Start.

Earlier this week, I was interviewing someone for an upcoming feature (a good one that I can’t wait to share with you!) and she said that someone had given her an important piece of advice: when you are having a bad day, look back on where you were six months ago, and you’ll realize that you are in a completely different place.

That insight has stuck with me throughout this week. Where were you six months ago? The world of entrepreneurship is incredibly future focused – we’re always wondering what’s next and we know (really, believe) that we are only as good as our last sale/post/product/etc. so we often forget to celebrate how far we have come.

I think that the would-be-entrepreneur also gets caught up in this future focus, and as a result, forgets to just START. People think, I can’t start a business till I have $XX saved, or I’ve hit this milestone in my current career, or until the time feels right or everyone I know is on board. But really, you never know what will happen until you start. If you have an idea, try it out. See what your friends and family think. See if people are interested. Find out if you love the idea after six months or if you’re ready to move on to your next big idea (as Meg said earlier this week, if you aren’t obsessed, you won’t stick with it! I’ll add, you won’t know for sure if you are obsessed till you start!).

Nothing will be perfect at the beginning. But you’ll never have the chance to find out what perfect could be if you don’t start.

some reading for the week:

Olivia Wilde has started Conscious Commerce, an organization with a goal of changing how people shop. If you purchase this Anthropologie dress, proceeds will fund a school in Kolkata, India.

what do you think of domino 3.0? (thanks to Alex for sharing this article!)

Brand Strategy from Idea to Profit: do you know what a minimum viable product is? this article just may help you get started on your next big idea!

Have a great weekend! xx

follow along for more TAE! I’ve been helping open a new shop in Minneapolis – the grand opening is tomorrow and I’ll be sharing some sneak peeks on insta!