Do You Want Big Fast?
Whether you are starting a project or a company do you really want it to grow fast? Do you want to try and control a beast running wild? Far too many of us envision a quick start and a happy finish, but rarely do you see that today. Once that momentum builds up, keeping it is a lot harder than getting it initially.
Seth Godin wrote about overnight successes and if you follow the 37signals’ philosophy you know that they believe its much better to make your mistakes while under the radar than when you make it. The problem is that in this type of aggressive environment not becoming big quick can become discouraging.
With 9rules we had a very slow and steady growth and have made a number of mistakes basically because we don’t have another blueprint to follow. We know what we want to do and we have a feeling that what we are doing is right, but we can not be totally sure because it has never been done in our space before so there are bound to be some hiccups. However, every single time we walkaway feeling a bit stronger while learning something new.
If we would’ve blown up at the rate of Digg I don’t think I would have been able to handle it. I can’t speak for my partners, but I know the thought is cool and everything, however I would have to buy a new set of boxers everyday if that event occurred. Now that we have been around for over a year I much more prepared to handle challenges and have a better understanding of the overall picture and that definitely couldn’t have happened by getting big fast.
Think of the new freelance designer who takes on more projects than he realized he could handle. Think of the new music group that experiences overnight success only to disappear by their next album. The athlete with a superior rookie season that can’t be matched his sophomore year.
I know that we can’t always control how fast we grow, but we can control what we wish for so if I were you I would think twice before asking for that huge overnight success. Take your time and let things marinate, it usually works out better in the long run that way.
I agree that you don’t want to grow too fast, and that steady growth is something that you should shoot for, but you always need to be wary of stagnation. If you ever feel yourself reaching a plateau, strive to make things different and allow the change to fuel new growth.
By Steven Ametjan on May 25, 2006 2:03 pm
Great advice Steven. Another issue is that when you work on the inside it’s hard to see how people view you on the outside so while you may think you are showing steady growth, the public may believe that you are growing too fast.
By Scrivs on May 25, 2006 2:15 pm
I have experienced the newly freelance project madness - taking on everything that moves thinking you can juggle the plates and not drop a website on the floor. I have proved in the past though that if you aren’t really careful it can easily damage your reputation. I fully admit that happened to me in the past when I was younger and went freelance. This time I have taken more of a tortoise methodical route and things are ticking over. Yes, I am not rolling in money but I at least can finish projects without being given spurs and a mouthful from clients. I guess it all comes down to balance. A little bit like the parents telling the kid to not take more food than you can eat. If you can’t finish all the projects don’t grab more onto your plate.
By karmatosed on May 25, 2006 2:36 pm
I think everyone has the desire to hit it big quick. But as you said that usually means that you are playng off of something that is a model with a short life span. If you stay slow and adapt you will grow with time in most cases. At least that is what I am telling myself with my blog. lol
By Dennis on May 25, 2006 10:50 pm
I think everyone has the desire to get rich quick, but if you really think about it getting big quick usually involves lots of stress and headaches.
By Scrivs on May 26, 2006 2:25 am