Helping Entrepreneurs Kick a Bad Habit
Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #265
A quick thanks to everyone who responded to last week’s request for guests willing to share questions about their startups on the podcast. I got a lot more responses than I’d expect (yay!), and I hope to follow-up soon.
P.S. If you missed that request, it’s not too late to submit your info here.
School’s back in session after the holiday break. It’s always a strange time of year because, even though it’s not quite the same excitement and anticipation I see at the start of the fall semester, students still seem to use it as the perfect opportunity to reset and refocus. They all talk about how they’re going to be better about not waiting until the last minute to do homework, or they’re going to wake up earlier, party less, study more, etcetera.
Heres my question: why wait until a perfect moment? It’s a bad habit I often see in entrepreneurs, too. We often wait for “perfect moments” to make changes — like the start of a quarter or a new fiscal year. But the truth is, we don’t need a cosmic reset button to pivot or explore fresh ideas. We can — and should — make adjustments as soon as they’re needed.
Waiting for a major milestone to shift gears is a recipe for stagnation. The best entrepreneurs look for small openings to innovate. They treat each day as a chance to do something different.
In other words, don’t sit around waiting for that next big event to justify experimentation. Get started now, and see where it takes you. You’ll quickly realize that a fresh start can happen whenever you decide it’s time to begin again.
-Aaron
Podcast: ThoughtWave Episode #10
How to Know When to Shut Down Your Business
What’s harder than starting a business? Knowing when to walk away. In this episode of ThoughtWave, Chris Leithe and Dr. Aaron Dinin dive into the art of knowing when it’s time to quit your startup. They explore the dangerous allure of “zombie companies,” the power of aligning with your values, and the tough decisions successful entrepreneurs must make to grow. Whether you’re an entrepreneur stuck in the grind or someone reflecting on life goals, this episode is your wake-up call to rethink the mantra of “never give up.”
Listen now on: Apple | Spotify | Online
This week’s new articles…
The World’s Most Boring Business Is a Blueprint for Startup Success
It might be dull work, but entrepreneurs can learn a lot if they’re willing to spend time studying basic businesses.
Your Startup’s Customers Could Be Gone Before You Finish Reading This Article
In a world of constant distractions, consumer expectations are changing fast. Are you keeping up?
Office Hours Q&A
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QUESTION:
Aaron,
I’m in the early phase of building my startup, and I’m trying to decide whether I should bootstrap or seek outside investment. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but it feels like a huge, life-altering choice. How do I weigh the pros and cons of bootstrapping versus taking in funding, and what factors should really guide my decision?
-Avery
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To be honest, you’re probably asking the wrong question. There’s a myth in startupland that entrepreneurs are supposed to raise a bunch of money and then go build their businesses. In reality, fundraising usually comes after you’ve started demonstrating some market traction, not before.
Your first step shouldn’t be to choose between bootstrapping and fundraising. It should be to build something people want — something that solves a real problem and can make money. Prove that you can attract customers, generate revenue, and grow (even if it’s just a little). Only when you start seeing traction can you begin to know if raising outside capital will help you multiply what’s already working.
If you take money too early, you’re selling part of your company before you understand its true potential or real needs. You might be locking yourself into a path that isn’t right for you — or for your business. Plus, you’ll have investors in the mix wanting returns on a timeline that might not match the natural pace of your growth.
Don’t get yourself caught in the trap of raising money too early. Either you’ll waste a lot of time and not be able to raise anything, or you’ll raise money and risk being caught building the wrong type of business. (You’re reading the voice of experience on both those mistakes, by the way!)
Instead, focus on finding product-market fit first. Bootstrap your way to a place where you have some proof your idea works. Build a small, scrappy team, hustle for customers, and prove people are willing to pay for what you’re offering. Once you’ve got momentum and you know more about what’s working and what’s not, that’s when it makes sense to ask if outside capital is the best next step. Maybe you decide, “Yes, if we pour fuel on this fire, it’ll grow faster,” or maybe you realize you like having full control over your business and your pace. At that point, your question becomes a whole lot clearer and a whole lot easier to answer.
Got startup questions of your own? Reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer.