Success often takes longer than it should when you look back at the years. I believe the reason why is directly related to this idea of “just in time” vs. “just in case” information.
I heard an internet mentor articulate this in a podcast recently, and it immediately resonated with how I acted at the beginning stages of building a business.
Let’s create a hypothetical situation and apply both methods of learning.
- You are learning how to make websites
- You are starting to get comfortable
- You begin to think, “I bet someone will pay me to help them”
Then reality hits.
How do you find these people? What if they ask for something I’ve never done? How am I going to charge? What if there is a dispute during the process?
As questions arise, your instinct is to default to “just in case” information. So you research and research for every possible scenario. You continue to tinker with WordPress on your site. Maybe you start to learn code. You buy a design program. You watch more free tutorials.
Before you know it, 6 months are gone.
Are you any closer to your goal of making money from home?
The alternative is only seeking “just in time” information. Spend all your effort learning how to find ONE client to work with on their website. The cost is irrelevant until you have a conversation with this person. The tech requirements are unknown until you discuss it with them. They may not care about striking design; simple & functional is likely good enough.
The point here is all beginners worry about minor details they don’t know. And they use that lack of knowledge as an excuse to delay action.
Successful entrepreneurs find real people who experience real problems and only focus on those, not problems they think might happen.