Startup Steps, Learned over 22 Years
lancewalley.wordpress.com
lancewalley.wordpress.com
Personally I found it pretty useful. I'm working on some of them but it's unfamiliar territory and I'm not sure what all needs to be done exactly. I found this to be some good practical advice that complements some of the more esoteric higher level advice that we normally see around here.
Edit: You know what, I take this back; not only too harsh but somewhat off topic. I think the title got me expecting one thing and upon reading another felt unfulfilled.
Not all business build something either. Say you simply want a business to do consulting under. In the article, his PerlUSA he started with was just that.
Sometimes having a business is as simple as a DBA... cheap to do and a couple hours, looks more professional to have a client pay a company than cutting a check to Joe Smoe.
In my opinion, any time you are entering into a contract with a third party, it is best to have a legal entity set up. Talk to any company whose been around a while, consultancy or product company, and you'll hear war stories about deals gone bad. When you are still small, there'd be nothing scarier than having a deal fall through and leaving your personal assets exposed if they decided to sue.
Which is not to say that it's FALSE, per se, but that it covers the purely mechanical details.
Yes, you need a checking account.
Yes, you need a tax ID.
But, heck, you need a desk too.
And, if you don't eat meals, you'll die, and never do a startup, so why not put that on the list?
Having launched two bootstrapped startups over the last six years (http://SmartFlix.com and http://HeavyInk.com) I would NEVER give this advice to someone - it's like saying "The secret to becoming a tennis pro? Simple: 1) guy a tennis racket; 2) but tennis balls ; 3) and never, EVER forget to buy tennis shoes - you just can't play barefoot".
This stuff will all get done in due time, because it HAS to get done. There's not need to itemize steps which more or less take care of themselves.
The IMPORTANT stuff is the stuff you find in Steve Blank's book Four Steps to the Epiphany, and in a few other great business books (Getting Everything You Can From All You've Got).
1) figure out you value proposition (who are you helping?) 2) who are you selling to? 3) what is your unique selling proposition (how do you convey the value to your would-be customers?) 4) what is your plan to iterate in discovering your customers? 5) what is your plan to iterate in discovering the proper marketing channels to reach your customers?
etc.
"Get a bank account" is the kind of bogus filler that you find in a housewive's magazine about how to turn her candle making hobby into a small little business selling to friends and relatives.
Entrepreneurs need REAL advice.
What a shame such a great post starts with such a negative thought.
Your feedback, tjic, is excellent. Too bad a lot of people won't get to the excellent part because they're so turned off by your slam of OP that they just stop reading.
I've made the same mistake many times (and even realized it before my 2 hours were up and came back and editted down the negativity).
Sure, OP's advice is mechanical, but does offer some value for some readers. No need to viserate him in order to get your point across.
You zero in on what's most important first. So do your references of Steve Blank and Jay Abraham.
Having launched two bootstrapped startups over the last six years...
No need to post your resume in your comment. Your thoughts are your resume. Anyone who says what you just said has obviously already achieved a lot. (Might be a good idea to put those links in your profile so that anyone can see them no matter which comment they read.)
Not a slam, just some feedback from someone who keeps making the same mistake. You have much value to add. Find a voice that gets that value to the maximum number of recipients.