Starting is scary.

I know.

I'm 10 weeks into my own thing right now. I've got 2 clients and for all intents and purposes, things are well.

But what happens when those engagements are over?

Scared?

Sure.

But there's no time to be paralyzed. I'm already thinking ahead.

The things I'm asking are...

- How do I scale?
- Who will be my first hire?
- What will my office culture be like?
- How can I make my offer clearer?

But I'm not worried about finding work.

Here's why.

A young writer asked me recently, "How do I get clients?"

I can only speak from my own experience, but I think it's universal...

Get used to hearing no. Knock on a lot of doors, know most will get shut. Keep knocking. Someone will say yes.

Then work your ass off.

If you believe you've got the goods (and you keep refining your craft) someone, eventually, will take a chance.

The work may not be glorious. You're probably not as good as you thought you were. But you'll get experience.

That experience, combined with more knocking, leads to more opportunity.

More opportunity, more experience, until you've created a flywheel.

No's become less frequent. Eventually, you're the one who has to say no.

I've experienced it and I've witnessed it.

That's why I'm not scared about finding the next client.

I know how to knock. I've learned how to hear no.

I plan on hearing no a lot.

Soon, I plan on public speaking. Soon, I'll write a book.

I have little experience in these areas, and I'm probably going to suck.

But that's ok.

Starting is scary. I plan to push through. Get the experience and just keep moving.

If you're wanting to start. Start. It's not too late. Just be prepared. And just keep going.