It doesn’t need to be a giant leap. Perhaps you don’t need to quit your day job just yet. But start something. Enough of the Starbucks dreaming with your friends on that idea you wanted to do. Start doing it.
Small steps.
The small steps are the great ones. They allow you to digest the grand adventure you are undertaking into bite-sized pieces. They also allow you to generate much-needed momentum to take the bigger leaps.
In 2004, I had my big idea. It was to create a benefits-based HR technology firm. I do remember multiple times when I decided to put these thoughts aside thinking, “ME?! Start a firm?”
However, it would gnaw at me periodically. I would have near-sleepless nights imagining and think to myself, “hey, this could work.”
I finally put my ideas on Powerpoint. In retrospect, this was crucial. Creating those slides was my first small step. I then proceeded to think about people whom I think could help me build the firm. I made a list of people whom I thought would be interested in the idea AND would complement my skill set – this was my next small step. I spent a number of weeknights having coffee-talks with each of these people, openly sharing about my idea, and asking for their opinions. In other words, I was recruiting.
Momentum was created, and soon, we were having brainstorming sessions in my house. Soon, I was signing SEC incorporation papers. Soon, we had a STORM email address. Soon, we started operations. Soon, we landed our first client. 3 years after, I took a deep breath and took the plunge – forever turning my back on the corporate career I had built. Soon, I was thinking about more startups.
Small steps leading to bigger steps.
What small steps could you take?
JUAN GREAT LEAP 