If I Had 10 Minutes With Every Employee Who Wants to Start a Business...

Let me start with a confession.

For most of my adult life, I wanted to be an entrepreneur…

But I wasn’t doing anything about it.

I wasn’t lazy.

I wasn’t uninspired.

I wasn’t confused about what I wanted.

I was just… stuck.

Stuck waiting for the right idea to finally appear.

I thought that’s what entrepreneurship was:

You have a breakthrough idea.
You get it validated.
You build it.
You launch.
You win.

So for years, I read books. I listened to podcasts.

I carried notebooks full of half-written app ideas, product concepts, and frameworks I never built.

Because I told myself: “If I just find the right business idea… everything will start.”

But here's what actually happened:

I waited.

I overthought.

And I got really good at being someone with potential… and nothing to show for it.

Fast forward to today:

I’ve built products.
Made sales.
Helped people.

And more importantly…

I finally feel like I’m playing the right game.

But it wasn’t because I finally found the right business idea.

It was because I stopped chasing the perfect start, and started building imperfectly…

On the side, while working full-time, while raising a family, while figuring it out as I went.

So if you're sitting there, feeling the itch to start something…

Not just to escape your job, but because something in you knows you’re meant to create,
To build,
To solve,
To make a dent in the world in your own way…

Here’s what I want to tell you:

You’re probably asking the wrong question.

It’s not:

What business should I start?

It’s:

What’s a problem I can start solving right now, even if I don’t have a business yet?

Because let me tell you:
Entrepreneurs and employees think differently.

Employees want certainty before action.
Entrepreneurs act to create clarity.

Employees want a plan that works.
Entrepreneurs want a problem they can explore.

Employees wait for the green light.
Entrepreneurs become the green light.

I know this because I spent 7 years thinking like a wantrepreneur.

From 2016 to 2023, I wanted to start a business.
I thought I was smart.
I thought I was calculated.

But really, I was scared.

Scared to be wrong.
Scared to look dumb.
Scared to try and fail in public.

So I did what smart people do when they’re afraid:

I stayed “productive.”
I read.
I learned.
I brainstormed.
I built systems I never used.

And I told myself I was “getting ready.”

It wasn’t until I flipped the script that everything changed.

The new script looked like this:

→ Mindset first
Not idea. Not product. Not niche.
Just the decision: I’m doing this, no matter how messy the beginning looks.

→ Then start.
Not launch.
Just start. Write. Post. Talk to people. Help someone. Anything.

→ Then discover the problem worth solving.
Not from thinking, but from doing.
From showing up.
From listening.
From getting it wrong and trying again.

→ And finally… stay consistent.
Because consistency, not genius, is what builds trust, authority, and eventually, business.

There were three mindset shifts that helped me cross the line from “employee who dreams” to “builder who moves.”

Let me share them with you:

1. Failure isn’t personal. It’s just fast data.

For years I avoided failing because I thought it meant I was a failure.

Now, I fail often, because it means I’m testing something real.

The difference between you and the person doing what you want?

They’ve just failed more.

Publicly. Repeatedly. On purpose.

2. Risk is asymmetric.

You think doing something risky, like building a business, has huge consequences.

But here’s the truth:

Most of the risk is in your head.

What’s the worst-case scenario of starting small on the side?

Some wasted time?
A bruised ego?
Your friends don’t understand?

Now compare that to the upside:

You learn.
You grow.
You make money online.
You prove to yourself it’s possible.
You open doors that don’t exist in corporate life.

That’s not high risk.

That’s a no-brainer.

3. Solve problems, don’t hunt unicorns.

Most people try to think up the right business.

But real entrepreneurs don’t hunt for ideas.

They solve real problems, one at a time.

And often? Those problems are ones they’ve faced themselves.

Start there.

So if you’re still waiting…

For the niche to be clearer
For the timing to be better
For your family to understand
For the market to feel right
For your confidence to catch up

Let me say this clearly:

There is no perfect start.

There’s only a real one.

And it usually looks small, unglamorous, and kind of stupid at first.

But that’s how it begins.

Not with fireworks.
But with friction.
Not with clarity.
But with a decision.

So make the decision.

To build messy.
To stay hidden if you must, but not still.
To be misunderstood for a while.
To keep your job, but not your excuses.

This isn’t about quitting your career.

This is about not quitting on yourself.

And the only way to know if you're capable of doing this…

Is to start doing it.

Now.

To your growth,
Vikko

P.S.

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