Fear of starting - anyone else failing before they start?
I often wonder if it's just me. Sometimes I fail before I even start.
Step 1. Think of a great idea
Step 2. Talk to some people and discover the idea has value to them. This could be real.
Step 3. Over think for approximately one week.
Step 4. Doom and gloom/trough of sorrow
I do this frequently. If I take too long to get started over thinking kicks in.
Anyone else do this? How do you reignite the spark or re-evaluate the ideas?
Do you have a day job?
If so, you have taken some immediate pressures off you right from the start.
So: how do you spend your leisure time? Family? Watching TV? Playing sports? Tinkering with side projects?
Next: why are you doing side projects? An enjoyable hobby? You hope to earn your living this way one day?
Third: what age bracket do you fall into? Young man? Middle-aged? Late middle-aged? Decrepit?
I am going to assume you are a young man (less than 35). You have time on your side. That is time to learn and time to fail a few times (which, by the way, is not a pit of despair but a lesson it would cost you a fortune to learn from academics in a lecture hall).
Nothing ventured; nothing gained. And, if this project fails, the roof won't fall in and you will have developed both business and technical skills (of which the business skills are probably the most important to you right now).
You're still young and, if you weren't doing this, you would only be wasting your time watching the idiot box. Some of your compatriots will be doing that 10, 20, 30 years from now and, if your're honest, you can probably look around your peer group and have a pretty shrewd idea of who they are.
So now we know you're going to do this thing rather than watch the goggle box. You wouldn't get a financial return from watching telly so why worry about this or that project in particular? Don't let immediate riches be your guide: you have still to learn your entrepreneurial craft. For the lucky few that happens pretty much immediately (although look at the mess that Elon Musk has become ... so be careful what you wish for).
You would never expect to pick up a hammer and a saw and become a master carpenter overnight. Those people have skills which take time to learn. Similarly, just giving you a drill, a brain and an operating theatre doesn't make you a world-renowned brain surgeon overnight.
So change your perspective. What you do over the next few years is your apprenticeship, through which you will learn all sorts of skills you do not yet have.
So that's more pressure off.
And you have time on your side. A damn sight more than I have, all things being equal!
You also have a unique, entrepreneurial environment within which to work. It didn't exist when I was your age and I had none of the skills (technical or business) that you already have or which you are going to acquire in very short order.
Plan: build something that takes your fancy. Anything. But take it to completion and market it - and learn what you don't know.
Then build something else and apply all those "didn't know before but know now" lessons.
Repeat until you find success.
Your real fear is that you think your immediate future is a black and white, all or nothing, binary future. If I fail now, I will never succeed.
Not true. Read the biographies of almost any inventor or innovator you like. Success did not come straight-away.
Change your attitude: I am going to treat this project as my first year in the University of Entrepreneurship. I am building it for research and learning purposes (i.e., the further development of Me). I don;t expect it to be a financial success (although any money it makes will obviously be welcome) but, throighthis project, I will find out lots of things I can put to use for the rest of my life.
One of those things, by the way, is the difference between opinion polls which say "I really like this" and the only opinion poll which ever matters, "I like this so much I have just paid for it".
Doom and gloom : not productive.
Changing attitude so we don't think solely in terms of unimaginablewealth or abject failure - vital.
Time: the thing of which you have an abundant supply.
Now, stop dithering. Put your heart and soul into your first Entrepreneurial Experiment and see how reality compares to hypothesis - which is what any decent scientist would do.
With apologies for about 45 mixed metaphors but I write this in a hurry as my own code is calling.
Thanks for the long post! Always a nice reminder that this is a marathon and not a sprint.tt
I've been at this for a bit over a year(full time). My primary project I've had loads of ups and downs. Including several near quit moments. Still adapting and moving forward.
I've had several side project ideas (related to the core one). And I've gone through the above flow. I'm pushing through one of the side projects, but it has been difficult.
What I find ridiculous is how often I can be my own worst enemy. This most recent one, I had a great idea (consulting work around data management risk assessments for SME/SMB) and I had even had my first customer lined up 70% and I nearly gave up on the idea before I had the chance to close. I've pushed through but really made aware of this personal fault.
I think your surname may be a problem!
Change it by deed poll to Clutterfree!
More seriously, the only way to get through this is to take the sense of panic out of the equation. You simply have to take the medium to long term view.
I wonder if it is an issue of confidence? If so, a few smaller projects taken to completion might be a better path to follow than concentrating on one, big project that might be overwhelming you. Everything you achieve helps to build confidence.
If you think a bigger project is the way to go, perhaps look at ways of building it in modular fashion if possible. That way, you can launch bit by bit rather than havng to get all the pieces perfectly together.
It sounds to me as if you really need coping and management techniques more than anything else so break the problems down into small, bite-sized pieces and conquer them one by one.
And keep a block chart on your wall so you can colour in the blocks you have completed and see that you're winning.
With this current project, you already have validation: now you just need to manage it by taming it.
It's not just you!
Getting started on anything is hard...especially when you don't have momentum. It doesn't matter if it's to start exercising, or to work on a side project, etc.
In my opinion, the trick is to develop the discipline to work through the "gloom / trough of sorrow". Working on an idea isn't always fun and exciting...there will be lots of times when you need to buckle down and get ready to grind!
Here is one actionable takeaway: commit to sit down for at least 30 minutes a day to work on your idea. Keep chipping away at it.
Each day, it'll feel like you aren't making that much progress. But if you consistently chip away at it, you'll be surprised how far you get in just a month.
Shameless plug: you might benefit from working together with accountability buddies who are also starting out in their entrepreneurial journey. If so, check out my project, Tribe of Five (www.tribefive.me).
Cheers!
Jonathan
Hey that shameless plug was exactly I was looking for. When will it be live?
We should be launching in the next 2 weeks! If you sign up on our waitlist, I can let you know as soon as it's available.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks I'll check it out.
I like the 30 minute idea. I really need to do this for my side projects.
This definitely sounds relatable. One thing I’ve learned from experience is ‘just do it’ (no advertising intended). Really, just start with an MVP and test, collect feedback and improve. The first version is never complete nor perfect.
Getting real feedback is worth a thousand times more than thing you “think” people need. Don’t overthink it, just try and improve!
Oh definitely. As per an above response I had, it's when I haven't had any feedback for a week or two that things start to dip for me. I need to be more consistently asking for feedback.
I actually demo'd my project tonight for 100 people and got great feedback. So for the next couple of days I will no doubt be on a high.
That's amazing Dale, good to hear your demo was a success! I'm sure the lack of feedback can get you down sometimes, though indeed we have to keep asking for it ourselves as well to receive.
Anyway, great job on the demo and I'm sure things will be even more positive once you manage to structure and listen to the feedback received and improve your product! Keep up the good work
Yes, this is me right now. I've gotten to about 80-90% complete of the app and I'm faltering. I keep thinking about what if I don't make one sale, or don't get any traffic.
I've been getting up 1 hour earlier and working on my business, every morning I move closer to being finished whether I like it or not.
Something that I've found helps is to put a positive spin on all of my worries. So for example "I'm worried that I'm only going to make a few sales and then never grow" -> This means that there is value somewhere and I just need to find the right proposition/market fit.
This is exactly it. I've massively been overthinking the two steps ahead. I keep worrying about what might happen, yet realistically there are things that are completely in my control that need to happen first (e.g. go find 20 users for my beta).
I actually took two days off a few weeks back due to some near breakdown over worrying about the future. When I pulled myself out of it I realised I'm in a pretty good position and just need to push forward and try something.
The biggest thing you need to understand is that coming up with an idea, research, planning and implementation is the easy part of launching a product or business.
The fun begins when the door opens and the bills start coming in. All of a sudden that logo design that you have been stressing about for 3 weeks isnt as important as getting eyeballs on your logo. A majority of highly succesful people have had just as many fails as wins but through hard work, determination and usually some luck they come out on top.
Make a decision, set a timeline and follow it through as there is never a perfect time to begin and if it fails you will have learnt what not to do next time. Go for it...
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I've found success? lately by simply figuring out a way to build something quickly as an MVP or simply test a concept using the Sprint methodology. I think if you're learning about a problem on a weekly basis, you're making progress and will be ready for the spark when it comes.
https://www.thesprintbook.com/
Greatest motivator is market demand and closing sales. Try getting people to pay for it - even if it doesn't exist yet as a pre-sale. It's easy to come up with all the possible market risks out there, but quickly these become irrelevant if the market want this.
If you feel like something is holding you back, then it is.
My feeling is that you need to put more effort in step 2. Ask the same people how much they are willing to pay. If the amount sounds interesting to you, then build it.
Maybe? I think its might actually be repeating step 2 more consistently. For some reason if its been more than a week or two from when I had the conversation I start to not believe it was correct or think it was an anomaly.
In general creators/builders/developers underestimate the time it takes to build/market/support an app. In the beginning invest your time with your potential customers. Find out what their pain is and prioritise it so you don't end up building and building, feature after feature.
Hi @daclutter, speaking from my experience there is no shame in not starting or hesitating, its hard!
What I will say is maybe you are thinking too big? Try creating a simple landing page detailing your idea and put that out there, even with just that you will have reached a new paradigm and will start to build the momentum necessary to take on even harder tasks!
Momentum is essential, so build it by winning at a lot of small tasks first.
Not to mention that you also have access to an incredible community of people who are ready to help, so take action, fail small and fast, improve.
Hope this helps!
I think there is definitely something to be said about consistent small wins. It's like I lose faith after a lack of wins, not even anything negative happens. Time just passes!
Dale, in my opinion, failing at something is the best thing you can achieve in your life, regardless of your startups... Just take the first step... Do your work, release your product, get your first customer. If you fail, that's quite okay. You have got a great experience. Then do it again, this time don't make the same mistake. And repeat this. You will achieve what you want at some point! Consistency, persistency and hard work is the key. Don't forget fear is just an illusion.
Definitely seeing a theme here from the comments - consistency!
I'm usually stuck on this part.
Talk to some people and discover the idea has value to them. This could be real.
Glad it's not just me!