Plan for it to take 2+ years

Posted: January 15, 2013 Comments

View http://sebastianmarshall.com/plan-for-it-to-take-2-years

Overnight success is a misnomer for many companies in our industry. If we take a few minutes to look into them, however, we see that what looked to be a single night is really upwards of a decade. If there was really a method to quick success, we’d all have done it by now and our debts would be paid as we sip coffee on the balcony of one of our many vacation homes.

Starting a business requires devotion. If you’re not ready to buckle down and go for it regardless of how you might feel that day, it likely isn’t the time for you. I like a lot of what this piece has to say, but not all of it. For example:

When you do get started seriously and full-time, block out standard working hours and follow them religiously. I’d recommend 50+ hours per week for as long as you can handle it, and then maybe scale down if burnout comes on or the hours aren’t used well.

I like part one, I don’t like part two. Nothing against the author, that’s how many people starting companies think. When we started Iron to Iron however, we vowed to work sane hours from the start. And we have. I realize that it all comes down to what you consider ‘work’, but we committed to a normal working schedule and are very glad about that. It’s very easy to fall into a temptation to just constantly work, but we’re in it for the long haul and are confident that if you even approach burnout you’ve lost the momentum required to keep it up for years on end.

/via @mubashariqbal

Get my newsletter

Receive periodic updates right in the mail!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *