The Importance of Starting Immediately
I'm not sure who said it first, but the gist is: "the moment you have an idea take the first steps towards it".
That's my new thing. I don't fuck around any longer.
Yesterday I had an idea for a new software business to build. The old me would have "sat on it" for a few days, overanalyzed the name, bought 10 similar domain names, written out a bunch of notes, and so on. [This type of over analysis is something I call "7-Ball", but that topics is for another time...]
But since I don't do this destructive behavior any longer, I immediately took action towards the goal.
My software idea is to build a web-analytics tool, something that could compete with Google Analytics and Fathom Analytics.
It's a tool I need and want. And although I already pay for an analytics solution, I think it'd be cooler and more fun to build my own. Plus, I could sell this service to other indie developers, small startups, and even individuals who simply have some websites they'd like more insight on. Eventually, I might also build in iOS app capabilities too.
I know this is a space with a lot of competitors, but who cares? I want the tool for me, and if I could make some money with it, cool.
So, knowing the importance of starting immediately, I took the following actions:
- Thought about the core vibe of the software: lightweight, easy to install, super clean interface, just the key data, fast, private.
- Thought of product names for about 30 seconds and settled on Zappy Analytics.
- Immediately checked the US Trademark database for "Zappy Analytics" Nothing. I'm free to use it.
- Registered www.ZappyAnalytics.com.
- Hooked up the site to my VPS and created my email.
- Created @zappyanalytics accounts on X, TikTok, and Instagram.
Cool. I'm all set up. Many people would take weeks just to do that and I banged it all out in 30 minutes or so. I'm sure you know someone who has "had an idea" for two years and isn't even one step closer to doing it, don't you?
Of course, the tasks I completed are simple administrative items and what really matters is building the product. I know that—I'm not an idiot. But the important thing is that I didn't waste time moving the idea to the next stage.
I don't know if you ever started a business or created your first $1 of income solely on your own (W-2 employees don't count here). There are a million steps in creating something from nothing that makes you money. And Zappy Analytics will be no different for me.
But the great news is that I completed six of these steps within 30 minutes of having the initial idea. Cool, only 999,994 more items to go.
At 41 years old, I'm finally starting to understand how valuable time is and how much of it most of us waste. I don't know why it took me so long, but that's life.
Do you really want the thing? Then start immediately. If you don't, it might be a signal from your brain that you don't really want it. If anything, immediately starting gives you this signal. And guess what? While taking the initial steps, if things don't feel right you can stop doing it and save yourself a lot of time and wasted mental energy.
Do yourself a favor: shorten the amount of time from idea to action. You have to get moving.
Otherwise you're just bullshitting yourself. And that's very bad.