Starting Matters More Than Perfection - The Secret to Authentic Entrepreneurship

🌱 Introduction - Start Scrappy

When reading startup books, there's advice you commonly hear: "Have a big vision," "Scale fast," "Disrupt industries." But do you really have to?

Today, I'd like to introduce two books that completely flip typical startup advice on its head: Derek Sivers' "Anything You Want" and Michael Gerber's "The E-Myth Revisited."

📚 "Anything You Want" - Derek Sivers

The Lie About Needing a Massive Vision

This book is really short. You could read it in an afternoon. But the reason I love this book is because it completely flips typical startup advice on its head.

We're constantly told we need to have this massive vision, scale fast, disrupt industries. But Derek argues the opposite.

Don't think big from the start. Just be yourself. Because authenticity is what actually attracts customers and talent.

💡 My Experience

Honestly, this was such a relief to read. When I first started my online business, it was unbelievably scrappy.

I filmed videos for my website on my phone
I edited them myself at midnight after work
My website was shambolic
There was nothing polished or professional about it

I don't get embarrassed easily, but looking back, I still cringe a little. But I'm so glad I did it that way.

Because if I had waited until I had proper equipment, a team, a brand identity, I would never have started something I could call a business.

The Power of Early Authenticity

Actually, the comments you receive at the start are often more heartfelt. Because that's where the most scrappy, authentic version of you is coming out, and it connects with more people than any polished version ever could.

And that authenticity is what builds trust.

If you're thinking about starting a business or you're in the early stages and feeling like everything needs to be perfect before you launch, this book is a good reminder that it doesn't.

📌 Key Message: Just start scrappy. Be yourself. And let that authenticity do the work.

📖 "The E-Myth Revisited" - Michael Gerber

The Entrepreneurial Myth

I read this book a few years ago, and I reread it every couple of years. I've reread it multiple times now. And rereading this is what prompted me to write this article.

Coming back to it with a few more years of business experience, I picked up things I missed the first time. It's probably one of the most important books for anyone thinking about starting a business because it addresses the biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make. And it's a mistake I definitely made.

Technical Skills vs Management - Completely Different Skills

The book talks about something the author calls the "Entrepreneurial Myth." It's the idea that if you're good at the technical work of a business, you'll be good at running a business that does that work.

If you're a great baker → you assume you'll be great at running a bakery
If you're good at graphic design → you think you'll be good at running a design agency

But the truth is being good at the work and being good at running the business are two completely different skill sets.

💡 My Experience

When I started my YouTube channel, I was pretty good at making videos and explaining finance concepts. But that didn't automatically mean I knew how to run a business.

I had no systems
I had no processes
Everything was just me doing everything manually whenever I had time

Working IN the Business vs Working ON the Business

This is where most businesses fail. The owner gets stuck working IN the business instead of working ON the business.

You're so busy doing the day-to-day tasks that you never actually build a business that can run without you.

Think Like a Franchiser

The author's solution is to think like a franchiser from day one. Build systems and processes for everything so that the business isn't dependent on you showing up and doing all the work yourself.

This was a tough pill to swallow because when you're starting out, it feels like overkill. Why would I document a process when I'm the only person doing it?

But I definitely learned this the hard way. If you don't build these systems early, you'll hit a ceiling where the business can't grow because you're the bottleneck. That started happening to me, which is why I reread it.

💡 Key Insight

If you're in the early stages of your business and doing absolutely everything yourself, this book will show you why that's not sustainable and how to start building a business that can actually scale.

🎯 Conclusion - The Balance of Two Books

These two books interestingly complement each other:

Anything You Want	E-Myth Revisited
Start authentically	Build systems
Don't wait for perfection	Create processes from day one
Be yourself	Make it run without you

The key is balance:

✅ Start scrappy and authentically
✅ But build systems and processes early
✅ Work ON the business, not IN it

If you wait for perfection, you'll never start. But if you grow without systems, you become the bottleneck.

📚 Recommended Books: "Anything You Want" by Derek Sivers, "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber