Micro ISV Startup

If you ask anybody that is already on their way, they will tell you to start immediately without delay. This is sage advice considering the longer you stay idle, the harder it is to get started. “I’ll start tomorrow” seems to be the mantra-of-the-day for the procrastinator, right?

But, I’d like to add a caveat to such sound advice.

You have to decide how starting a company is going to fit in your life.

For some, a startup is their life. And for many startups this is really the only option. Sometimes what you are doing just requires all you’ve got. You have to quit the day job, and put your house and savings on the line. The biggest benefit of this approach is that if your company is going to fly, this method is the most likely to get it off the ground. (No, I’m not guaranteeing success, so don’t go there.) Some startups require “x” amount of time, “y” amounts of money and “z” amounts of effort. And not offering enough of any of those is simple starvation.

And, what if you’ve got six months to your biggest sales opportunity of the year and seven months worth of work, well… you do the math. If you miss it, it will be slim pickings for another year!

These are all factors, sure.

But what about the factor, of let’s say, quality time with your family? Like vacation or your kids’ sporting events, dance recitals, camping, etc.?

Since I’m more about being a good dad than a software tycoon, I guess you can figure out what my obstacles were this summer…In my mind, the fall and winter months are best for a startup. Fewer kid events, vacations, weddings, family get-togethers and family outings. And yard work is almost non-existent. Not to mention the fact that most time off from your day job is during the fall and winter!

Side note: I did have the crazy idea of using a week’s vacation just to do a kickoff. I think it’s very sound, but I don’t have a way of guaranteeing undistracted work. So for now, I’ll keep that idea on the back burner.

My partner also had all of these problems so we decided to put the project in low-drive until October. We decided to work at our leisure with no expectations. We will meet at the end of September and re-vitalize the whole project. This is what’s great about having a partner; it’s a natural anti-procrastination pill…