Do Something

This blog post highlights what I think is the number one most important piece of advice for other wannabe entrepreneurs getting started - take whatever your best idea is and start working on it. I meet people pretty often who say "I would love to be an entrepreneur, I'm just waiting until I have a great idea". To me it's like saying "I'd love to be a rock star; I plan to start guitar lessons as soon as I come up with a hit single". The most important thing is that you're working - becoming a better programmer, learning new design techniques, being active in the community and learning from failing.

Note that I'm not saying quit your day job. I personally tend to be really conservative about financial stability - I know starving artists do their best work, but if I was worried about paying the rent I would have a hard time with the creative process, where most of the sentences begin "Ok, bear with me. What if...?" If you have a crackerjack idea then go for it, otherwise do some side work, maybe find a partner. You can get a long way into the process before you have to quit if you're up for a challenge (and you'll find that doing side work well and also having a professional day job takes A LOT of commitment - it's good practice for running a startup).