Stop (over)thinking and get started
Elise has a fantastic idea!
She loves dogs and they always seem to like and listen to her.
One day she has that ah-hah moment - “I should start a dog walking business. I like them and they always vibe with me.”
So she starts thinking.
Are there any local dog walking businesses in my area? No, awesome!
What about big brands? Yes, but there are mixed feelings and inconsistent levels of trust with them. Sounds like an opportunity then!
Elise keeps asking herself questions. They start out great, helping her better understand the need in her community and some of the important steps to launching her business.
A few more questions in and they start to get VERY specific.
What if I book more dogs than I can handle at one time?
How do I hire someone to help with the extra dogs?
Will customers be ok if I hire new employees?
None of these questions are bad and most are going to be important to think about…just not right now.
Elise has an awesome idea and she’s energized by the potential of doing something she loves.
There are things she needs to plan out and it’s important to have a strategy as she grows.
But that’s not the same thing as a 50 page business plan with an accompanying 300 page playbook full of what-if scenarios.
That might appease some old school thinkers, but it’s necessary and will not help her build moment.
In fact, it would do the exact opposite by overwhelming her and cranking the the handbrake full on.
The result would be ZERO movement.
Every person and idea will require a different approach, but the concept of overthinking hindering movement is universally applicable.
This isn’t to say that long term thinking isn’t important (it’s very important), that you shouldn’t think about the future (everything we plan to do is in the future), or that you shouldn’t be working on a growth strategy.
Instead, it’s reframing how we approach all of those elements to best increase our ability to build and maintain momentum.
For Elise (and so many others), she’s energized with her idea, and she needs to maintain that energy to build her momentum.
As she experiences some success and her ideas starts gaining momentum, she’ll grow and evolve as a business owner to allow her to level up.
There will always be hard work in owning your own business, but if your inspired by the work you do, then it helps you justify the hard work.
As Elise gets started, she should find like-minded people she can share her journey with, celebrate the small wins, and constantly seek to better her skills.
There will be a lot of work for Elise once she’s going, but one of the hardest things for anyone to do is start.
