I previously shared my journey in helping about 200 people get their businesses off the ground through the FIpreneur community.
In watching how this diverse group of entrepreneurs approaches their businesses, I’ve been reflecting on the gap all business owners have to traverse between having an idea for a business and actually launching it.
This gap can be extremely intimidating, especially if you’ve never launched a business before. You start to think of all the things that could go wrong. You start to project about what might happen one year, two years, ten years into the future.
You start to get lost in either minute details or ideas that are way too big to execute right now. The difference between entrepreneurs who navigate this gap successfully and those who become overwhelmed and give up is that the former choose to focus on what needs to be done right now.
They prioritize action and take things step by step, consistently putting one foot in front of the other.
In my experience observing entrepreneurs and starting my own businesses, I’ve realized that the best way to overcome this gap is to plan and execute in 90-day time periods.
When we’re just getting started, we can often build up and sustain momentum and willpower for at least 90 days. After that, especially if we’re not getting feedback or seeing the results we want, we can start to lose momentum.
I constantly see people who abandon side business ideas with tremendous potential to grow into larger businesses because they haven’t received enough support and decide the venture is no longer worth the effort they’re putting in.
The early stages of entrepreneurship are extremely lonely. Much of the time you’re working by yourself on a project most people around you might not fully understand.
You have no proof of concept that this will work; you’re running on self-knowledge and intuition, and unless you’re supremely confident, doubt can easily creep in.
So how do you create the momentum to sustain you during this critical time?
How do you map out a 90-day plan, day by day, to determine exactly how you’ll go from idea to launch? Here are five steps.
- Give yourself some grace: You have to come into any period like this with a level of self-awareness and self-love. By deciding to start a business, you are trying to actively change who you are and what you’re doing. The process of becoming an entrepreneur is a challenge and a change. It will come with a lot of emotions–equal parts pride and excitement and self-doubt and fear. But if you understand and accept this going in, you can recognize these emotions as normal and figure out ways to move past them.
- Find your community: As I said, entrepreneurship can be extremely lonely, and it can be difficult to stay focused and motivated when you’re siloed. That’s why it’s vital to create an environment where you are supported and have some accountability to experiment. Reach out to other entrepreneurs or join a community that will provide feedback–real feedback, not just encouragement–and keep you on track with your goals.
When I started my FI journey, I didn’t tell anyone for a long time, and my friends thought it was a dumb idea. I was able to find some people who were doing similar things, but the community was relatively small at the time. Now there are so many communities of people doing exactly what you’re doing–online and in real life. Seek out that network early and you’ll improve your chances of success.
- Plan your course of action: You need to commit to the process of getting things done. Plan out exactly what you need to do, day by day, step by step, for the next 90 days. Plans can shift if necessary, but having a map will allow you to make sure you’re staying on the right path to reach your goal.
- Limit the number of variables involved in any task: A big mistake I see new entrepreneurs make is trying to experiment with too many things all at once. For example, they might launch an A/B test to see which blog headlines are most effective, but they test different headlines with different audiences, which makes it impossible to determine which variables are actually making the difference.
Whenever you’re starting something new–whether it’s a new business, a new diet, or a new morning routine–you need to keep things simple so you can monitor results.
- Prioritize your inputs: During the early stages of entrepreneurship, many people feel like they need to direct all of their energy into their business, but they neglect their own energetic inputs and burn out quickly. Surround yourself with things, places, and people that inspire you. Feed your body and soul properly.
Your inputs will look different from those of other people. For me, I derive energy from seeing friends, visiting museums, being around objects that inspire me, reading books that teach me something, playing guitar, and listening to music. I recently bought an apartment in New York City because I missed having the inputs I used to have in my life when I lived there.
As much as I love my life in Ohio, I needed more stimulation to keep myself nourished. Just like you must tend to the soil in a garden and feed it nutrients and energy so the plants can grow and thrive, you need to tend the soil of your own life. You need to give yourself the space to grow.
The more you think about the limits of time, the more you realize how precious the time you have is, especially as you get older and your life changes. Choose to do things that give you energy and allow you to create the life you want, not what someone else has.
The more you move through your entrepreneurial journey, the more you’ll recognize patterns and your natural ebb and flow. You’ll figure out what works for you, and what actions you need to take to reach your goals.
You’ll test and set your limits. In the beginning, this may feel overwhelming and chaotic, but embrace the uncertainty and excitement as an opportunity, stay grounded, and you’ll get where you need to be.
Just a quick reminder that I’m closing the doors to my FIpreneur community this Friday, April 5th at midnight, so if you’re interested in using entrepreneurship to accelerate your journey to financial independence or joining check out: https://fipreneurs.com/.
