Here’s one concept that I have never really heard discussed.
And if you are like me and get a new idea that seems worth pursuing every single day, then you and I should get a petition going and send it to Richard Branson and get his advice.
Alas, until that day comes, here I am asking myself how the hell, in a sea of seemingly endless profitable, socially impactful, and fun business ideas, can I make a decision on what to pursue, when to pursue it, and who to bring along for the ride?
That’s what this post is all about.
And God bless you if you have the fortitude to jump down there in the comments and shoot me some advice.
I am not an expert nor claim to be, so fire away with some advice – I am listening.
What I’ve figured out so far
As I said, I have had this question in my mind for a long time now and have yet to bump into Richard Branson (yep name dropped him twice now on the same post) on a Southwest Airlines flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dallas, Texas so until that day comes, I will have to go off my own experience and pieced together advice.
1. Get through the honeymoon stage
This is somewhat counterintuitive advice as a lot of entrepreneurs will tell you to “take action” and go after it.
While I agree that once the decision is made to pursue an idea, taking action is imperative to your success, or at the very least opportunity for success, what about the time in between the idea and the decision to pursue?
I’ve been fascinated by some of the books I’ve read that discuss the relationship between your conscious and subconscious mind.
Probably one of the lowest hanging fruit takeaways from these books is to put a question in your mind and sit on it for a while.
When you do this, you give your subconscious mind time to give you an answer.
I know this sounds woo-wooy but hang in there.
When I have an idea for a new business, organization, or anything I want to pursue, I now make it a point to sit on the idea for at least 2 weeks.
Let me tell you, NO ONE is going to come in and steal your idea and create a successful multi-million dollar business off your idea because you sat on it for 2 weeks.
So get that out of your head now.
When you get an idea, sit on it.
Tell all your family and friends about it.
Tell your bartender about it.
Hell, tell your cat about it (miss you Rosemont).
The idea almost always seems to seem best in the first day or two.
Give it time for the sex appeal to wear off a bit and to get out of the honeymoon stage.
I started this site and wrote my first post a full month before I made this site live and decided to go ahead and do it.
If you still want to… “knock boots”, as they say in the south, with your idea after a couple weeks, then chances are you’ve got a match made in Heaven.
Or at least a chance at it.
2. I’m gonna go for it, when should I get started?
Yesterday.
Again, counterintuitive because I just recommended you be patient with your idea and make sure you can get through the honeymoon stage before going after it.
But guess what folks, this isn’t a textbook written by those publishers who seem to love selling $500 textbooks to students that are forced to buy them by their teachers.
This is a guy just sharing the stuff he’s going through.
The reason you should have gotten started yesterday is not because it’s actually practical advice to go back in time and start your business idea the day before.
It’s because you should have the chip on your shoulder and the urgency once you decide to pursue an idea to go after it at 100MPH and run like you stole it.
When you decide to do something, immerse yourself, dive in completely, sell your soul.
I’ve always said that anytime I try something new whether it be a business idea or hobby, I want to win or fail as fast as possible.
The only thing worse than closing a business after it’s first year is closing a business after it’s 4th year because you didn’t really sell out and take it out of its infancy fast enough.
3. Okay, I’m gonna do it. And I’m gonna start… Yesterday? Now, do I do it myself or team up with my friends and family?
Man, do I wish I had the answer for you on this one.
As someone who has started multiple businesses as a partner (i.e. one of multiple founders) and a few solo-dolo side hustles, I really don’t have the answer for you on this one.
The case for going it alone
The case for going it alone is pretty straightforward and makes sense for a lot of entrepreneurs who are stereotypically type A’s and can pretty much do anything they want.
You get all the equity starting out.
You make all the decisions.
You don’t have to rely on anyone else to get their job done.
You get all the fame.
You get the peace of mind knowing that everyone in the organization or at least on the cap table is working just as hard as you.. because, like I just pointed out, it’s just you.
The case for going it with a crew
You ever started a business, won a big deal, then turned to your right and raised your hand to hi-five your co-founder only to remember you decided when you started that you didn’t need anyone else to help you with your business?
Well, I have.
It’s a humbling moment undoubtedly.
Especially when you’re in a co-working space with 8 people looking at you inquisitively.
There are tons of benefits for starting a business with a small team of friends, family, or just talented acquaintances.
Not least of which just the fun of celebrating successes with a co-founder or few.
Now for the married readers out there, you already have a partner in life so perhaps you’ll be able to convince your partner to join you at the local pub to get shitty after a big victory in your business, but for the rest of us, this is a simple consideration.
As I said, there is no right answer to this question.
I really do believe that you can go either way and, if you’re the right person for the need, be successful.
I’ll close with a statement that kinda wraps it up at least in my mind.
“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” – someone brilliant.