I’m not sure there’s someone out there who hasn’t had a business idea at some point. We all have these crazy ideas we can dream about and imagine Zuckerberging our way to be one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. As a small-time entrepreneur myself I have some advice. Go for it.
I was at a TEDTALK event in austin, TEDxAustin, a few years ago. One of the speakers gave a talk on ignoring barriers to your ideas. Legal and financial barriers are some of the biggest barriers out there. Ignoring these barriers can land you in some deep trouble, but why not think small? This speaker lived in a growing community in Dallas, TX. There was a huge area of land owned by the city that was just overgrown and ignored. After years of him and his neighborhood association failing at getting the city to utilize the land they took matters into their own hands.
They picked a date and guerrilla-gardened for an entire day. Cutting and clearing debris, installing gravel paths, trees, bushes, fences and ended up completely transforming the space. This was technically against the law, but once their elected officials saw the progress, they actually signed off on the improvement and designated the area as a dog park. Flash forward to recent times and they’ve taken on a ton of projects with a ‘act first, ask for permission later’ attitude. They’ve painted miles of bike lanes, fixed ramps, improving on things the city is too busy and slow to act on.
This type of attitude is what I believe helps new entrepreneurs. Think about what the first step you can take towards opening your business. Now find a way to make it happen, don’t think about the barrier and act.
Today’s infographic details some more great advice on starting your business. Check it out.