Starting SmallAnd shipping quickly
And shipping quickly
I am obsessed with the process of building and shipping product. So much so, that I have been trying to complete this process as quickly as possible as often as possible.
But for someone like me — who is no expert developer or graphic artist — finding what I could ship was a challenge.
You see, it’d hard (I like challenges, but…) for someone like me to bring an idea into reality. But, becoming self-aware, has helped me change the way I accomplish my goal of shipping product as often as possible. The simple, but fundamental change looks a bit like this:
The first thing I had to realize was that the challenge of bringing an idea into reality should not be taken alone. In fact, it is really really challenging to start a company on your own.
Whatever graph you look at (whether its 2 or 3 is not clear to me), they always tell you not to start on your own. And I know, from experience , that during this crazy thing called entrepreneurship, you need all the help you can get. So the first realization, after a couple of trends I realized in my own endeavors, was that when building a company (of whatever size), you need a team. And that team is there to help you ship that product as quickly and as effectively as possible.
The next thing I focused on was finding my niche. I found a medium (get it) that I could ship daily on. And for me — that was blogging. I did not need to wait for others to help me put together some code and make a product. I could do it all on my own given my current skill-set, and, thanks to some great user interface on Medium’s behalf, do it simply. I ship a product every single day here and do not plan on missing days. Not because I am contractually obligated to, not because anyone is reading this (seriously), and not because I am making money (I am not). I do it because I love the feeling of hitting that publish button — just as much as a true engineer loves committing to github and an artist submitting to Dribble.
Casey Neistat ships his version of a movie every single day. Of course, not every day is the biggest production in the world — but it’s something. Every day — there is a moment where Casey pushes that submit to Youtube button. Casey found his way to celebrate everyday. In the same way, 2that thrill excites me.
That thrill, for me, is always subject to change. While I am taking computer science classes and trying other things that interest me, I know, for now — I can publish something daily. All I need is internet connection.
So — simply put, my advice is to find your thrill. And then find the smallest iteration that can get you back to that thrill. Find something that excites you and do it as often as possible. That is my recipe for becoming happy. Whether that is running, sailing, eating (love it), avocados, or building a company?!? Do it. And keep doing what you’re doing — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Woahh — thanks for reading ! I hope you got something from my words.
I’d love to continue this conversation. Let’s make something happen !
I tweet — @itsjordangonen
By jordangonen on April 23, 2016.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.