Planning isn’t Doing
When you roll up your selves and start your struggle, people will see your struggle, and talented people will come to your aid. If you sit on your couch and plan your struggle no one is going to help. Help comes when someone can see your attempts.
Not having the right resources whether its money, opportunity, knowing the right people, no marketable skills are not reasons to wait to get started. They are the exact reasons you need to get started.
You need to get in motion if you’re going to move forward.
Planning has value. Standing near the edge of the Grand Canyon and deciding you want to climb down and hike to the other side, needs a plan.
But sitting at home, looking at a picture of the canyon and thinking about climbing down will not get you the experiences learned by actually going to the canyon, planning the hike and then doing it.
You need to do, then adjust as you go. Yes, you will look back and see there were better ways to accomplish the do. But those lessons will only happen when you have the experienced the doing.
My story of learn as you go
I started my first business at 20 years old, Triple S Electronics (synthesizer servicing specialist, haha stupid name I know. That’s a story for another posting).
I had no experience or knowledge in running a business. I knew I had a passion for understanding tech used in the music industry and for working with my hands.
I knew no one was willing to hire me because I had no real experience. I also knew sitting in my apartment telling myself and my friends I could do it wasn’t going to make it happen.
So I started tinkering with my own gear. Taking it apart and seeing how it worked. After a lot of trial and error and busting a lot of my gear, I started figuring out how things operated. I didn’t know that terms nor the physics behind what I was doing, I just knew when I do this this happens. I should also mention all this was before the you tube or google cheats. This was no school to learn electronic musical instrument repair. Even if there was I won’t have attended, I sucked at school.
I knew a lot of musician friends who owned gear that needed repair or “modifying”. Most of them were broke ass and didn’t have money to spend fixing their gear, even though they needed that gear to play out and make money.
I began offering my very limited abilities for very little money. That lead me to learning new skills of value and building a following. Eventually those skills and connection to moved me from my mom’s basement to a real storefront.
Now being an official business meant learning a lot more stuff. Like paying taxes, signing leases, getting insurance, etc. All the basic things needed to run a business. None of which I had any idea how to do. Fortunately, my mom had been a “bookkeeper” for several small businesses over the years. She took over organizing the “company’s” finances which keep me out of IRS jail and taught me how to understand the very basics of being in business.
Let me clarify something here, this wasn’t some Silicon Valley big tech start up. This was a small one man shop in a busted-up store front in a crappy part of town.
Although, at that time I thought this was a big deal. I was actually doing what I loved, making connections, learning skills of value and learning how to grow a biz.
Skipping forward, Triple S grew in reputation and size. I added employees. Sales and marketing became the next hurdle. Funny thing was I didn’t know that’s what i needed to do. I just knew i needed more work and so I went to where the work / musicians where, 48th street in NYC.
48th street was the heart of the music industry in those days. The biggest artists in the industry could be seen there any day of the week. All the latest and greatest gear was sold there first. It just made sense to plant my flag there, even though I had flag.
In all honesty I had no reason to even shop there let alone claim to be able do business with them.
I did it anyway. Eventually, I developed both professional and personal relationships with the owners of the biggest names on the block, Sam Ash, Manny’s music, Alex music, Martin Audio, and many more.
Those relationships lead me to relationships with some of the biggest manufactures in the industry who relied on the 48thstreet for a large portion of their business.
I was now jumping from coast to coast doing business. We had expanded to providing tour support for acts all over the world. We spun off a division that developed custom modifications and small widgets. Triple S (still bad choice in names haha) became a force in the music industry.
I sold the business in the late ‘90s when I began my career in the broadcast industry. Triple S is still a thriving successful business today. I still remain very close to the staff and new owners.
The success was not in the planning, it was in the doing.
All of this began and continued to grow because I got off the couch and jumped in.
Oh… and I don’t want to forget to mention, I got my ass kicked many, many times along the way. Bad deals, getting the company involved in things we had no business being in, relying on the wrong people and the list of “F” ups goes on and on.
The ass kickings needed to be mentioned so you understand that even the “mistakes” you will make are valuable. Learning what not to do is sometimes more important than learning what you should do.
Take home points
Just know that you will never feel comfortable trying something new. You will always think you don’t have the resources to make it a reality. You will always feel worried and fearful when you push off into a new adventure.
They key is turning those anxious feelings of fear and worry into feelings of excitement and determination.
Most importantly you need to do the “do” to learn and grow. Step off and get in the game. Everything else will take care of its self if you stay in motion.