Coming to you today from The Digger’s Inn, Francistown, Botswana, sharing an historic industrial lesson which has relevance to those wishing to start any new venture today.

In the late 1800s Francistown developed as a gold mining town. It had a railway bringing vital communication and transport from the South, but connectivity to the north, in particular Bulawayo (then Rhodesia now Zimbabwe) was by ox wagon only. The Rinderpest epidemic of 1896-7 had killed virtually all the cattle, so that ox wagons could no longer be used for transport of good or people. The sole means of transport therefore became donkey carts and mule drawn Zeederberg coaches making this a long slow journey requiring animal changes every 10-12miles.

Cecil Rhodes gave orders to engineer George Pauling that the rails must reach Bulawayo from Francistown before the rains started at the end of 1897, a feat which they accomplished at a mile a day for 70 days. A feat which is all the extraordinary when you consider this was all manual labour with hand tools.

Because of the urgency, much of the line was initially unballasted with sleepers resting on the ground and most of the river crossings were merely forded without bridges.

The line needed to be able to carry trains at a speed of 12 miles per hour. Stations and sidings initially had only simple tin buildings. However, once the entire line was operational and revenue coming in, appropriate bridges and stations were built.

To summarise, the engineers set to work on a ‘workable’ solution which would deliver something on time, rather than wait for a perfect solution which would be too late.

One of the lessons for all of us starting off a new project, or business, is we often procrastinate and delay because we don’t have everything perfect to start. The reality is, things never will be perfect, we just need to start from where we are, not in a careless manner, but realising that we can create ‘something’ where there was ‘nothing’. That is progress!

So, what are you waiting for?

Remember, a workable solution delivered on time is better than a perfect solution a little too late.

Francistown grew because of the gold rush. If you’re interested learning how to leverage the digital gold rush, then click here to review our complimentary video series where you can learn more about starting a profitable online business based on your values and passions.