Your idea sucks, now go do it anyway

“Newsflash: Your idea probably sucks, and it doesn’t matter because your business will probably turn out to be something completely different.”

Paypal started out as a way to beam money from one Palm Pilot to another, of course after you connected your Palm Pilot to your computer and dialed into the internet.  Flickr was born from a photo sharing feature inside a pointless online-game called “Game Neverending”

Just start the process of turning your idea into action and you’ll usually find your way along the journey.

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“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.”

Daniel Burnham, architect (1864-1912) - The man that built some of the worlds first skyscrapers and created urban plans for Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Manila before the profession of urban planning existed.

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What are your top 5 pieces of advice for entrepreneurs?

Answered by Dennis Crowley co-founder of Foursquare

Here is a summary of the five pieces of advice, but make sure you click through to get all the nuggets of wisdom.

  1. Stop sketching and start building.
  2. Don’t let people tell you your ideas won’t work.
  3. Build early and often.
  4. Don’t let a lack of technology get in the way.
  5. Hire the best people you can find.

Follow Dennis on Tumblr

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The 1-Step Plan for Super-Productivity

Wake Up Early

Excellent article from 99 Percent on how rising early to start your day will lead to better productivity and a greater sense of control over your day.

When I interview creatives, I often ask them what advice they would give to the next generation, the up-and-comers. Curiously, there’s one incredibly important habit that nearly all of them possess that is almost never mentioned. So what is the secret ingredient in their productivity regime? It’s simple: They get up early.

Over the next two weeks I’m going conduct an experiment and try several techniques to shift my schedule to early mornings verses late into the night, define a consistent work schedule, boost my focus on one thing at a time, and get better at keeping a todo list. During this process I plan on writing about my personal reasons for the experiment, some of the techniques I’m trying and of course the results. Wish me luck!

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Where do you go when you need to get work done?

Jason Fried recently asked this question on signal vs. noise and the responses were quite interesting.

For me when I’m in a creative mode I need a lot of people around to help me really focus in.  I always feel far more productive when I’m in a busy public place, like a coffee shop, with a good pair of noise canceling headphones. Somehow the active act of ignoring all the busyness moving around me helps me to zone in and focus.

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“Creativity is a double-edged sword. The more ideas we have, the less likely we are to stay loyal to one. So the creative mind ends up jumping from idea to idea, and none of them happen. There is no correlation between how great an idea is and the likelihood of it happening.”

Scott Belsky

Via Surfstation

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The Benefits of Slow Design?

I have to agree that at times rushed timelines for complex projects lead to frustrations and stress, but from my personal experience (and others that I’ve worked along side) a lot of my best work has come from aggressive timelines.  There is nothing like a fast approaching deadline that forces you to start making decisions and stop second guessing your creative methods.  In fact I have found that “slow design” tends to allow for too much time to contemplate, find inspiration, critique, adjust, and procrastinate.

The one situation where I believe aggressive timelines will produce frustration and poor work is when you allow or work in an environment where every project is a rush.  Once the burn-out kicks in it is near impossible to produce quality work quickly.

Act fast. Create. Launch.

What are your thoughts?  Do you believe “slow design” generally produces better work?

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Profitable and Proud: Campaign Monitor

37signals’ Signal vs. Noise is posting a new series highlighting companies that have $1M+ in revenue all without any initial VC investments.  The first post in the series features the creator of email marketing software targeted towards web designers, Campaign Monitor.  The founders of Campaign Monitor talk about their shift from a web design business to creating and profitably selling a product over six months.  Read the full article discussing their culture, challenges, and goals for the future.

At the end of the article they give sound advice to others considering starting a business.

  • Don’t make excuses, start building something right now. Ideas are worthless unless they’re executed.
  • Never be afraid to charge for your product from day one. If nobody is prepared to pay for it, it’s probably not solving an important problem anyway.
  • Avoid additional investors if you can. There’s nothing more satisfying than being in complete control of your destiny.
  • Never lose sight of the fact that you’re starting a business to give you more freedom to do what you enjoy in life. Don’t let it consume the very thing you’re aiming to improve.

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