Slow, Slow, Quick Quick Slow

There are two types of founders - those who take time to make everything perfect in their business before launch - and those who have bought the domain name the second they think about it.

One of the most common social media entrepreneur memes is the idea of 'Just Start' - the idea that it is better to get moving with your business idea and build in public than to get everything ready beforehand. I'm all for people having a go at starting their own business but I also think it is important that they de-risk things as much as possible, so that they feel as in control as they can through a process that often feel wildly out of control.

So what are the pros and cons of moving fast, or taking your time to get things just so?

Scream If You Want To Go Faster

There are for sure good reasons why building your business at pace is a good idea:

Getting proof of concept - going to the market quickly helps you identify how viable your business really is, and saves you wasting time on an idea that frankly, nobody wants.

You are going to fail - the reality is that you will definitely get some decisions wrong in your business and you are likely to make mistakes, so the thought is, don't let the mistakes get in your way. If you accept that things will go wrong you can start building your business to at least get some momentum. If you don't start because you want everything to be perfect, you're going to waiting a long time.

People love to come along for the ride - many of those who build in public benefit from others getting invested in their story. You see a founder trying to start or grow their business and you start getting interested in how they are doing, sending them encouraging likes or comments as they narrate their business journey. Along the way they are creating a natural community that will help them buy from them or at least spread their message.

But moving at pace comes with a few potential traps as well:

Speed can cost more - failing is expensive, as you end up sometimes starting and restarting elements of your business time and time again.

No time to think - moving fast usually means thinking and assessing things quickly, which can lead to taking up products or services that are not going to deliver what you think they will. There is a reason a canny salesperson will try to create urgency into your decision making - because when we don't give ourselves time to think something through fully, we are more likely to go with an instinctive 'gut feel' which may or may not be based on anything substantial.

Exposure is not always positive - if you are seen to be publicly moving your business model around too much as you try to figure out what your business actually is, it begins to look erratic and unguided. There is definitely an advantage to showing that you will pivot and shift as the market needs you to, but moving too much too quickly kind of indicates that there is no thought behind your decisions - which makes saying anything with sincerity that much more difficult.

Slow And Steady Wins The Race?

OK so moving too quickly has its advantages and disadvantages. The other option is to build in private - the concept of 'Stealth Mode' was quite the thing a few years ago.

So is this any better an options?

Element of surprise - it is easier to create a buzz if you add an element of intrigue or surprise to it. Think of those adverts for Apple where it is just a date, or a word (usually on a black background, because, well, that's Apple for you). Offer people the promise of something that they aren't expecting and people will hang around for launch because of nosiness.

Avoid the copy cats - this is particularly true of businesses based off new technology or a new invention of some sort. The levels of NDA I have been asked to sign for businesses show that there is still some paranoia around people finding out about the offering and copying it (and sometimes it is justified - I've worked with businesses who were quite right to hide their tech from prying eyes). If you are trying to bring something completely unique into the marketplace, then being careful of how that gets launched makes sense.

You only get one shot - a launch of a business only happens once and so you need to make sure that the business is worthy of that moment. Making sure that you present the business the way it sits in your mind makes that moment special for you as founder as much as for the customers. You wouldn't walk down the aisle at your wedding with your hem half stitched up, would you?

Time to think - and by think I mean think of every possible thing that could go wrong and think of a way to deal with it. Yes, mistakes are inevitable but the impact of them is not. Giving yourself time to think things through and in particular, understand what could go right and wrong, will allow you to launch with confidence that, even if the worse does happen, you know how to handle it. You don't launch with your fingers crossed behind your back.

But as before - there are disadvantages with taking your time.

When will it be ready? How long does perfection take? If you are holding back launching your business for everything to be just so - what does that look like? Often, the things that we are waiting on, wanting them to be perfect before we launch - already are. It is easy to get caught up in the idea that everything has to be perfect before you go - because perfect isn't possible.

Missing the window of opportunity - we may all be amazing unique individuals but there are very few completely new concepts for businesses. And often, even when we do have something unique, the problem we are trying to solve is not - and others come up with other solutions. If you wait for your offering to be perfect, you may find that someone else has gone to market with a less than perfect solution, but as it is the only one on the market, they get first advantage. Markets don't care as much about perfect as about availability - the perfect product is no good to them hidden away.

Taking your time or delaying the inevitable? I'm not going to lie - launching your own business is one of the most excruciatingly vulnerable moments you will ever have in your life. You and your business are likely to be judged and assessed and you have very little control over how that goes. If you have watched programs like Dragon's Den or The Apprentice and squirmed as the contestants have been torn apart (for entertainment purposes, obviously) then it makes no sense why you would willingly put yourself in that position. So you don't. You nurture your business, polishing it till it gleams, getting it perfect - and because (as I said before) perfect isn't possible, you remain blissfully unlaunched and unjudged.

So - what's the answer? Launch fast or slow?

The real answer to this question is easy - it is whatever you want to do. That might sound like a cop out, but the reality is that the logical reasons of launching your business quickly or taking your time, has more to do with you as a person than the rationale behind the two choices. For some, they need to ease their way into the idea of running their own business, and giving themselves that time keeps them motivated and moving forward (albeit more slowly). For others, ripping the band-aid off quickly and just launching and see what happens gets the worse part over and everything from that point just feels naturally easier.

There is no perfect path - there is only your path. Finding the way that feels best for you is the most important thing - just know the pros and cons of what you are going to deal with.

NEW PRODUCT ALERT! Introducing The Startup Edge - Training on the Startup Mindset for Big Business

I'm very excited to be introducing a new training offering called the Startup Edge - a workshop designed to help bigger more established organisations to behave more like start ups - be more agile, flexible and with it, more innovative.

Having worked in corporations for 24 years throughout my career, and now working intensively with start ups, I recognise that they can teach a lot from one another. Start ups can benefit from the way corporations can scale up and down to deal with a changing market, and this is what I work on with them during our strategic work.

But equally, I can see how corporate thinking can stifle creativity and innovation, and how our teams are not empowered to work towards a common goal as much as just 'following the rules'. Having worked with hundreds of start ups every year, I wanted to offer larger businesses a perspective on what could be learnt from starting a business in today's market and what it could teach them to do differently.

If you work for a business that is drowning in bureaucracy or process, or have a leadership team that is tired of paying consultants to tell them their next move, then why not see if The Startup Edge is what you are looking for?

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Adviser In Your Pocket

You always need someone who is there for you when you need them.  In business, this is particularly true - there are times when running your own business can feel lonely and that feeling gets worse when you also have to make key decisions.

Adviser In Your Pocket is that other pair of eyes on your business, to discuss through your potential options and help you make the right calls at the right time.

An adviser available, when you need them, how you need them.  Sometimes it is quick answer to a question that can help you get unstuck and ready to move forward again.  Sometimes you need a longer conversation, a breakdown of the context so you are more comfortable that you are making the right decision. But it is always reassuring to have another pair of eyes on your business, particularly ones which can help guide you through.

Great advice at the right time.

Adviser is the subscriber platform of Your Startup Partner. It replaces the original subscription of a session plus access, and is now a ton of online resources for you to learn how to think, feel and act like a business owner and includes being able to talk with me directly if you need more specific advice for your business! And instead of it costing as much, the monthly subscription starts at just £5 for content access only!

There is new content being added all of the time along with seminars and live events as well as access to our exclusive Slack community. If you had an award-winning, international adviser and speaker with over 25 years of business experience in some of the biggest organisations in the UK and beyond - what would you want from them?

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