When You First Start Out

When you first launch you maybe concerned about what people will think about your actions, your startup, your marketing, your ideas.

You may be concerned that you seem too brash, too young, too new, too different.

Not experienced enough, not smart enough, not good looking enough.

Didn’t go to the right school, University, don’t hang with the right crowd.

Truth is that no one actually notices. The majority don’t care.

If you are lucky someone might give you a second thought.

Mostly they won’t.

Most parents, schools, societies don’t want or reward someone different, radical or amazing.

They are rewarded for turning out homogenous young people.

As such most people try to blend in, act like the other girls & guys, be credible, don’t rock the boat or make a scene or a fuss or heaven forbid do something different or amazing.

Actions are often prefaced with “what will people think about us?”

Reality for most people who ask “what will people think” is that no one thinks about them at all.

Reminds me of the old real estate sales maxim, “No one is coming, no one is calling, you have to go out and get them”.

So in most cases in the early days it really doesn’t mater what you do, most people will never see it.

You have to hope that the few who do see your work think its worth remembering.

This is liberating because knowing most people are not paying attention gives you the freedom to try things that you think will be frowned upon or not right good enough etc.

If you revert to the mean in your behaviour or work at the beginning of your startup life you are in trouble before you begin.

So try something different, do a dozen experiments, be remarkable, try a different business model, pricing, be reckless.

Don’t worry too much about your brand in the early days, no one else is going to.

Thanks to NASA for the image