Why I also agree with starting out small....

> This comes from chapter 72 in the book,
> MAGICAL WORLDS of the WIZARD OF ADS by Roy
> Williams.

> The chapter is called THINK BIG, START
> SMALL...

> "People frustrate me. For all their
> talk about being "goal oriented,"
> most people either aren't willing to dream
> big enough or they're not willing to start
> small enough....
> They refuse to believe that every great
> success must necessarily begin with a sad,
> pathetic, laughable first attempt. These are
> people we see sighing and waiting for their
> "big break"..."

> I share Roy Williams frustration. Over the
> last 7 years I've had the opportunity to get
> know hundreds of people on-line that say
> they want to do something...and most have
> grandiose dreams, many have dreams so huge
> it would make Bill Gates a little thinker.

> Yet, only a few have taken the first step,
> only a few have STARTED SMALL.

> The whole point of the exercise Joe was to
> get people to DO IT. To start small and get
> somethng done.

Hi Gordon,

I agree with you fully. A lot of people want to start a business by first thinking of a big grandiose idea, then they dream of getting millions of dollars of funding to start their company.... Even when they have no business experience whatsoever.

This does happen sometimes (I think Federal Express probably started that way, I think Fred Smith jumped right into his big idea), but I also prefer starting small....

The way I figure it, if I can make it work on a small scale, THEN I'll know I can make it work on a large scale too. But, if I make mistakes, mistakes are much less costly on a small scale than on a large scale. So, I prefer to start out small, make all my mistakes, and once things are working (and profitable) I can ramp things up and then increase profits.

I think this way, you keep the costs of your mistakes low, yet once you know what you're doing, you can still make good profits when you're ready for them....

Everyone is going to make mistakes - it's all part of the learning process - and it makes much more sense to make them small-scale than on a colossal scale.

It's like when a baby learns to walk.... he (or she) is going to try to walk, and fall down countless times in the process. But since he's close to the ground anyhow, falling down doesn't hurt so badly! When he knows how to walk, he can shoot up in growth and walk around as a much taller person without the fear of falling.... :)

Thanks Gordon, your posts are always full of wisdom.... :)

- Dien Rice