Jason Fried

March 25, 2025

Go do business

Business isn’t something you learn in books. Or posts. Or threads.

You can’t read your way to the right hire.

You can't consume enough content to produce a product.

You have to do.

You learn business by doing business. Hiring by hiring. Products by building them.

We know this is true in music.

Never pick up a guitar? Go read 100 books on guitar. You'll suck just as much.

You have to play. You can only learn guitar by playing.

Business is music.

Some things can be taught. Some are just knowledge.

Business isn't that kind of thing. Products aren't those kinds of things.

Like music. Like sports. Like anything physical. You have to do the thing to get better at the thing.

In that way, business is more physical than mental. It's not a formula you can learn. It's not a series of lessons you can internalize. It's not a list you can complete.

Business is muscle memory. It's built by doing. Go do.

-Jason

About Jason Fried

Hey! I'm Jason, the Co-Founder and CEO at 37signals, makers of Basecamp and HEY. Subscribe below to follow my thinking on business, design, product development, and whatever else is on my mind. Thanks for visiting, thanks for reading.