Taking the fear out of tackling your side projects

[Harold Mansfield]

A lot of the new posts here talk about the fear of starting something on the side. I ran into this article that I think hits all of the nails right on the head.


I used to let fear of a failed side project keep me from trying new things outside of my normal workload. Or worse, I constantly had ideas for side projects but never actually started any. My day-job was comfortable, so I didn’t want to fail at something new. But, the truth is, I wasn’t pushing myself and I certainly wasn’t growing. My skills stagnated.

Read the original article here:
Make Your Side Projects Wildly Successful: Treat Them Like Experiments - 99U (http://99u.com/articles/17297/make-your-side-projects-wildly-succesful-treat-them-as-experiments)

[KristineS]

Ooh, I like this article and what it says very much. As someone who has been teetering on the precipice of starting some side writing projects for a while, this article presents me with a whole new way to frame those projects. It's a lot less anxiety creating when you're thinking of a side project as an experiment rather than a potential new business.

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm building 2 new side projects myself, after months of second guessing and procrastinating. Ideas I've had for probably 2 years...been holding on to the domains and just continuously putting it off.

My feeling is pretty much, "Let's just try it and see what happens. What do I have to loose?". It's actually very liberating. To be able to just put it out there, the way you want and see if it floats, whithout the self created pressure.

[KristineS]

Self created pressure is one of my biggest issues. I tend to build things up in my head until everything becomes life or death. It's nice to be able to step back a bit and just look at a side project as something fun to try and realize that all I lose is some time and maybe a small bit of money if nothing comes of it. You're right, it is very freeing.

[Harold Mansfield]

Self created pressure is one of my biggest issues. I tend to build things up in my head until everything becomes life or death. It's nice to be able to step back a bit and just look at a side project as something fun to try and realize that all I lose is some time and maybe a small bit of money if nothing comes of it. You're right, it is very freeing.

Ha! I've created successful businesses from the ground up, figured out how to make them wildly finacially successful, and then come up with all of the reasons why it would be short lived and turn to failure...all in my mind....and then talked myself out of trying it.

I've probably done this 25 times now, in my head. And that's just this month.

[KristineS]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who does that. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that writers never make money so I can't be a writer as a profession. Of course, now I'm a writer and I'm making a reasonable living, but I still hear those dire predictions in my head. I think that's what stops me from some of my side writing projects. I envision myself in a garrett somewhere shivering in front of a fire made from one lump of coal and eating cold gruel. Apparently, all my side writing projects are in Dickensian England. :D

[TheInternetDude]

Ooh, I like this article and what it says very much. As someone who has been teetering on the precipice of starting some side writing projects for a while, this article presents me with a whole new way to frame those projects. It's a lot less anxiety creating when you're thinking of a side project as an experiment rather than a potential new business.

I definitely agree with you, Kristine. There's a certain stigma that is associated with things we label as a "business venture," or potential major source of income. We can give ourselves a ton of breathing room based on both what we call, and how we perceive, something.

[KristineS]

Reframing how you think about something can help a lot. Heck, one of the best things I ever did when I started working on getting more physical fit was reframe the task so that I just looked at the current day. Looking at how far I thought I had to go made things very discouraging. Focusing only on the day in front of me made it much easier and has allowed me to lose weight and increase my fitness level successfully, something that was much harder in the past when I was focusing on the whole journey.

I think a lot of us here tend to put such pressure on ourselves when we start side projects because we know successful businesses could come from these small seeds and so the potential seems so much more. Giving ourselves permission to let things be small and grow at their own pace makes the whole process much more comfortable.

[Freelancier]

one of the best things I ever did when I started working on getting more physical fit was reframe the task so that I just looked at the current day

Something my brother taught me a long time ago: if you want to learn how to do 50 push-ups, here's how: do 1 the first day, 2 the second day, and keep adding one each day and in less than 2 months, you'll be at 50 per day. It really does work, no matter how old you are or how fit you are.

As for the specific topic, a saying that gets me through it: "Oh, WTF, go for it anyway". Getting in your own way is just part of being human. Learning to get out of your own way is just something you have to practice. I started my first company as a side business and now I keep adding businesses the same way. If I get a good idea and can see how I'd market and sell it and if there's enough return on the investment, I get started on it. What am I giving up to do that? Watching TV?!? Laying at the pool?

The reality that you eventually discover when you get older is that the money you have in the bank when you finally stop working has to last you about 20-30 years. And that means you have to have a lot of revenue streams NOW that will work to build that nest egg. So that's more important than how scared you are that you might fail.

[Fulcrum]

I think this thread started at a good time for me. I'm slowly working towards bringing in a new product family (for me) that is currently dominated by 1 global conglomerate (probably greater than 90% of the market within North America). I have a few things that are holding me back from diving right in - money for equipment and raw material as well as the experience working with this specific product (takes about 3-5 years consistently working it to become a master).

[PayForWords]

I'm building 2 new side projects myself, after months of second guessing and procrastinating. Ideas I've had for probably 2 years...been holding on to the domains and just continuously putting it off.

My feeling is pretty much, "Let's just try it and see what happens. What do I have to loose?". It's actually very liberating. To be able to just put it out there, the way you want and see if it floats, whithout the self created pressure.


Go for it man. Definitely don't wanna wait around and say "what if."


I always try to remind myself that even if I launch 5 failed projects...


And end up with one that works. In my eyes, I'm a success.