If you’re building a startup on the side, you’ve probably had this thought: “If I could just quit my job and work on this full-time, then everything would move so much faster.”
I get you. I’ve dreamt about going “all in” too. A lot. Right now, getting one day per week for my startup is a good week, so I could be going over 5x faster. Actually, I’ve just had a month with zero progress. I’ve been busy, and the days have been full with other obligations. But no time to write software. Of course this has been frustrating, and I’ve been dreaming of going “all in” even more.
But, there’s a dark side to going all-in that I think a lot of aspiring founders underestimate. Because if you do it too early, it will turn into a nightmare. And I’ve experienced a version of that nightmare, despite never actually quitting my day job. Let me explain…
What Happened
I’m in the unique position where I haven’t had a regular salary or wage job since university. I’ve always worked contracts, and followed my solopreneur dream on the side. That’s worked most of the time, although giving at least half my time to work on someone else’s dream kind of sucked. Actually, initially it felt great, because the income made pursuing my dream possible. But, over time the desire to “go all in” on my own thing, grew, as did the frustration over financially not being able to do so.
Then it happened. Overnight, 60% of my income was wiped out. Since I still needed money coming in, I looked for alternative contract or part-time work, and found none. I considered freelancing, but hated the idea of building up freelancing career that I didn’t even want. So, I decided to keep going, and enjoy having more time for my own projects.
Initially, that felt okay. But, my time was still split multiple ways. There was the remaining contract work. My wife was still recovering from serious illness. And, more seriously, more money was going out than coming in. Our savings & investments were dwindling. The clock was ticking…
Then abruptly, most of the remaining 40% disappeared too.
Great, I can finally go “all in!” Except no, I can’t.
By this stage our finances were running dangerously low, and I’d started a new venture with my wife. So, now I have two startups on my hands, and no income to cover expenses. I was relying on that final 40% to tie us over until the new ventures could cover our costs.
This is the worst of both worlds. I still can’t focus on one thing, and our finances are now streaming out even faster.
What Happens When Under Financial Distress
Here’s what I learnt:
Seeing your finances go down puts your brain in fight or flight mode. This in turn prevents you from thinking strategically, or long-term, because your brain is focused on immediate survival (even though you’re not in any immediate danger). This is really bad when you’re building a startup, and need to think strategically and make long-term bets.
Even worse, it can trigger debilitating anxiety attacks, making it impossible to do work for days at a time. And then, not making progress on the one thing that might solve the finances will make you feel even worse
Finally, knowing how your brain will react to financial stress does NOT stop it from happening. I knew about this years ago, and that didn’t change a thing. It still happened.
I’ve learnt a lot about using exercise and breathing techniques to calm the mind and body. If you’re ever in this situation, go for long walks out in nature, and lookup: box breathing, or 4-7-8 breathing.
What to Do When it Gets Too Much
When the anxiety and stress gets too big to handle, the best action to take is to look for part-time/full-time work to take the pressure off. Yes, the best course of action, is to do the one thing you don’t want, and give up on “all-in” for now.
Sure, it sucks to be back to having at most a few hours per week for your startup. But, it makes it way easier to evaluate your options when your brain isn’t freaking out all the time.
Speaking of options, what can you do?
It depends, but here are some general principles.
First, if your startup is a side-hustle, then simplify it down to the absolute minimum. This is a good idea in general, but when you’ve only got a few hours per week, then you simply don’t have the ability to build something big and grand in a reasonable time frame
If you can’t scale your startup idea down to side-hustle scale, then it’s time to look for funding. Don’t be scared of asking for investment. Grand visions are the domain of angel investors and venture capitalists, NOT bootstrapped solopreneurs. Nobody cares if your startup was self-funded. All that matters is if it delivers value
Finally, find others who can support you. I’m blessed with a wonderful wife who has supported me all the way, and handled the massive uncertainty and stress like a champ. The most amazing thing is her health improving despite the high level of stress. If she didn’t support me, then I wouldn’t be recording this video right now. I’d have had to give up ages ago. You can’t do this sort of thing without the support of those around you.
Now if you don’t mind, I only have a few hours to work on my startup, and want to make them count… Bye.