If you’re like most people, getting started can be the biggest hurdle of all…
(If you’re more like me however, that’s the easy bit – reining oneself in and keeping focused has typically been the challenge, in my case!)
If you struggle with the getting started bit, here’s the process I use…
It’s one which I’ve refined over the years to encompass and allow for expansion, dreaming, and BIG thinking while at the same time keeping it manageable, do-able and start-able so that that I don’t psyche myself out before I begin.
It’s also perhaps a little more touchy-feely than nuts & bolts practical – taking into account how you feel about the project and how ready you feel at each stage, rather than basing this on any hard and fast figures, research or specific deliverables…
1. Idea flowing
This is the really fun bit – the stage after you’ve had the initial spark of an idea, the time to play with it, let it roll around in your mind and dream of all the things it *could* be.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the years is to let this part play out for as long as it needs to.
Instead of rushing to bring the first incarnation to life online, I let it sit. If at any point I get stuck on something, I ask myself the pertinent question and then await the answer.
Sometimes it comes quickly, other times not so much…
This is exactly the way it’s happened for the main project we’ll be working on this year – the full concept and idea for which took the best part of last year to drop into my mind and form itself so that it felt compelling enough, deep enough and fun enough to want to get started on.
The key here is not to dive in and get going with your first incarnation but instead wait awhile and see how the idea forms in your head, when you give it time and space to expand into.
Time frame: As long as is required until the idea feels fully formed enough and fun/exciting enough for you to begin to work on it.
Outcome: You know you’re ready to move on to the next stage when you stop having idea after idea about what you could do, and feel confident and happy in your mind with what you’ve decided you want to do.
2. Business Modelling
The next two parts are typically the bits that seem to suck the fun out the idea for most people. I’d argue that it’s here where you can pull all the fun parts together so that you can realistically and practically start doing them.
At this stage, I figure out the commercial model I want to use for the project – how the idea is going to make money, where the revenue could come from and where I want the revenue to come from.
This is why it’s fun, because you get to make the choices that work for you…
You could choose a product-based model, a service-based model, a subscription-based model or a combination of them all.
The key: Figuring out what’s going to work for you, and what you want to deliver.
Time frame: I don’t like to linger on this so I usually try and confirm in my own mind how I want the business and commercial aspects to work within the space of a week, usually less. Again though, you still have plenty of time for iterations and advancements of this original model to reveal themselves to you because you haven’t actually done anything at this stage, you’re still just thinking.
Outcome: You’re ready to move on to the next stage when, once again, you’re happy with the business and revenue choices you’ve made and new ideas no longer derail those, sending you back to the drawing board once again.
3. Business Planning
I use an OGSM which is my favourite business planning tool – one which I use with all my clients – because it’s one page, simple and keeps you focused on the choices you’ve made. Plus it’s flexible, change-able and doesn’t take too long to create once you’ve got the hang of it.
{For subscribers to my weekly updates, who receive this post by email, you’ll find attached a sample OGSM – if you’re not signed up yet, you can sign up at the bottom of this post.
And for members of my private mentoring group, we’ll be starting a group exercise to create an OGSM this month – you can join us here before the membership goes up this week.}
The key: Write down the choices you’ve made in each important area for the project. This might include: Who your project is for, what you plan to offer, how you hope to make money and where you’ll focus first.
Time frame: About a week, although I can knock one up in a day these days. The point here, again, is not to linger over this, psyching yourself out, but to just get something down on paper.
Outcome: While there’s a specific deliverable attached to this stage – your OGSM or Business Plan – it does not need to be perfect. It can be a scribbled page of notes, it can be “back of a fag packet” planning, or it can be a multi-page document which details all of your thoughts, decisions and choices. It’s up to you…find what works for you and just do it.
4. Branding
Once the above is complete, that’s the key thinking out of the way and it’s now time to start doing.
For me, even if a book needs writing, a product needs creating or a service needs fleshing out before the project can officially be launched to the world, I like to get started on the visual branding so I can get the website up and start to see things taking shape in reality, and not just in my head.
I’ll typically have a good idea of the kind of visual branding I want – the colour scheme, any imagery, the font – which I then pass over to my designer to bring to life. (Or you can get support doing it yourself with the new Design Support element we launched late last year here).
It’s usually a very collaborative process and because he’s my husband, I don’t create a fully fledged brief – although it would probably make his life easier if I did! If this weren’t the case, then I would at this stage create a brief to pass over to my chosen designer.
The key: Ensuring you communicate to your designer what you want your brand to communicate to the people who it’s for.
Time frame: I’m impatient, so Jonathan usually gets no more than a week to come up with a working concept for the brand I’ve got in my head. If you’re working with a designer who isn’t your husband, then this stage is likely to take a while longer – perhaps 2-4 weeks, maybe more.
{Tip: In the meantime, you can be working on the copy for the pages of your website ;) }
Outcome: A visual brand – which may mean a logo, a header for your website, a full set of web graphics, a chosen custom font and a colour scheme.
5. Website Building
This is the most exciting bit – for me, at least – bringing the website to life.
It’s at this stage when the project feels very real – even if it’s not going to be launched to the wider world for a while – seeing your project on the web means it’s real for you.
Again, I’m fortunate – we have the skills in-house/in-team to get our own websites up and running and so this stage isn’t usually a stressful one.
If this stage is usually a difficult one for you, I highly recommend finding (and paying) a good web developer with whom you can build a long term relationship so that each and every time you bring a new project to life, the process gets easier and stops becoming a big hurdle which prevents you from getting any further.
If you’re more into doing it yourself – or your budget necessitates this – that’s what I created Startup Training School for, so you can learn how to do it all yourself for under £100.
The key: Getting a website up and running – however imperfect – so you can iterate, refine and work with something, which is usually infinitely easier than working with nothing.
Time frame: Usually a week, with all the back-end, front-end and web copy complete within that time frame. If you’re working with an external developer, or learning from scratch how to do it all yourself, this time frame will be extended considerably – plan for at least a month, but expect more likely 2-3 months.
Outcome: Your website is online, your project is detailed out, described on the pages of your site and – unless you have something else to actually make or produce before you can launch – you could well be ready to go!