Entrepreneurship can look clean from a distance, even easy for some. People love to see the result of a finished build, from the launch to the growth and the wins that will follow.
Up close, though, it’s messier than that. It takes time. Mistakes occur that must be corrected before the foundation is ready to hold everything together. The process is messier and more experimental than it may seem.
That’s why entrepreneurship reminds me so much of LEGOs.
I don’t mean the pristine sets that will sit on your shelf for years to come, but the scattered piles on the floor. The moment when a physical form has just begun to form, but there is so much yet to discover along the way.
Following Instructions is Easy, Originality is Harder
It is easy to follow instructions.
Block by block. Document by document. Step one. Step two. Step eighty seven.
If you follow the manual, you’re sure to end up with a solid product. Something stable, functional, and recognizable.
Your product will be sturdy, like so many before it. But will it be unique?
Entrepreneurship works the same way.
At the click of a button, you’ll find frameworks, workflows, playbooks, and ‘proven methods.’ These things will get you on the right track, even helping you to build your foundation in a stable manner, but they won’t help you to find distinction. That part is up to you.
You can still go decision by decision throughout the building process. Varying from the mold is what allows us all to stand out in the end. The instructions lose their value the moment that you’ve moved on from building your foundation and want to create something that stands alone.
Where you started as a builder following tried and true processes, you may end up seeing the need to dabble in some architecture… making a few changes of your own to the public-facing outer layer of your business, I mean… LEGO set.
Finding the Right Pieces is Harder than Putting Them Together
Putting things together is rarely, if ever, the hardest part of building something.
In reality, finding the pieces that matter is our true test.
Skills, time, capital, network, inspiration, support… most people don’t lack pieces. They lack clarity on how to use them.
Many people will try to build all at once, without taking the time to identify which pieces will help to create the sturdy base that they need to then get creative later on in the process. Where it becomes tricky is finding the right pieces that will then fit together to build something that can last.
Progress becomes easier the second you stop forcing pieces to fit and intentionally choose the few that work best together. The rest will follow.
Sometimes You Have to Take Things Apart to Turn it Around
Nobody likes dismantling things that they worked hard to build, including us.
Sometimes, though, the only way forward is backward. Not forever, but temporarily. Taking apart a few pieces during building can be a whole lot easier than finding that same issue later on, once you’ve completed your process.
In entrepreneurship, backtracking, taking things apart, isn’t failure. It’s the proof that you can do what’s best for your business, even when it feels hard. Not being discouraged by an incorrectly placed piece is a sign of endurance that will take you far.
Rebuilding from a place of intention will create something much stronger than keeping a wobbly structure and pushing on out of pride.
Limitations are Just Pieces You Haven’t Reimagined Yet
The most interesting LEGO creations don’t use special blocks.
They use the same pieces out of the same box that everyone else gets, just differently.
Constraints breed creativity. Time limits force focus. A lack of resources leads to ingenuity. Limited experience fosters curiosity and fresh perspectives.
Limitations that cause some to throw their hands up in despair, others will quietly turn into leverage to build what most couldn’t imagine.
When You’ve Built Once, You’ll be Faster Next Time
The first build always takes the longest.
You’re learning more than what you want your finished product to look like.
It’s about assessing and organizing your pieces, planning your schedule, and adjusting for unexpected factors. You’ll falter. You’ll hesitate more than you’d like to admit.
You’ll take apart and rebuild, and probably do it again. You may just spend more time questioning than assembling.
Once you’ve built something once, though, the second time is easier, then the third, and so on. You trust yourself. You remember previous snags and how you maneuvered around them.
You become faster, surer, and more efficient in all areas. After the first time, you move not with caution but with confidence.
You Haven’t Failed When Things Crumble Under Pressure
Sometimes structures collapse.
Deadlines hit and markets crash, and systems will crack under the weight of additions they weren’t built to manage.
When things crumble under pressure, and they will, it is not a failure but a redirection.
Instead of failing, you’ve discovered weak points. Great! Now you have the chance to strengthen them sooner to prevent a similar collapse in the future.
Every Master Builder Started with a Pile on the Floor
Nobody starts with total, omnipotent clarity.
If they tell you they did, they’re lying.
Every master builder, every founder, creator, owner, leader, started with a jumble of ideas that they didn’t quite understand how to piece together.
A pile on the floor isn’t a roadblock, or a flaw in the process.
That pile is the process.
The Mess Means It’s Working
When things feel chaotic, uncertain, or even stuck, it’s not a sign that what you’re doing isn’t working.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It means that you are still in motion. Building momentum often means that some pieces get a little messy, or fall behind schedule.
That’s how it is meant to begin.
The truth is that creating something is never going to be a perfect process. Timelines will shift and pieces may change along the way. What matters is that you keep building.
Get Organized, Get Started
Now that it’s time to build whatever it is you are working on, let us help.
If you’re early in the build and looking for a roadmap to get you started before you’re ready to make it your own, we can help!
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