Why you should stop over-thinking your idea and ‘Just Start’
We all have ideas that we’ve never acted on
When I was at University, there was a student that built a coffee vending machine so that students could have a good cup of coffee at any hour. The first place he put it was in the Engineering building because of the number of students that often worked there throughout the night. It was wildly popular and we all watched a little enviously as people lined up and inserted their money for him to collect later. I was surprised by how many people claimed afterward to have had this idea before him and were now kicking themselves for not taking the initiative.
I’m the kind of person that gets passionate very quickly. I dream big and jump straight to the future and map out the full evolution of my idea in my head. The problem is, just like some of the students above, I struggled to take the first step in realising any of my ideas. Sometimes, I would psych myself out so much that I wouldn’t even talk to anyone about my idea, for fear that someone else might do it before me.
In 2018, I started working at Yoco, a South African FinTech that builds products to enable small business owners. As a Product Manager there, I interacted with merchants almost every day. Every time I heard their story of why they started and how they got to where they are, I would be so inspired. A part of me wished that I could jump straight to where they were, telling my story of how I created something beautiful.
Most of the time, we spoke to merchants who were already on this journey of building a business, but we knew that there are others out there that are only starting or contemplating starting. The marketing team ran a campaign intending to inspire these specific people, to give them the push they needed to take that first step. Well, it didn’t just inspire them! There is so much power behind this message. I want you to watch it before I continue so that you can also feel it and understand why I had such an itch to start something after it went live.
Taking that first step and feeding the fire
Goosebumps, right?! At the time that this advert was released, my husband and I had just returned from a trip to India. One of the highlights from our trip was the freshly brewed spiced chai that was sold at almost every street corner and wow, did we miss our daily cuppa. We had just about figured out how to make it at home but, just like coffee, there’s something about being able to go out and have it made for you.
I started joking around with a colleague about starting a chai business in Cape Town since we couldn’t find any place that made it the way we liked it. I kept thinking about the message in the video above and at some point, I decided that I was serious. For once, I wanted to channel the passion and energy behind an idea into something real. I made it my goal to get into at least one market and make chai for people to try.
My first barrier didn’t take long to pop up — it turns out you’re not allowed to just start selling food and drinks at markets. You need a vendor permit from the City of Cape Town to get into most formalised markets. While I waited, friends and family that knew I was looking for more informal markets told me about one happening at a school. It was a small, once-off market but once I applied and paid for my table, I remember pausing and feeling that fire growing. I was actually doing this! All at once, I tumbled into taking a bunch of baby steps that would prepare me for the market but that would also form the foundation of my first small business, The Chai Walli.
Baby steps:
- I designed a logo and digitised it on Figma.
- I created an Instagram business account and a Facebook page so that customers could tag and follow me.
- I bought ingredients and tried to perfect my recipe (let’s just say my husband had many cups of tea that week).
- I worked out my pricing (I ended up charging R10 a cup which was actually too low to make a decent profit but it meant the cost didn’t stop anyone from trying it).
- I bought a card machine from Yoco (mainly because I worked there but also because the Yoco Go is not very expensive and it would mean that I wouldn’t miss out on sales if customers ran out of cash).
- I also thought about my brand and what colours and themes represented it so that I could decorate my table in a way that people might recognise me if I ever did another market.
That first market was CHAOTIC but in a fun and exhilarating way. I was grinding spices, stirring the chai, collecting money, and keeping track of orders all at once. I went home exhausted but giddy! I had cracked open a door. Every little milestone that followed pushed that door further open and chipped away at the mental blockers that had stopped me in the past.
After getting my permit, I applied for more markets. I got shut down, a lot. Markets like The Old Biscuit Mill and The Oranjezicht market had over a hundred other merchants on their waiting lists and, as long as one of them was already selling something related to tea, I couldn’t get a spot until they chose to leave. It was eye-opening, to see firsthand, the challenges that small businesses face. I think what often keeps them going, what kept me going, are the handful of customers that just love what they’re creating. Even when COVID hit and all markets shut down, there was still enough demand to motivate me to work around it. I created a free, simple online store through Yoco so that I could sell my chai mix with instructions on how to brew it at home. I asked small, local shops if they would be interested in stocking my product and I posted every little victory on Social Media. I came to embody The Chai Walli and smiled proudly when friends and family called me by that name or asked me to brew some chai after a meal.
It becomes addictive and easier
Something changed after I started The Chai Walli. A year later, I took up sewing as a hobby. Being the big, over-the-top dreamer that I am, it only took creating my first skirt before I was fantasising about my own clothing line one day. And why not? So many people hold back because of ‘imposter syndrome’, because they don’t have enough knowledge, money, or experience. Why not just start with what you have?
I created another Instagram business account called DRAPED and invited friends and family to follow it. I didn’t have a single product on the account, just the words ‘LOADING…’. I had seen this method before, of building hype and followers so that when you did launch your first product, there was an audience who were waiting impatiently for it. Doing this put some healthy pressure on me to get moving and I started searching for fabric, seamstresses, couriers, setting up another online store, and applying for Instagram shopping to remove as many barriers to purchase as possible.
Because if you don’t start, how will you ever create something magical?
The Chai Walli and DRAPED are really small businesses that I like to proudly keep in my back pocket and work on every now and then. Their creation was not meant to leave an impression on you and all the links to the sites are just there in case you’re curious. What’s important, is what starting them did for me. When you make that first move, even if it’s a blank page on Instagram, you start building a momentum that is JUST so addictive! My hope is that, as our ideas evolve, even the most intimidating ones will be possible because it will be second nature to always find a starting point.
So start with fear, doubt, what you’ve got. Just start.
