The whole concept of Kickstarter is good for the world and entrepreneurs. The traditional route of having to take massive risks on an idea with venture capitalists has been turned upside down with crowd funding. Investors are people who care and are taking smaller risks on an idea that, regardless of its pitch, has plenty of uncertainty.
Whether we are seeking to scratch an itch to try out a new venture or step into a new opportunity, there’s likely a way to take a series of small risks rather than opt for an unnecessarily large gamble. We don’t have to jump off the ledge to see what happens first. We can see what happens first for a while before the ledge comes.
This may mean breaking down your perspective into something smaller and less glamorous. The value in doing so is that you can iterate over time and learn. Those two things are what taking small risks is all about. When we see something not working or almost working, we can improve on it quickly. Edison did this with the light bulb. Software designers do it with agile development methods. Likewise, this can apply to your own assumptions.
We are not smarter than the market. They tell us what they want. The hard part is figuring out what they want and approaching this incrementally. It is what the new economy affords us today. We can get feedback about what is working or not working quickly.
Perhaps there is something that is holding you back or you are mistakenly believing you have to go all out. Can you step back and test first and fail quickly to discover what will work? It’s much less painful and more effective for winning. While there may be more frequent failure, there will be less overall dismay.
What small risks can you take?
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