I recently did a talk to The Cincinnati Entrepreneur Meetup Group and I figured I’d post some of the content from that session to the blog. The talk consisted of 12 points, here’s #1:

First, expect lots of naysaying to your business idea. Even the best startup ideas will have many reasons not to pursue them. There is no perfect idea, not even close.

It’s easy to ignore the people you expect little wisdom from—it’s when the smart/hip people start ripping into your idea that you’re going to question yourself. Here are some famous smart/hip (at the time) naysayers and their classic wisdom:

• “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – Thomas Watson, Chairman, IBM 1943
• “There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.” – Ken Olsen, Founder, Digital Equipment Corp. 1977

Everything looks like a big mistake—until something good comes out of it. And know that often times, what appears to be the safe play is the risky one (killing your idea).

When I decided to start my blog, my “inner-naysayer” said some fairly damaging things to me. “You have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said. There are literally a million blogs out there, why add more noise?”