Basic Principles - You Gotta Plan to Get Started

Let’s face it… after work, school, family, your love life, your bills, and whatever else you balance in a 24 hour day, who really has time to build a business? This is a question that I asked myself as I considered whether or not I was going to start this blog, and I’m sure that it sounds familiar if you’ve ever thought about getting something going “on the side”. Life is always going to be crazy. It’s easy to tell yourself that you’re waiting for the right moment to jump in, or you’re waiting for things to settle down before you get started… or you’re waiting for Haley’s comet to fly right over the top of a lunar eclipse.

I’ll be honest. When I decided to switch gears and put on the blogger hat, it wasn’t exactly an overnight transformation. Laugh with me for a second. I used drop in at GoDaddy once or twice a week to check if my domain name was still available… for months! Who the heck was going to buy a domain with MY first and last name?

The point is, what was I really waiting for? The right moment? Haley’s comet?

I had no plan.

It was amazing how quickly things came together when I sat down with a pad and pencil and started to make a list of the things I needed to do to get rolling… it took less than a week for me to register a domain, find a host, and learn what FTP was. I spent five minutes picking a theme (I’d rather write content and articles). I spent twenty minutes on the phone with my hosting provider asking about how to install Wordpress. I’m not kidding…. when I talk about getting started, I meant at the VERY beginning. And here I am. Day two, my second live post.

So here’s a question for you: Are you ready to get started? Are the things that are standing in your way REALLY standing in your way, or are you being proactive and making a plan to work around them? You don’t have to want to start a blog. Are you in debt? Thinking of losing a couple pounds? There’s a place to start, no matter what you want to accomplish… at the beginning. Spend some time to think your way through it, and write it down if you need to, but do it while you’re making your way to the starting line. Trust me. It’s easier to steer a car when it isn’t parked.