Startup mentality

[AgileGuy]

Hi all, wanting your thoughts on this, do you think business owners have a certain mentality? Can it be learned? Personally I find myself getting an idea, then analysing to the point where either it doesn’t seem like it going to work or creating such a behemoth of an idea, that execution is difficult.

 

[WaveJumper]

Yep they don't procrastinate, they don't let anything get in their way especially when they have a good idea and no matters how many knocks and setbacks they encounter they keep plugging away until successful.

Not everyone is cut out for it

 

[ctrlbrk]

Hi all, wanting your thoughts on this, do you think business owners have a certain mentality? Can it be learned? Personally I find myself getting an idea, then analysing to the point where either it doesn’t seem like it going to work or creating such a behemoth of an idea, that execution is difficult.

Hi, welcome

Depends what you mean by "business owners". Business owners can range from the one-shop man up to the billion pounds industry type and anything in-between.

I don't believe there is a certain mentality that is necessarily common to all.

In your case it sounds like you're stuck in analysis-paralysis mode. As for execution, that is very important. Many many people have ideas. Not so many can make it viable.

 

[AgileGuy]

Yep they don't procrastinate, they don't let anything get in their way especially when they have a good idea and no matters how many knocks and setbacks they encounter they keep plugging away until successful.

Not everyone is cut out for it

Not everyone is cut out for it? Can it be learned?

 

[AgileGuy]

Hi, welcome

Depends what you mean by "business owners". Business owners can range from the one-shop man up to the billion pounds industry type and anything in-between.

I don't believe there is a certain mentality that is necessarily common to all.

In your case it sounds like you're stuck in analysis-paralysis mode. As for execution, that is very important. Many many people have ideas. Not so many can make it viable.

Good point about the scale of the business, how to go from idea to a viable business without getting stuck in analysis feels like the key. At what point do you stop the analysis?

 

[fisicx]

Not everyone is cut out for it? Can it be learned?

Some can. Some can’t. Not everyone has the skills and gumption to run their own business.

 

[ctrlbrk]

At what point do you stop the analysis?

Someone once said that if most people had all the data available to them they'd make correct decisions 99% of the time.

Which means it's not about collecting all the data - it's about getting enough data to be able to make educated guesses on your probability of success.

As for what is enough... it depends on the context, but making guesses based on partial information is a skill, which means it can be learned.

 

[pentel]

Have a go at one of your ideas.

Decide how much you want to burn before you make a decision to continue.

Analyse at that point then continue if you want to continue.

If not move on to idea 2 taking into account the lessons you learnt on idea 1

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I don't know if its a start up mentality but a little bit later on I notice something in people

At the point where things can get very tough those that don't give up often thrive later on

 

[AgileGuy]

I don't know if its a start up mentality but a little bit later on I notice something in people

At the point where things can get very tough those that don't give up often thrive later on

Interesting , this sort of goes against the ‘fail fast’ mentality - maybe you only heard about the stories where people didn’t give up and succeeded and less about the stories of people who didn’t give up and still failed, the latter being less newsworthy!

 

[fisicx]

And there are thousands still hoping to succeed but failing. Just look at the huge numbers of stores on shopify, eBay, Etsy and others who aren’t selling anything but still paying fees.

Failure is more likely than success. It’s just how things are.

 

[Fagin2021]

Or the old adage "if at first you don't succeed try again, then try something else."

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Interesting , this sort of goes against the ‘fail fast’ mentality - maybe you only heard about the stories where people didn’t give up and succeeded and less about the stories of people who didn’t give up and still failed, the latter being less newsworthy!

Oh I heard about the stories that did give up my friend!
Some of them are on the list of debtors owing me IR 70K over the years
That's why I still live in a cottage in Devon and not a villa on the Med!