<commit_before>---
disqus: 'true'
layout: post
title:  What you can learn as a digital entrepreneur by building real stuff
date:   2014-09-22
categories: entrepreneurship
---

This weekend I decided to build a fence around my terrace which is about two
meters up at the highest point. The old fence was removed during a renovation
of the house.

![imaage](/assets/images/2014-09-22-fence.jpg)

_This is halfway through the project. It needs some paint, but it is starting
to look good. _

Today I looked back on what I did and saw a lot of resemblance to things I do
on a daily basis. Here are some things i noticed:

## You need a plan - sketch it!

Before you run off to the store buying things for your new project and start
the real work you need to plan it out carefully. How much wood do you need?
How should it look when you are ready? I like to do some quick sketches with
pencil and paper, just to get an idea of what I am about to build.

You will not solve all details here, but get the broad picture and understand
where the challenges will be. Also, you can use the sketch to do calculation
of how much things you need to buy and communicate the solution to your
co-worker or clients (my wife in this case).<commit_msg>Fix italics on a paragraph<commit_after>---
disqus: 'true'
layout: post
title:  What you can learn as a digital entrepreneur by building real stuff
date:   2014-09-22
categories: entrepreneurship
---

This weekend I decided to build a fence around my terrace which is about two
meters up at the highest point. The old fence was removed during a renovation
of the house.

![image](/assets/images/2014-09-22-fence.jpg)

_This is halfway through the project. It needs some paint, but it is starting to look good._

Today I looked back on what I did and saw a lot of resemblance to things I do
on a daily basis. Here are some things i noticed:

## You need a plan - sketch it!

Before you run off to the store buying things for your new project and start
the real work you need to plan it out carefully. How much wood do you need?
How should it look when you are ready? I like to do some quick sketches with
pencil and paper, just to get an idea of what I am about to build.

You will not solve all details here, but get the broad picture and understand
where the challenges will be. Also, you can use the sketch to do calculation
of how much things you need to buy and communicate the solution to your
co-worker or clients (my wife in this case).
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