A book summary on how to motivate yourself to take action, plan your next move quickly, and expand like wildfire.
A high-school teacher once told my class:
“Don’t let the start stop you”
As an adaptation of Don Shula’s, “The start is what stops most people” quote. Quite often, we don’t take any action because we are in a quagmire of decision paralysis and over-analyzing. Starting a business is a big task, so it makes complete sense that the planning portion can be debilitating. But, you’ll never reach the pinnacle of success without taking the first step. The Art of the Start will teach you what is needed to build a company from the ground up. Next, I’ll provide three of the most significant takeaways from reading it.
Have a Plan
We have discussed the importance of having a plan in other articles that you might have read. If you haven’t read them, I strongly advise that you take a minute to peruse through this one here. Like Benjamin Franklin stated, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
Your plan doesn’t have to be extensive, but it needs to be enough to identify your objectives and have a clear understanding of what the business needs to be successful. There can be several iterations to continually approve the business model. But, you are to use your plan as a means to have. vision. It’s a vital step that is either overlooked or over analyzed.
Have a Purpose
Whatever you choose to focus on, will usually be what you see. Many people see the morally bankrupt billionaires and think that all business people follow the same initiative (which couldn’t be further from the truth). Not everyone wants to flash money, cars, and homes to create get rich quick schemes. Many of us want to build something that ignites our passion, it elicits a positive response in the people that resonate with the time, care, and energy that it took to develop the business. It’s to build something that lasts beyond them and into the legacy of their descendants. So, the notion that’s all about the money should be thrown out. People need to chase purpose over profits.
Business should be more about improving the lives of your customers and innovating a product or service that adds a net positive result. However, greed brews when the sole purpose of operating a business is profits. As opposed to a company that truly desires to help people solve problems. The difference between these two types of organizations is stark in contrast. Infuse meaning that you believe in from the beginning. Have a mission in mind that will remind you of your purpose.
Have a Framework
Isn’t it frustrating to work in an organization that doesn’t have a sense of direction? You’re just turning your wheels without going anywhere. Either that or your role keeps shifting without being able to realize a goal. It’s one thing to be adaptable, it’s another to be devoid of a goal or trajectory. There are three steps to avoid this situation from happening. Think of it as “Setting the MAT”.
- Milestones
- Assumptions
- Tasks
Identify milestones, which are the most important goals that you are seeking to accomplish. This will enable your business to set clear steps and see exactly how well you are reaching them. For example, you might want to make $100,000 for the fiscal year a milestone. This is the goal post. Next, you want to make a few assumptions to determine what you think will happen by taking certain approaches towards that goal. Brainstorm everything that you think might or might not be accurate. Especially, take ideas that don’t have any data to support it at this point. Track and measure to see if you were right about that assumption. Finally, list task that you are going to do on a daily and weekly basis to meet your milestone.
In Conclusion
With the talks of outdates hypes and technologies, this read is a little dated to this point. Some of the concepts that were used in this book are already stale. However, it’s a good foundational book. There is a newly released version that would be a good resource. Starting a business doesn’t have to be as difficult as this business makes it out to be.