For over a decade, I have increasingly thought about starting my own business. Many nights I just brainstormed ideas, writing things down, trying to think of anything that might work. What was in demand? What was thriving? What things do those thriving businesses need? And what do they need? A lot of what I came up with is probably just meh. I might have a few good ideas; maybe even be several which would be successful with a lot of hard work.
But I was never motivated to follow through because very few seemed like a real winner, or if it was, I was lacking some crucial ingredient.
The hard part for me was simply picking an idea and actioning it, I couldn't decide which idea to make real. The longer I sat failing to start my own business, or even a side-hustle, the more I felt like I let opportunity slip away. And then it finally dawned on me.
Start something, anything. Make something a reality, even if it is small, and keep it going. The experience alone is worth more than all the ideas you have come up with. If it fails, try something else. If I started something 10, even 5 years ago, I would damn sure be a lot more comfortable starting a new business today. And I'd probably be a lot better at it than I am actually about to be.
There are related idioms which come to mind. In my experience, these have proven to virtually be on par with the immutable laws of nature:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A good plan today is better than a perfect one tomorrow. Actions speak louder than words. I'm sure there are many more.
So that is my plan, and probably one of my best pieces of advice: start your own business or side hustle now. The experience of that alone is worth more than 10 years of thinking about it. If it fails, try again--you're still way ahead of most people. Go out and make that money.
