I know in start-ups making revenue is a bit of a dirty word but that's what the business is ultimately supposed to do anyway!
I keep a note to myself positioned prominently nearby, titled "The Most Important Question". I wrote down something for "Question One" when I first put it up, but shortly after I went back and wrote in "Question Zero".
"What is the single most important thing I can be doing right now, to get us to revenue?"
(And no, "posting on HN" isn't a very good answer to that question, so shame on me). Hey, I won't claim to manage to adhere to 100% absolute razor-sharp focus on that point, but I keep coming back to it. When I find myself starting to bikeshed or work on some "cool but speculative" idea, I remind myself "work on what's going to bring dollars in the door first".
I keep a note to myself positioned prominently nearby, titled "The Most Important Question". I wrote down something for "Question One" when I first put it up, but shortly after I went back and wrote in "Question Zero".
"What is the single most important thing I can be doing right now, to get us to revenue?"
(And no, "posting on HN" isn't a very good answer to that question, so shame on me). Hey, I won't claim to manage to adhere to 100% absolute razor-sharp focus on that point, but I keep coming back to it. When I find myself starting to bikeshed or work on some "cool but speculative" idea, I remind myself "work on what's going to bring dollars in the door first".