Ok, you’ve finished the Thoughts on Entreprenurship series and you’re thinking:
“This doesn’t really work for me.”
I’d say you’re probably right. Thinking big and shooting to be the next Twitter isn’t for everyone. So,
Think Small.
Don’t raise external money- bootstrap. Don’t hire A-team players (don’t hire anybody for that matter). Don’t go to a hub – work from home. Don’t do any of those things. It’s OK. Worry only about launching, making the best product you can with limited resources and get profitable as quickly as you can. This is really the equivalent of a base hit vs a homerun. And for many businesses, and people, it makes sense. Maybe you have a day job that you *want* to keep (or need to keep), no problem. Run something in your spare time. If it starts to grow nicely, you can always leave your day job to run the business. Or not.
By keeping things small, you maintain control and flexibility. But small now doesn’t mean small forever; but it does mean you can take your time. Just be sure to get your product or service out the door as quickly as you can.
A quick story (no names for this one) to illustrate my point: A model airplane fan in one European country decided to start importing planes from China and selling them on eBay locally. He started small- buying only 10 planes or so and then reselling them. Once they were sold, he bought more- 100, then 500, then 1000, and so on. The business is now turning over 7 figures a year, with a very healthy profit. He runs the business with his wife out of their home outside of the Capital. The company will never make the front page of the Wall Street Journal, but it’s a *great* little business.
I recently launched 700x23c.com. It’s a small site that sells bicycle tires. Was I looking to start a big business, with big money and a big team? Nope. It’s small, it’s me, a few tires, some boxes and a printer. Total cost to launch- maybe $200 (I bought a good printer). Will it grow? I hope so… Do I do love it? Absolutely. Am I wearing 700x23c cycling jerseys on all my rides? You’d better believe it. (Side note to the non-cycling geek: 700x23c is the size of a road racing tire. If you ride a road bike, you know this number. You might even know what the “c” means). It’s a small project that with a little tlc may just become like the airplane business above, and turn a nice profit.
So I practice what I preach to some extent; I think small. (but try to think Big during my day job).
Good luck with your business- which ever road you take…
Jason Ball 