Constantly validate that what you’re doing matters.

In a small company, it’s easy to work on things that are not very important. These might be things that are cool but aren’t very useful or don’t give very much value. Small companies have a much higher chance of survival when they do things that truly matter.

To validate that what you’re doing really matters, ask yourself these questions:

1. Why are you doing it?
   Determine the real reason you’re working on this project.

2. What problem are you solving?
   Sometimes you may find yourself solving imaginary problems instead of real ones.

3. Is it useful?
   Sometimes you will be building things just because they are cool even if they’re not useful.

4. Are you adding value?
   Adding too many accessories or functions to your product can take away from the value. Value is about balance.

5. Is there an easier way?
   Problems are usually pretty simple. They don’t require hard solutions.

6. What could you be doing instead?
   We all have limited resources. So all our focus must go to important things.