The hardest part of a starting a company is the first step, that first step after the idea. The step that moves the idea from concept to reality. Ideas are a dime a dozen. I’ve had a million already. I’ve only acted on 2. Everyone has the next great idea they don’t act on.

I think the curve looks this:

Stepping of the cliff from idea to commit is just too hard for most people. It means following through. It means committing. It means re-prioritizing. It requires sacrifice. It risks failure. It means relying on ones self. It requires walking away from the safety net. It means being comfortable not having all the answers. It takes being OK not knowing if it’s going to work, what is coming next and what to do if things aren’t going as planned.

All of this stares would be entrepreneurs in the face as they stand on the cliff determining whether or not they should jump. Not that this isn’t daunting enough, there is little momentum to help move them along. They are in a static position, waiting to jump or step away from the edge and go about their life. Momentum is a great asset once things get going, but until then there is little motivation other than the idea itself. And for many that’s not enough.

The hardest part of starting a company is starting. Before you start it’s just an idea. You can walk away from it anytime you want. Once you’ve committed it’s real. You’re in. Walking away means failure. Once your in you’ve got successes, milestones, and goals to pull you along. It’s the chasm, that crevice, that crease between the idea and the leap that is so hard.

It’s like getting into freezing cold pool. Jump in and go from there or walk away, standing on the edge just gets boring.

Starting a company is hard, but it’s not as hard as STARTING the company.