I did 42 networking "events" in January; some were in-person events, some group events, and some one-on-one meetings.
I met many dozens of entrepreneurs at all stages of their journeys, and I was reminded of a few things about entrepreneurs that hold true regardless of whether you're in the idea phase or a decade into your journey.
Know your why. Why do you want to start a business? What is the underlying reason or reasons you're pursuing this specific idea? Is it to solve your own problem? Because you want to make life easier for a particular demographic? Is it for money, power, or respect? You need to be as crystal clear as possible about why you're doing what you're doing and put it down on paper. Your idea is absolutely going to change over time, so you'll revisit this frequently. It's very easy in the entrepreneurial journey to veer off course, so your why is your North Star.
Remember that the entrepreneurial journey is just that—a journey, not a destination. Your idea won't be perfect when you launch, and it won't be perfect when you exit, IPO, get on Shark Tank, or achieve whatever other long-term goal you have in mind. The good stuff is in the process—it's the quest to learn more, be better, become more resilient, and be more resourceful. A business is a never-ending series of problems cobbled together. If you aren't insatiably curious and love problem-solving, entrepreneurship is not the path for you.
Take action today. Step one is by far the hardest and is what trips everyone up. What that step is almost doesn't matter—the point is to get yourself in the habit of taking action. People create a million roadblocks to hide their insecurity about revealing their idea to the world. "I can't launch a website because I don't know how to code." [You can create a professional-looking website in 5 minutes with the help of AI.]
"I can't launch my blog because I don't have the theme mapped out." Literally, no one cares if it's perfectly planned out except for you, and if this is new, very few people will see it, if any. If you have something you want to say, put it out there!
"I can't launch my drinks brand because I don't have the final product." [This is true, but you can generate a mockup of a brand name, packaging, and flavors and ask people for feedback.]
The key is taking action—now. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. What email can you send, what software can you find, what call can you make? Whatever it is, it's critical that you take one small step now.
What small action can you take in the next 15 minutes to move closer to your goal?
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