STOP! You're Focusing on the Wrong Thing | Harley Davidson's Big Secret

Welcome to another edition of Famous Friday where we model the success of famous entrepreneurs. Whatever problem you have right now, somebody has already solved it, and instead of trying to figure out the solution yourself to everything, go out and model success. Today's lesson is think big but start small, and it comes from the founders of Harley-Davidson. Now Harley-Davidson was started by two friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson, and they loved going fishing. And they always had the bicycle to get to their fishing spot. They wanted to take the work out of bicycling, get to their fishing spots faster, and said, "What if we attach a motor to this bicycle so we can get to our fishing hole faster?" And they made their first prototype and they said, "You know what? This thing actually works. We can get to our fishing spot faster. We can have more free time. We can have a lot more fun." And so they decided to start a company. But they didn't do the classic mistake that so many entrepreneurs make. They didn't go out and start investing into equipment and investing into a factory and investing into inventory. They didn't go out and spend a lot of money because they didn't have a lot of money. What they did was they set up in their backyard, they had this little shed and they posted Harley-Davidson on the door and they got to work in their backyard. They got to work with what they had. They may have had big visions, But they started small. And in 1903, they made 3 motorcycles. In 1904, they made 3 more motorcycles. In 1905, they made 7 motorcycles. And then they figured it out. They figured out how to make motorcycles properly. They figured out how to sell the motorcycles that they were making. There was demand, there was interest. They refined their process. They were now ready for expansion. And then they went out in their fourth year to get a new plant to actually go and build these things. They set up their own shop, a real shop, not just a backyard shop, and they made 50 motorcycles that year. And then they eventually hit 1,000 motorcycles and 3,000 motorcycles and 5,000 motorcycles. And you can see their success story and their growth. But the secret was right there at the beginning. They may have had this big vision for a company, but they started with what they had. And too many entrepreneurs are so focused on what they don't have. Right, you're focused on the money you don't have, you're focused on that investor you don't have, you're focused on the customer that you don't have. Instead of focusing on what you don't have, you gotta do what you can with what you do have. You start small. You have that big goal, that big vision, that's awesome. That, you need that. That keeps you motivated, that keeps you excited, that's the end picture of what you're trying to accomplish. But you gotta act! Nobody's coming to save you, this is on you to to get started in any small way you can to move your business forward. Even if that means a backyard shed, you're working with what you have to start building your dream. Think big, but start small. Believe. For those of you watching the video, if you like this, you want to see more, please subscribe to the channel. It means a lot to me, and I'll see you soon.