Why you should take the first step with that business idea

Starting a business might sound scary, or it might sound exciting. Either way, I think you should act on those ideas, and start something.

I have started many businesses in my short life, and I don’t regret any of them (even though they haven’t worked out yet).

My first business was selling items on the side of our driveway with my two sisters when I was about ten. We sold popcorn, hand picked weedy flowers, and hanging mobiles made out of tin can lids. We packaged up all the popcorn and flowers, and searched through our neighbors’ recycling for tin can lids when we’d used all of ours. It was an exciting adventure. After selling a few things we eventually moved on, but I still remember that little stall, put together under Manuka trees on the side of that gravel road.

After that I started my YouTube channel at around fifteen. I still have the channel running, and hope to continue posting in the future. Although it hasn’t grown much, and doesn’t generate an income, I’m passionate about film making and filming things.

The biggest business I started was my “The Windy Wildflower” shop on Etsy. I created it because I was publishing a book and wanted to sell it somewhere. Etsy was the cheapest place to start, so I went ahead and figured it out. The book was published, and I put it on the shop. My total orders are sitting at a grand total of 7. I sold about five in a local store. This book cost me $2000 to publish and print 100 copies, so it’s a failure from a business point of view. But do I regret doing this? No. I felt so called to publish the books, and learnt so many valuable things that are much more important than money.

After that, I, more recently, created vintage gift boxes and tried to sell them on my Etsy store, on a hand crafted nz site called “Threads”, and Trade Me. This has also not taken off.

My latest ideas are blogging, and publishing my current project: Swimming With Lupins. I’m putting much of my free time into writing posts, creating pins for Pinterest, and editing my book. I heard a great piece of advice from Lisa of “Farmhouse On Boone”. She said something along the lines of, “don’t expect your business to take off just because you created it. You need to put the real work in and figure out how it can succeed.” It all starts with that first step.

If you have an idea for a business, or a project, I’d encourage you to go for it! Life so easily passes us by. There is no time like the present. Start that YouTube channel, open that Etsy store, begin the blog. Following these dreams opens so many doors to opportunities we’d never get our hands on otherwise.

What’s holding you back?

Fear of failure? Fear of what others will think?

Whatever else might be holding you back, look to the dream instead, and think of all the places it could take you, all the people you could meet through it. Think of you in the future. Will you regret always hesitating to start? Will you wish you hadn’t procrastinated for ten years. I think I’ll look back on myself and be proud. I think I’ll see each idea I’ve tried as an adventure.

Imagine if your business idea became a full time income for you and your family. What if it meant you could work your dream job? Isn’t the risk of something not working far outweighed by the endless opportunities that lie at your door?

So write that idea down on paper, and then write beneath, “how I’m going to make it happen”. Make an actionable plan so you can start taking the first steps. First steps can be scary. I recall thinking, “I have no idea what I’m doing”, or, “what if this isn’t the right direction?” when starting things. It’s always that first leap of faith that is the most difficult. Once you’re in the thick of it, your passion for what you’ve started will carry you.

Doing hard things, or something outside of our comfort zones changes us as people. Deciding to start that business might be one of the best decisions of your life. It might change your life.

It’s about more than just the idea, it’s about learning to do hard things. It’s about the adventure, and the story.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt since starting businesses, it’s that I don’t regret them even when they “fail”. The experiences that I gain far outweigh the rest. I love taking the vision and turning it into reality. It’s such a rewarding process.

Recently I deleted instagram and decided to dedicate to my business the amount of time I spent during a week on that app. That amount was almost 6 hours! Week after week, that time will add up and I will stand at the end of it with something to show. The only thing I had to show for most of my time on instagram was regret that I’d scrolled through reels for hours.

So far this has been such a transformative step. Now I have hours in my week dedicated to my business. They are set apart and honored as if it was a real job. I find myself putting in productive time to my ideas, and seeing things move along. Not only are things getting done, but it feels so good to use my time for something worth while.

If you dedicate that kind of attention and time to your idea, there’s a good chance it’s going to go somewhere. Then, one day, you’ll look back and thank yourself that you took that first step, and made your idea a reality.

Today could be the perfect time to make dreams a reality! Write down that idea and start something special in your life. No time like today!