How too much research will spoil your business

It’s the age of the internet - it’s a cliché. It’s the age of wannapreneurs – it’s the truth. The availability and the reach of internet has enabled everyone to get access to tons of information, which was earlier difficult. Now, at the click of a button, the best of the best articles, videos, interviews, reviews, podcasts and eBooks are on your screen. You feel empowered with the overwhelming exposure to information you get online. But such immense availability of information gives rise to two types of people – ones who become complacent in doing research online and the ones who get insights from their research and start using what they’ve learnt to achieve their dreams.

Unfortunately, there more wannapreneurs than entrepreneurs! Have you ever tried using a cookbook to prepare food? It could be as easy as pasta with white sauce or as complex as biryani. On the cookbook, it sounds super simple. Measurements are given, the cooking technique is mentioned step-by-step, the ingredients are covered and more. What else do you need? But only when you actually take that vessel out and ignite the stove is when you feel the heat (literally).

Simply doing research online and equipping yourself with information is similar to text book knowledge. It’s like being confident about driving a car after reading a How to ride a car in 7 days or less article. The information you have with you should meet actions that reflect your goal and purpose and that’s when experience is born. And trust me, experience has more weightage than information.

Reading up about Steve Jobs and feeling inspired is a different case. But trying to follow the exact path charted by him for his business is entirely a different case altogether. What worked for him will not work for you and you cannot just rely on textbook knowledge to grow your business. You need to find your mojo, get your hands dirty and figure out your style of hustling. You need to get out there and find out what works for you.

And no article that you do research on will teach you that. Analytics can give you insights on what’s happening – that’s information. But how do you use that information to fix things is entirely up to you. That will grow your business. Give a laptop and an internet connection to a man and you can see him read up about things online and appear confident. Push him to real-world scenarios and that’s when you see hi tremble.

So, the bottom line is not to invest too much time on reading up about your niche online. The goal is to start doing things and let the experience add value to our knowledge. The journey once commenced will be only rewarding if you keep walking. Only doing a research about your journey will only make you complacent and trust me, complacence is lethal. Get out there and hustle!