The start of a small venture
A packing list for getting started
Every beginning is a continuation.
“Start with a vision,” says the wise. I beg to disagree (for once).
Starting a new venture, a small tech project, a new team, or an old dream, is often a matter of looking back—not ahead; it’s taking an inventory of the past, choosing what to bring, but mostly what to leave behind.
After years of hard work, we start to fill our baggage with hopes and regrets, with piles of fears and desires tucked inside a secret pocket. Underneath all this pile is the answer to what we should be doing today.
Today is always a good day to start doing what you want to do—a sane choice for a new business.
“Only if I could,” says all of us. And we are correct (for once).
If we could just stop everything today so we can do what we want, we won’t be stuck here, wondering how to get started.
But now that we’re here—unable to stop—yet longing to start, what can we do?
My disappointing answer is: continue for just a bit.
Stay where you are. You don’t have to leave, yet. But hey, no one says you can’t start packing.
Reach out for that luggage on top of the closet, wipe the dust off, and roll the combination lock. When you hear that tiny metal clasp click, then congratulations, you just got started.
Here’s my packing list for starting (note: not yet doing) a small tech venture:
A handwritten line of what you can teach well
A sketch drawing of your first potential customer
A good story to tell number 2 with your good storytelling voice
Your sharpest tech tool, usually the ability to connect the dots
Ideas that failed, which you can repurpose
Ideas that already worked, that you can pick apart
The name of that one person that you can always ask about (not for) money
A lifetime supply of integrity
The healthy morning routine that you vow to uphold no matter what happens
Your number 1 cheerleader
For me, this is where it begins. You might have heard that you should start with the “Why”—that’s a good point too; I just find myself always changing my answer and somehow ending up getting lost.
What doesn’t change is that I can teach someone how to build software; I can somehow connect the dots. I also do love a good story and will tell it to anyone who’s sincerely interested. As for ideas, they’re floating everywhere if you’re stubborn and curious enough to find them. Money is a big topic; so find a good advisor, one with integrity, which is non-negotiable, like health. One day, we will regret starting a new venture—that’s when our cheerleader comes to remind us of our bravery.