Scale Down to Start Up

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily."- Zig Ziglar

Starting up a business may require you to scale down your big dream.




Don't read into that.  I did not say it may require you to drop or dump your dream entirely.  I just said you may need to scale it down at the start to get things started.


You may need to slice it up into manageable pieces, so that you can get things set up and in place to advance to new levels, stages and phases.  I tend to favor a modular approach when I work with clients on programmatic funding or business planning, identifying phases where new components, services or features can be added based upon the state of the core business.  There it is.  I seem to have have given it away, but that should be the focus; your core business.  Scale things down to the core.  Get things down to the bare essentials and build from there.

I think Avon does an excellent job at providing a business model based on a similar cocnept.  You may like fashion or cosmetics, even costume jewelry.  Avon isn't trying to get you to open a kiosk at the mall or storefront on Main Street.  The company provides each "Avon lady" with the essentials to the catalogs and ordering forms as well as support that allow her to experience success on a small scale and grow from there.  It is obvious that Avon's core business is beauty products, not blue jeans or handbags.

Start out small, while continuing to think and dream big.  Post photos, sketches and anything else related to your dream above your PC's monitor, on your car's dashboard and taped to the fridge.  Keep it visible, but be sure to set things in order first. 

 

Don't get tripped up that you haven't accomplished or achieved the full dream yet.  Just get started. Get started right.  Get started doing the core business of your dream and build from there.