I once asked a good friend, and a successful businessman, if there was a secret to his success. I expected the usual “hard work, and a little luck,” or maybe “build a better mousetrap.” That’s not what he said.
He said “Start early, and start often.”
The truth is, he had already failed far more times than I had even tried. And each time he failed, he got better. With enough failures under his belt, he was able to build an extraordinary company.
He went on to explain that you aren’t going to launch the perfect business the first time. You can spend years putting your thoughts on paper, convincing yourself that your plan is perfect, but it won’t be. You’ll miss something. Your target customers will act in ways you never expected. You’ll face unexpected hurdles. You’ll have to adjust. You’ll have to back up. You may even have to start over. But you’ll never get to that point until you get started.
Its advice I’ve tried to take to heart, and its harder than I thought. Accepting failure is scary. Expecting failure is terrifying. But failure is how we learn. And we can’t fail until we start.
So we’re starting. Today.
-Scot