We're only a few days past the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, and I have plenty to be thankful about. Yesterday I had the opportunity to chat with Hiten Shah, one of the most generous startup founders in Silicon Valley and founder of KISSmetrics and CrazyEgg - two apps I use and love.
Like Hiten, I'm a big believer than whatever you give comes back bigger. Maybe not immediately, maybe not in the same way, but it will come back around. He signs his email newsletters with this quote from Zig Zigler, which I believe to be true:
You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.
I've seen this principal at work in my own life through this blog. A couple of years ago I gave away my web design proposal template and to my surprise, thousands of people began downloading it every month! This led me to create QuoteRobot with my good friend Jon Cochran, and now thousands of people have signed up for it, earning us a bit of residual income, which I've written about before here.
Three Tips From Hiten Shah
In the spirit of openness I've decided to share the tips that Hiten shared with me during our phone call yesterday.
Tip #1: Focus On One Thing
I'm always dreaming up new apps to launch, and seeing the potential in plenty of opportunities. It was encouraging to me to hear that if Hiten could do it all again, he would have focused on CrazyEgg until he reached his goals, instead of starting another VC funded app when he did. KISSmetrics is a huge success, and he has no regrets about starting it, but I got the sense he was urging me to choose one app and focus until I reached my goals before starting up another venture.
Tip #2: Treat Your Side Projects The Same As Your Client Work
While complaining that I'm spending so much time doing client work that I hardly have any to work on my beloved apps, Hiten reminded me of some wisdom shared years ago by 37signals when they were in the same position. You should treat your side projects as though they are clients. Setting a budget (time), milestones, and deliverables, and holding yourself to them. That is the best way to get your projects finished while juggling consulting work.
Tip #3: Don't Raise VC Money Unless...
...you want to build a $100 million dollar business. If you're in this to create a nice comfortable residual income for yourself, you're not likely going to want the pressure of earning a 10x return in a few short years for some hungry investors. And why take friends and families money, gambling with all your close relationships on the chance of growing a business? If you're good at what you do and have an idea, build it, nurture it, and take it slowly. It'll pay off in the end. Hiten mentioned that after CrazyEgg, he was ready for massive challenge, and thought hard before taking the venture capital route. But he's happy he did it. So be ready if you choose that route!
In Closing
If this post has helped or encouraged you, please remember that I wrote it to share what was freely shared with me, so do the same and find real lasting success. Also, you could tweet about it too :) Also, feel free to check out my new app, coming soon, called Ticksheets - Easy custom timesheets for small business.
