Press Start to Play
by Rod Rodriguez
I love playing video games. I’ve been playing video games since an Atari graced my front room television back in the 80s and even now as an adult I find myself eagerly anticipating the next Call of Duty, Destiny 2, or whatever the latest and greatest hyped up super shiny game is getting released. It’s my de-stresser, entertainment, and worse time killer I have aside from getting lost in YouTube. From the earliest and simplest 8 bit games to today’s glossiest virtual reality cinematic experience, one thing has remained consistent across all platforms, titles, and genres.
Press Start
Those two words launch you into a virtual realm of entertainment, adventure, puzzle solving, and princess saving. Press Start is the first step aside from firing up your console required to play the game, and every controller has a Start Button. Regardless of whether you can play the game by pressing other buttons, those other buttons are essentially all Start buttons but you cannot play the game unless you Press Start.
Your business idea is no different in that you must Press Start for it to happen. Just like a video game you will begin at Level 1 and there will be a learning curve but once you get the mechanics of the controls down and get past the awkward phase the game changes a bit. It becomes increasingly difficult throwing new challenges your way that may require some “outside the box” thinking, excellent timing, and tons of failed attempts before you get it right. You may never beat the game but you will enjoy playing it! I’ve never beat one Legend of Zelda game but I’ve played them all and I love the series. Your business may never be a breakaway success but it will be yours and its successes as well as its failures will also be yours and no one elses, and isn’t that the point of becoming an entrepreneur?
Press Start
So there’s your idea in your mind. You see the vision of that business you want to build but your not sure what to do to get this thing going. There’s a Start button on your controller but the truth is your not sure you want to press it because the game of entrepreneurship is terrifying. Your business will involve all the things you don’t have enough of; time, money, and resources. For some, you can’t even find the Start button on your controller! So what do you do? How do you Start?
Here’s my suggestion on how to start, even if you haven’t written one word of your idea on a piece of paper here’s how you can Press Start. Buy the URL to your idea. Purchase www.insertyourtitlehere.com and own that. For less than $50 depending on who you make your purchase through, you have a tangible thing you can look at and see with your businesses name. You’ve pressed the Start button but it’s up to you if you’re going to keep playing. You can build the website yourself for the business you want to build without publishing it for the world to see. Your website could be the draft of your business plan as you try to explain to yourself what it is that your selling, creating, or service your providing.
Press Start
There are lots of different ways to press the Start button. From writing it out, sketching it, or buying some small part of your vision like a coffee grinder for café idea, you have to press the Start button to play. The AAR Podcast was born out four URL’s I purchased in a hotel room in California during the 2015 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championship. I bought the URLs and took it from there and I’m still growing and I still own those other three URLS plus a few more. You can’t play the game until you heed the first command so take a chance and just…
Press Start