#grassroutes

Jason of 37signals has always managed to write posts that spark a debate. I have not always been in agreement with him, but this post of his? Well, I am 100%, i mean word-to-word in agreement!

Jason writes on how your new startup has to evolve naturally from a side-project to a full-blown venture. I like to see this in context to my social side-project YoFa (or Grassroutes)

Some have doubted our advice that you should hold on to your day job and start something on the side. They argue building a business requires such persistent effort that you need to devote all your time to it to do it right.

Well, loads of people told us that back in Dec 2007 when we were in the dumps with YoFa almost having failed.

And it’s true that building a business requires plenty of time and effort. But the idea that you need to quit your job to do it right is misguided. If you quit your job, you shift everything. You don’t gain time, you lose it. You put a shot clock on your business. You box yourself into a position where you have to profit immediately or the whole thing goes under. You’ve got to make it work now or give up forever.

And that's exactly why we almost failed. We were not confident of our revenue models, and that fizzled the momentum we had gathered.

Hanging on to your day job gives you a longer period of time to build your idea. It lets you give a sustained effort over time. There’s no get rich quick option. You build it slowly, one day at a time.

And that's what we did. Decided to stick to our day-jobs and push the envelope.

Yes, you need to find time to do both your side business and your normal gig. But there’s always enough time if you spend it right. Instead of watching TV or playing Grand Theft Auto, work on your idea. Instead of going to bed at 10, go to bed at 11. We’re not talking about all-nighters or 16 hour days – we’re talking about squeezing out a few extra hours a week. That’s enough time to get something going and then keep giving it gas.

"Instead of playing GTA". Exactly! This is the reason why I stopped myself from buying a PS3 when everyone around me were forcing me to; the reason why my holidays are busier than my work-days.

Let your side business evolve into a full-time business naturally. Go for organic growth. Start as a side project. Build it slowly. Keep putting time into it. As pickup of your project grows, then you can justify devoting more resources to it. Eventually, if everything goes according to plan, you’ll be able to quit your job and devote all your time to it (if that’s what you want). But doing so right out of the gate is putting the cart before the horse.

We have come a long way. Maybe the time is amost here for a major rethinking of life/career etc.

Think how evolution happens in nature. There aren’t huge leaps. Things incrementally change. That’s the model to shoot for.