Why you shouldn’t try to build the next big thing. Start small.

The web is booming with new companies and products. Given the post millennial exponential growth in products, it’s probably going to keep moving in that direction. Today, it’s exceedingly difficult to get an overview in selected industries. With a respectful effort, it’s even difficult to locate the majority of competitors in a lot of industries.

This article is not meant to stop anyone from going for the gold medal. By all means, if you think you have the million dollar idea, get started. People continue to disrupt industries everyday and this is definitely where the real money is.

However, chances are you won’t create the next big thing. This has always been my starting point. Your ideas shouldn’t be limited to startups with a potential worldwide reach. In my point of view, the opposite is a better starting point.

I have made a small list of valuable lessons in my two years as an entrepreneur. It definitely does not apply to all in terms of thought processes but it might provide some valuable perspective for future entrepreneurs.

1. A small business provides entrepreneurial practice

Is it possible to gain experience in entrepreneurship? Indeed it is. Over the course of the past two years, I have gained more insight into entrepreneurship than I have in the twenty years before. I have learned to value what goes on behind the curtains of any company. This ranges from large international corporations to small grocery markets. Even the smallest hot dog stand has to deal with concepts such as supply and demand.

Your first start up does not necessarily need to be one with a large initial investment and high risks. At the same time, it does not necessarily has to be extremely time consuming. Consider making something you can easily manage while maintaining a full time job.

Remember, any creation is still a creation. Something you can be proud of and watch grow over the years. Something you can continue to nurture along the way.

// Start small. Act as if it was big.

2. Ideas don’t magically appear in your brain

Ideas are a result of a thought process as any other thing. You have to create it. And most importantly, you have to live it. Once you have founded a company to “solve” a problem you encountered, you have been exposed to the entrepreneur bug. From this point forward, you will likely consider the scenes behind every company you come across.

This is the thought process you can use to come up with actionable ideas. I often take time out of my schedule to simply just brainstorm ideas. You would be surprised as to how many ideas you can come up within just 30 minutes. Obviously they won’t all be great. And you probably shouldn’t follow through with every single one. But it’s a start. You can always open your notebook later to assess the validity once again.

// Try to sit down on your own and come up with ideas!

3. Focus on ideas that can be executed nationally

Being from a non English speaking country the market is significantly different from the US market. Denmark is actually pretty small. As in 5.7 million people small. This, combined with our own language, makes for a different national market.

5.7 million people might not be a lot compared to the massive population of the US. But it’s more than plenty to support businesses of all sorts. This was the starting point for my first entrepreneurial adventure. It wasn’t and will never be something that can support me financially. It was a mushroom app for iOS that listed 50 of the most popular edible and poisonous mushrooms in Denmark. Something that required numerous hours of learning about the subject. I will save the full story for another article.

The point is the product. An application listing a number of mushrooms is not a display of the newest application technologies. It does not utilize any modern user interactions or functions. It simply lists information.

Not only was it a simple execution, it didn’t make a lot of money. Well, it’s not even making enough money to support me for a month. Besides the low income it had already been made before. More than 10 nations already had their own mushroom app for people with an interest in fungi. Luckily, mushrooms are different depending on climate and they all have local names aside from their latin name.

The sole reason for the existence of this business opportunity was the difference in language, culture, climate and business environment. These opportunities are not restricted to Denmark and mushrooms. You can apply this to any other environment and find the same opportunities. Try to use one of the brainstorming sessions to focus on products in your local environment.

// Brainstorm ideas in your local environment!

4. Platform versus content creation

The big money is in platforms. It’s hard to deny. Creating your own content from scratch is hard work but can be both rewarding and be the stepping stone you need for a website or a small business.

Find a niche and devote yourself to creating an extensive library or display of information within this niche. This could be anything from food to web technologies. Because it often has a greater power to launch a large number of items, you need to determine the appropriate amount in your niche. This is highly dependent on the nature of the niche of course.

The most important aspect of this point is something I can’t stress enough. Keep it fun! Do not let yourself grow tired of the project. Work just enough to keep yourself motivated. It can be as little as 5 minutes. Any contribution to the project will keep it moving forward.

// Pick a niche and start creating content!

I hope you enjoyed my perspective on entrepreneurship. I aspire to write more articles in the near future.