The best life advice I’ve ever received…
I was 17 years old.
I had just graduated high school, and had no idea what to do with my life.
I spent my formative years watching my parents start several businesses that collapsed within a few years.
But like many people, I had ideas to start a business of my own anyway. Despite the risks.
I told my friends about my idea.
“That’s a neat idea Daniel, but you can’t start a company until you know more about business. Maybe when you’re older.”
But, why?
What does age have to do with it?
Sure, there’s the argument of experience. But I know a lot of young people with more experience than a lot of people.
That’s when it dawned on me.
What’s the worst that could happen?
I forgot where I got this advice, but somehow it stuck.
I realized that if I started a company at 17 and failed, nothing that bad would happen.
So… I started. I got to Googling, set up a DBA, and started up an IT company.
That little venture of mine went on to do pretty well, and I acquired hundreds of clients over the course of two years.
I learned how to run a profitable business not by preparation, but by doing.
In those two years, I learned…
1. How to come up with a truly viable business model in the right niche
2. How to market my skills to the right people and solve their pain points
3. How to scale up by recruiting help in the right areas
And a whole lot more.
I ended up taking a permanent hiatus from that gig when I started my Psychology undergrad, though. I wanted to get a “real job” to see what it was all about and worked for the school for the next few years.
The gig was fun, but college was ending and I was pressured to find an even “more real” job. Whatever that meant.
I was fortunate enough to have my small game SanctuaryRPG take off during college.
I made a pretty smooth transition back into being an entrepreneur.
So I started another company shortly afterwards, taking lessons from my past experience with business.
This company was called Black Shell Media. To date, we’ve helped hundreds of clients with inbound marketing, content marketing, and indie game promotions.
We’ve shipped almost 2 million copies of games on Steam.
The moral of the story?
Don’t wait.
If you want to do something, just do it. Learn from your mistakes, and course correct along the way.
Experience builds on experience.
You know that cheesy old saying about how the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago but the second best time is now?
Nothing could be more true.
Whether that’s in business, game development, or just life…
Stop waiting and preparing for the right moment that may or may not ever come, and just start on what you want to do.
After all, what’s the worst that could happen?
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About The Author
Daniel Doan is the Co-Founder & CGO of Black Shell Media and the developer of SanctuaryRPG and Overture, among dozens of unfinished game prototypes. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
