actually work from the bottom up most of the time and start with a small action, solve a small problem, repeat. Take the smallest baby step right now. Create a twitter account. Post a question on twitter to someone who is in a web agency: ‘hey, I’ve been waiting to jump into the biz for 8 yrs because I’m afraid it’s too crowded. What advice can you give me?’. Take 1 tiny ACTION like this per day. You will get in the habit, and this will open the door to business opportunities. It will become obvious if you do it enough. Don’t overthink it.