Five things you're not expecting from your start-up. Start-Up Files #5

There are books jammed full with big talk about "outside the box" thinking and the alleged glamour of being an entrepreneur. 

Am I saying it's horrible? No. I'm not. Well, sometimes it is. 

In the process of starting tweetjukebox.com, I've been reminded of some of the lessons from my past. In the interest of saving you some time, I'm posting them here. 

They are not meant to discourage you.

But before you pull the plug on a conventional job, here's five things to consider before taking the plunge.

1) When you launch your business, nobody is going to care.  

Your family might, but then again, maybe not. They'll probably be sick of hearing about your crazy idea (which is what they think).

At least my family seems to enter a temporary coma when I bring up Tweet Jukebox. It's not a lack of love, but they aren't interested. 

They've got there own stuff they're dreaming about. They're not my "target" market.

Even your friends will be kind of ho-hum. They too, have their own stuff to worry about. Their own dreams to dream.

If you're lucky, with a bit of shouting, and persuading, your market will care. Just be prepared that it may be a bit lonely along the way to getting there. 

2) You will have periods that require a lot of dull repetition.  

Sometimes the chatter about being creative makes me a little nauseous. Sure, it is part of having a start-up. A very small part for most businesses.

Let's put it this way. Having an idea for a workout? That is not working out.

Having an idea for a business? That is not running a business. 

That final few sets of exercise during a workout when you want to go home? You feel crappy and need to leave? That's a bit more like having a business. You don't need to do any thinking. You need to make something happen. Over and over and over. 

For every idea you have, there's a mountain of grunt work required to make it a reality.

Until the magic of profitability grants you a sliver of freedom.

Think that's boring? Tough. Now get back to work.

3) Worst Case Scenarios may be closer than they appear.

When starting a business, the overwhelming tendency is to be optimistic.  If it wasn't, probably nobody would bother. It's too crazy. Except when it works. Then it's amazingly awesome. 

I had a few businesses before I had one that truly succeeded. One of them, Career Express, was going to put graduating college students together with employers. A neat idea back in the mid-80s. Lot's of people thought so. 

But I had no clue how hard it would be to explain to people, en masse, the benefit of doing it. So I wasted all my money on some goofy ads and the business failed. Worst case scenario arrived very early. 

I didn't see it coming. As someone with a finance background, I should have. But optimism threw a pillow case over my head. Oops.

Imagine your worst case scenario as a sort Ferrari of bad news. Fast moving. Very fast. 

Be sure that your reserves of money and resolve are well-stocked.

4) What you think people will love about your business may not be what people love about your business. 

This happens all the time. It happened with tweetjukebox.com. I thought it was going to be a super hit with social media people. I wasn't wrong. Well, not entirely anyhow.

People liked some of the things I thought they would. That it was easy to use, and had a simple interface. But much more than that, people loved getting easy access to content. 

After actually arguing with people that "we don't provide content", my feeble brain finally kicked into gear. Duh, an opportunity. 

What I meant to say was, "Yes, we provide lots of awesome content. What sort would you like???"

Noticing what your customers are trying to say can be the difference between success and failure. Pay attention.

 5) Things Always look Easier from the Outside.

One of my best examples of this comes from racing motorcycles. I was a motocross rider when I was a teenager. 

One weekend I went to a Grand Prix (professional) race at a track near my city. As i watched them, I thought. "I can do that". 

Then I went to the track the following weekend. I flipped my bike on a hill. Then crashed a couple more times before riding away in shame. 

Pros make stuff look really easy. Through lots of practice and training, they manage to make flying around on the dirt look like a breeze. It's not.

Business can be a bit like that too. It's not as much "winner take all", but you can quickly find out that it's a bit harder than it appeared.

When you are starting out, don't imagine that you'll be in turbo mode from day one. There will be many things to figure out. And, with persistence you will figure them out. But mistakes will precede mastery.

There you have it. Five things to watch out for when you are starting out.

Don't let them discourage you. Rather consider them part of the road map to getting where you want.

Knowing where the obstacles are always makes for a more enjoyable journey.

Good luck.

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PS - If you enjoyed the story, please “like” it at the top of the page. Thanks!

("The Start-Up Files" is a series I'm writing while beginning my latest business,Tweet Jukebox. Don't worry about spoilers, I don't know how this thing turns out either. It seemed like an interesting idea to journal the ride, rather than veneer it for consumption later. Check back for Part #6. In the interim, I'll be living the story.)

PSS - please check out tweetjukebox.com to see what the fuss is about.