Start Making Something

Key takeaways

Starting small is accessible—use simple tools, community feedback, and iteration to bring ideas to life.
Turning passion into a business often involves overcoming significant challenges, but persistence and learning from mistakes are key.
Manufacturing and scaling require patience, resilience, and the willingness to refine your product through trial and error.
Taking the first step, even on a small or experimental level, can lead to meaningful progress and future opportunities.
Creative pursuits can serve as a healthy outlet, as well as a pathway to entrepreneurship, once you embrace experimentation and imperfection.

Summary

Start Making Something: The Power of DIY and Creativity

This section emphasizes the importance of taking the first step in creating or building something, especially at the start of a new year. It highlights stories of individuals like Grant Radic, a video game producer who designs tabletop games using simple materials like index cards and household junk; Shell, a former blogger who turned her passion for skincare into a successful homemade product line called Holy Snails; and Fred Pratt, who moved from a corporate job at Google to launching his own travel backpack company, Tortuga. The common thread is the encouragement for listeners to start making, experimenting, and turning ideas into tangible products or projects, regardless of scale or initial obstacles.

Creative Side Projects: From Hobby to Business

This section delves into personal stories of turning passion projects into more serious endeavors. Grant Radic shares how designing tabletop games started as a hobby with simple tools, offering a tactile and creative outlet separate from his video game career. Shell describes her journey from DIY skincare enthusiast to business owner, creating products in her kitchen that gained a cult following online, which led her to establish a legitimate business. Their stories highlight the low barriers to start—like using index cards and online communities—and the potential to grow from hobbyist experiments into sustainable ventures.

Challenges and Failures in Making and Manufacturing

Fred Pratt recounts the hurdles faced when trying to manufacture his backpack in China, including miscommunications and a disastrous first prototype dubbed 'The Great Monstrosity.' He illustrates the common pitfalls in scaling from concept to production, such as quality issues and logistical delays. Despite these setbacks, Fred and his co-founder persisted by returning to local manufacturing and refining their design, demonstrating resilience and learning from failures. This section underscores that setbacks are a natural part of the creation process and that perseverance can eventually lead to success.

Show notes

New year, new you! If you started 2018 with an idea for a product, business, or creative pursuit, now is the time to start making something. In this episode: A tabletop game designer finds that sometimes, all you need to get going is a pack of index cards and a pencil; a skincare blogger tries her hand at DIY and ends up with a cult hit; and a travel backpack company's first attempt at making something goes comically awry.