Founder Myth: You Need Everything Figured Out
Entrepreneurs who didn’t have it all figured out found success anyway. Here is why you should not wait until you do.
Whoever made this claim doesn’t understand what entrepreneurship truly entails. The experience that comes from building a business includes calculated risk, uncertainty, experimenting, and learning as you go.
Sure, being a ‘know-it-all’ and neurotic planner could give you an edge, but it won’t predict your future. Still, entrepreneurs who didn’t have it all figured out found success — and here’s why you shouldn’t worry so much about it.
Statistically, entrepreneurs come from all educational backgrounds, and the large percentage who pursued higher education have degrees that aren’t even related to their business.
Often, the path leading to entrepreneurship comes from self discovery — like wanting to be your own boss, or putting your time and effort into something that matters to you.
After discovering what they’d like their career path to look like, founders often start building with just three things: their core idea, the target audience they’d like to reach with it, and the ambition to make it a reality. As they start and keep building, they figure out other important details like pricing decisions or marketing.
But even through the process of getting a business off the ground, there are things that can only be figured out through trial and error.
For example, if you had a business where you deal with customers, you wouldn’t know what to tweak with your product or service, how to best reach your audience, or how to make processes optimal without their feedback.
That’s why a lot of founders do market research and testing, so when they fully launch, they know their audience will gain access to something that aligns with their needs or wants.
It can definitely feel daunting to open a business without every detail figured out, especially with the risks involved, but being an entrepreneur means that experience is your teacher.
So, if you’ve been holding off because you’re trying to plan every single step — maybe you should just start instead.
Of course, this isn’t to say that you can’t have assistance with planning and taking your next steps in the building process. Join the waitlist for the SideKix app, where you’ll have access to a helpful community of peers and advisors.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need everything figured out before starting a business?
No, and the article treats the belief that you do as one of the more effective ways to never begin.
Where does the myth come from?
From seeing finished businesses rather than the process that produced them. The published version of a company shows none of the uncertainty it was built through.
How much should I have figured out before I start?
Enough to take the next step rather than the whole path, since most of what you need to know only becomes visible once you are moving.
What is the risk of waiting until you feel ready?
Readiness rarely arrives on its own, so waiting for it tends to function as a decision not to start.
Rather have this sequenced for you?
SideKix turns reading like this into a path: the next step surfaced one at a time, with the people and resources you need at the point you need them.