So before we set off to dominate the world, let’s pretend we have a little strategic business insight.

I mean, at least act like you have thought about what you are getting into.

Maybe do a little “SWOT” analysis, like they taught you in business school?

Again, for example, if making pizzas is your dream, you don’t simply open a pizza shop.

You would do well to look at the size of the town, the number of other pizza shops, the price you want to charge compared to the competition, advertising rates, and catering opportunities.

Maybe all your pizza dreams turn out great, or maybe on consideration, you follow your love of cooking to cheeseburgers or steaks.

Or, maybe, you need to make pizzas in a different town.

The point is to simply consider what you are up against in a prudent way.

True story: My uncle owned a pizza shop once, the only pizza place in town.

He sold it to another enterprising restaurateur the same year Domino’s moved in.

We love to praise execution, as if executing well on any dumb old idea would take us somewhere. Sure. Immense dedication, skill, and the hard work of great people can overcome most obstacles. But choosing wisely at the start—the field, the approach, the customer target, the economic model, and the marketing methodologies—has a massive impact on the difficulties you’ll face and how forgiving the journey will be. Not everyone can afford the costs of starting over. Not everyone has the privilege of being able to test hypotheses willy-nilly. If you have a family, if you have debts, if your cost of failure is anything but zero, it makes better sense to tread carefully.

-Rand Fishkin, Lost And Founder