Becoming a Successful Startup, Do More of THIS and Less of THAT …
Getting up in the morning and taking action is one of those things that’s easier said than done. The alarm clock goes off, you make a half-hearted attempt to roll out of bed, but the coolness of the other side of the pillow drags you back in for another half-hour of sleep. If you’re a living, breathing human being, you’ve been here before.
No, there’s nothing wrong with sleeping in every now and again, but when complacency ceases to become less of a Saturday morning affair and starts creeping into the everyday doings of your startup, business performance will undoubtedly take a downward turn. Making matters worse, the aforementioned complacency is often masked by something every successful startup entrepreneur regularly does—thinking.
THIS – Less Thinking
In the business world, thinking can take on many forms—working through a problem with clients, brainstorming during the heart of a team meeting or helping a potential investor see the raw potential of your products and services. That said, though certainly required, one of the biggest, most double-edged aspects of brain power usage comes from an overabundance of planning. It happens all the time; admit it—you’ve been guilty of this.
Don’t get me wrong—without planning, you’re completely stuck; with too much of it, you’re chewing up the one commodity you can never get back—time. It was famous U.S. Army officer George S. Patton who once famously said, “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” While it’s unlikely Patton was speaking directly about or to startups, his words still have a great deal of application in our current day and age.
THAT – More Doing
Planning is a good activity, but by no means a great one. It’s deceptive in that time chewed up by planning almost always still produces a sense of accomplishment for the entrepreneur who participates, yet virtually no steps towards measurable success have been taken.
Do your brainstorming, strategizing and planning, but with the end in mind and a handful of smaller goals to get you there, it’s time to stop thinking and start doing. Again, if it’s perfection you’re looking for, know now that the odds of finding it are heavily stacked against you. Take immediate action, and gain more than any well-organized planning session could ever produce.
Becoming an Entrepreneur
“To be, or not to be?” isn’t only a tear-jerking question for Shakespeare enthusiasts, it’s a solid one for startup entrepreneurs struggling to take flight and do something about their potentially money-making ideas, too. As previously made mention, planning is good and doing is great, but becoming an successful, independent entrepreneur is the ultimate prize.
Conclusion
Yes, thinking has its time and place, but game-changing greats like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban didn’t become the business geniuses they are today by sitting in their respective offices, daydreaming about what the future might hold. They got up, made mistakes and took steps—many of which were small and insignificant—en route to great wealth.
I’ve said my piece; now it’s your turn to chime in—if you’ve started your own business, how were you able to overcome the comforts of overthinking, choosing instead to get to work? On the flip side of things, if the magnitude launching a startup keeps you from starting the process, what is it that’s specifically holding you back?
You know the routine—in the comments section below, start a conversation with me! Or, if you’d rather take our chat elsewhere, feel free to shoot me a quick message using Facebook, Twitter or email. Mine is a business of people. As such, when you’d like to connect, I’m more than happy to meet you halfway. Thanks for reading!
- Image Credits
- Featured Image, Pexels
