This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

[On starting up] Feeling lost on how to start-up

Deidra155·Feb 19, 2021

Posted in:Advice Lifestyle Misc Tech Money Career Growth

I am not a coder, not even close. But I have this very strong desire to start something. I am going anonymous since I am secretly embarrassed to admit that I want to pursue entrepreneurship primarily because of money. Autonomy is another driver, but right now my priority is money. I am 30 and I feel like I have not been able to change the socio-economic status of my parents who made all these sacrifices to raise me. Giving them a good, carefree life is the least I can do. And here I am clueless about where to begin and how to decide what to start.Everyday some or the other person like me posts on Indiehacker how they hustled their way to reach 10k or XYZ MRR. And I am left thinking, why not me? When I introspected on what is stopping me, these were some of the top reasons my mind gives:-- Lack of skill: I am not a coder, so I cannot start something on my own without hunting for a tech co-founder-- Lack of direction: What will I build? It feels like every single idea is taken. Who will buy my product when there are already so many options available!And even though the above list seems small, it is hard. I am finding it difficult to bring clarity on my next steps - should I focus on building an info product like Daniel Vasallo, should I focus on building a micro-Saas startup or maybe a social media marketing agency? There seem to be too many directions, each with a life of their own. Each direction can easily consume another 3 - 5 years of my life just trying to achieve decent success.I feel lost. I am not broken yet, I know I will try. But I do feel lost with no clarity on when will this ambiguity subside.

LouiseH·Feb 19, 2021

Hi! What if you don't need clarity to get started - what would be the first action you'd take? When we lack clarity we often hold back from getting into action. Ruminating over the same thoughts on repeat. It's ok to not have a clear plan at this moment what's not ok is to not be in action. Maybe that means taking a course in coding, or perhaps you'd like to offer someone you know to help them with their social media marketing. Every action you take will bring you closer to the clear path you are seeking and before you know it you'll be building your company in a way that is meaningful, fulfilling, and allows you to take care of your parents in a way that feels good to you. Lx

sabina·Feb 19, 2021

I have been exactly where you are and here's what helped me:- I started taking a few hours a week to really understand what problem I wanted to solve. I came up with dozens of ideas, but a former boss of mine gave me this piece of advice - whatever problem you're solving be the expert in that problem. If you don't have experience in it, go get experience in it. - Make sure that it is a problem you are passionate about solving and validate that it is worth solving for a lot of people. Your "why" has to be strong or you won't make it.- Having a technical background or a technical co-founder is ideal, but not a requirement. Figure out how to validate your idea with the tech available to you. There are tons of no-code apps, tech mentors sites, forums, etc. I'm still very early in my startup journey, but there have been dozens of times I wanted to give up. The financial stress, the lack of security and stability followed by ups and downs every week are not for everyone. There is no guarantee that I'll make it, but every day I don't give up is one more day I'm closer to finding out how to make this work. So I'll leave you with this quote from a good friend of mine: “Learning lessons is a little like reaching maturity. You're not suddenly more happy, wealthy, or powerful, but you understand the world around you better, and you're at peace with yourself. Learning life's lessons is not about making your life perfect, but about seeing life as it was meant to be.”Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 1926 – 200

susanfung·Feb 19, 2021

Hi!! The comments already given are great. I understand where you are coming from. I lost my job of 10 years about a year & a half ago now & I felt completely lost & unsure of what to do. While I was looking for work, I took online courses to gain new skills so I could do a career change if I chose to. It gave me something to focus on while I looked for work.I agree with the other ladies. Try a little something everyday & see if it will spark any ideas or give you more clarity. The online courses that I took were in coding & now I have a small list of coding projects that I work on in my free time. I don’t think they will be big money maker apps but it gives me something to do while I work on my skills.

MinaFung·Feb 19, 2021

Money is a good motivator but it won't sustain you if you want to be an entrepreneur. The only one who's successful selling those empty dreams (10K MRR) are those selling the ideas as a business ("SiaS"). If you want, DM me and I'll point you to other resources so you're armed with views from different perspectives. Just to get a bit more clarity.

vivienne·Feb 20, 2021

Hi, sorry to hear about the struggle you're going through! Your post actually gave me an idea for you. Seeing your post and how you yearn to build something reminds me of when I took the leap of faith 6 years ago to quit the corporate world and start my own startup. It actually "failed" and I went back to corporate, and yet I'm at it again now, with today being my last official day in corporate. I will be working on the same startup full-time, but this time I'm not starting from complete scratch.Your post made me think, gosh I wish I could have someone like you be an acting cofounder for me. Someone who's unsure what direction they want to go, who I can pay some money (but not a whole lot), and who can step in and "be" my cofounder and help solve all the problems that are so heavy for 1 person to handle. A cofounder matching of sorts, but a temporary contract so there's no unclear terms, And after the 1 month or whatever negotiated period of time, the default would be to part ways unless of course the 2 people want to negotiate something more long term. It could be helpful for people in your situation who are unsure where to go, and who want to dabble in the startup world. And it would be useful for someone like me who has a working product (modest traction+revenue) but am now figuring out the best path forward to get from 1-->2.Just an idea and if you might be interested in exploring, DM me. :) And if you might be interested in building a platform to match people like this with early startups, I'd love to be a guinea pig or help provide feedback!

jaynadevani·Feb 20, 2021

I think it's great you have a desire to start something. Here are some thoughts I had:1. You can create a very successful business using your non-technical skills. You don't need to build a developer-centric business if you are not a coder, or you don't have a technical co-founder. Trying to create the next Google/Stripe/Atlassian/Elpha (all founded by coders) is not a fair comparison and will only get you down, rather than giving you space to focus on your amazing and unique skillset. If you do not have the tech skills to create the next Airbnb or Stripe, you could either spend the next ten years trying, or you could use the skills you do have and start a content-centric or product-centric business. Resist being drawn into the hype surrounding Silicon Valley, where you are told that the measure of success is a VC-founded company that starts with 3 developers and then floats on the stock exchange with a $20bn valuation. You can find plenty of success outside that bubble and still achieve your personal and financial goals, even if this doesn't sound very exciting. Some 'tech startups' that started without technical founders: The Muse, Career Contessa, Pinterest, Amazon, Khan Academy.2. Start a teeny tiny project without any grand business plans, grow your audience, and then monetise. For example, this weekend you could 1) start a blog (Wordpress requires no coding) and 2) write your first blog post on a topic you know very well. That could be anything from how you got your first job, to a hobby you enjoy, to commenting on a piece of content you enjoyed on the internet. Concentrate on giving very specific advice that you really feel is useful and valuable to at least 1 person. Someone out there will appreciate it. Taking these tiny steps makes it's easier to get going, which is one of the hardest things to do! Keep posting regularly, see what people are responding to, and grow a loyal audience. Building an audience of people who value your content is a time-tested business model.3. Don't worry about not having any original ideas. The key difference is execution. There were many career forums before Elpha, but that didn't stop the founders because they found a niche and executed well. There is room for plenty of the same content. The difference is you are bringing your own lens to it.Useful links: 1000 True Fans (https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/) and Paul Graham (http://www.paulgraham.com/ds.html)Good luck :)

LindsayT·Mar 16, 2021

Hi! What a common feeling, you are not alone.I like @LouiseHeite's answer because it reminds me of the advice I was given.See, I spent a decade hacking away on the weekends at all different startup ideas with a big startup sparkle in my eye. Nothing quite took off and I felt like maybe I wasn't meant to be the entrepreneur I dreamt of being.I was working with a career coach when she said, "If you're really an entrepreneur, you'll start multiple businesses in your life. Don't put so much pressure on the first one."With that advice, can you see some simpler opportunity in front of you?