Start somewhere, anywhere
Focusing on developing the perfect idea, the perfect product, the most successful business, the greatest work of art, something that will last forever with infinite profit is not a helpful thing to focus on. If you are working on starting a business or creating something new, you really just need to start somewhere, anywhere within your ability, and start today. It is impossible to craft the perfect idea or the best business plan ever, and keeping that as a threshold to pass before beginning is only holding you back.
As articulated more simply by co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn and partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, Reid Hoffman, “if you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.”
This statement rings true for almost any business or creative pursuit you may be thinking about beginning. If you want to open an online art store, starting to publish daily sketches on Instagram or TikTok for free and opening a web store for cheap is going to get you a better chance at success than obsessing over creating your perfect first group of listings to no audience. If you want to make movies, fixating on developing the perfect script is not going to get you closer to your goals rather than collaborating with other like minded creatives in your area on unscripted short films.
Of course this is not to discount craft, time and dedication to a business or creative pursuit. If your business is deeply technical, then maybe starting today means figuring out what permit you need and making the plan to file for it. If you are making a fine wine, or growing specialty foods then don’t be casual with your craft. Maybe then begin to build your online brand in parallel, instead of after, so you have a built-in audience to launch to.
You just need to start. Figure out what you want to do, imagine your endpoint, but also think of the steps to get there. What is the smallest step you could take today to start to walk towards your goal? Once you begin to think of your goals as destinations to reach instead of something that needs to be have already been arrived to, you can begin to make your way.
