Make the Decision
It wasn’t until recently that I decided to focus all of my efforts into using my skills and abilities to cultivate a tangible, sustainable, and meaningful business. But when I think back to where my entrepreneurial spirit and mindset first started to take shape, I can trace its origins to when I was a kid growing up helping out around my dad’s shop.
Up near the cash register he let me keep a tip jar. I remember having wrote across it “Little John’s College Fund” or something of the sort. I had convinced myself that leaving at minimum a few quarters and a $5 bill in it would entice people to leave a better tip. I even went as far as to put signs up around the shop letting customers know to come visit “Little John’s Office” for help. The thought process was: more help for customers, more tips for me.
My office, of course, was just an empty countertop in the back of the shop where a lottery ticket terminal once existed. It was also where I kept some art supplies and even a tiny TV and video game console hooked up to help pass the time. Quite the setup if you ask me. I was honestly doing quite well for a middle-schooler.
After graduating college, sadly without the help of my tips that I foolishly spent on candy and video games as a kid, I entered the professional workforce. At this point I had already continued to dabble more and more into the concept of starting my own business and working for myself. I validated several ideas and made a profit here and there. I just knew that this would be my future one day. The only thing I kept holding out for was when.
But when actually never comes
This idea of when was based on, in retrospect, two incorrect assumptions:
- The need to reach a certain amount of skills and abilities before being ready
- The idea of waiting for a clear sign, signal, or moment that was an obvious “go!”
So I kept these two assumptions in the back of my mind as the years ticked on and on and with it I found that I would keep balancing myself between two worlds: advancing my professional career versus finally pursuing my entrepreneurial dreams. Both were competing for my full attention. In fact, it wasn’t until 2025 that I realized when never actually comes. The moment you’re waiting for to mark a beginning will never materialize in front of you.
If you’re experiencing something similar to me, where you absolutely know from an early age that entrepreneurship is the path for you, but you’re stuck waiting for your when moment, just know that this is something I wrestled with for quite a bit to comes to terms with: When actually never comes!
The time to start is always now
At some point you must realize that if you want to follow your entrepreneurial dreams that now is the time to start. Today. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to put your two week notice in immediately, as nice as that sounds. But what it does mean is that you need to treat your business with the same level of care and attention that you’d give your professional career. At first, you may only be able to fit a small amount of time in per day or per week. And honestly, that is 100% OK. The key is to remain consistent. Consistently show up and consistently build.
That’s because the thing about building your own journey is that it’s a marathon. In fact, it’s actually the total opposite of how tech workers are tasked with operating as you’re now responsible for the entire picture, not just one slice. But the good thing is that you can start today. You don’t have to wait or put it off. If you can commit a small number of hours per week to your goals, you will indeed reach them.
A great place to start at is to consider the following:
- What are you good at? No, not what your company says you’re good at. And no, not what you’d write on a resume. But what are you good at because you enjoy doing it?
- How could you package this into a product or service that addresses a challenge, struggle, or need in the world?
Think about these two concepts to get some ideas flowing as you may actually be way closer to your all-in moment than you realize! So, make that decision to start and start today.
