Launching your first business idea is like climbing Mount Everest.
Imagine yourself standing at the top of the Earth’s tallest mountain, with the whole world lying at your feet. Look at the distance you’ve travelled. Think of all the training, all the time and pain it took to become ready to conquer this summit, where many find their death. It was tough!
You wanted to give up so many times. You doubted you could ever make it. There were times when you didn’t know what you were doing. Your loved ones and close friends were worried sick and tried to discourage you from getting burned out. Yet you persisted. You made it!
Launching your first business idea requires the same heroic effort. It also usually takes longer than you thought it would, and that’s OK. This is why starting a business is tough and many fail, just like when climbing Mount Everest.
What does it take?
Nothing less or more than getting from the point when you decide to start a business to the point when you have a valid product or service ready to pitch to potential customers.
How do you ease into it?
1) Stretch your limits
Just like when training for Mount Everest, you have to stretch your limits over a period of time. Three days or three weeks won’t do it.
Starting from today, commit to developing and picking up all the skills you need as a business owner—if you hate selling, get over it and learn how to sell well without turning off your prospects.
If you’ve never created a business plan or some kind of strategy, guess what—now is the time to master this.
If you are a bigger picture person, and you’ve always had someone to take care of the details, start paying attention to those details. If you are detail-oriented, learn how to see the bigger picture.
2) Get comfortable appearing stupid
You may not be aware of this one, and it’s a deal breaker.
More often than not, you won’t know what to do. Should you sell Product A or Product B? Is Service C more promising than Service D? Who should you sell it to? How much should you charge? Will they buy?
A great business idea, which stands a chance of a successful implementation, takes time to mature. At first you only see bits and pieces of it. As you struggle to take it from a half-cooked concept to a fully cooked product or service, you go back to Ground Zero many times.
Your friends ask you how is it going, and you hear yourself telling them, time and time again, that you are still trying to figure it out. You may feel like you’ve lost your face. You may seem unprepared, incoherent, not knowing what you are doing, or downright stupid. If this is a big issue for you, think twice before committing to entrepreneurship.
Of course you are not stupid. Don’t get down on yourself. You are trying to launch your first business idea, and this is all part of the game.
3) Make this your creed: “I am enjoying the journey”
Easier said than done, but pace yourself. Explore the virtue of patience. Receive whatever comes with graciousness.
Failures are like fertilizers—you need them to become sharper, quicker, and smarter.
Victories, including small and partial ones, are a reason for celebration. They stack up. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate and celebrate big. You will feel better and attract better things.
You too can conquer Mount Everest if you can give it what it takes!