Tom, I want to [place description of doing something here, like: write book, sell more kitten mittens, etc.], but I don\u2019t have [place description of excuse here, like: an audience, money, connections, platform, etc.]. What do I do?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now, the solution is actually pretty obvious: go build or create the thing you\u2019re lacking (audience, money, whatever), then do the thing you want.<\/p>\n
Thing is, though, this advice is about as useful as telling a diabetic to stop consuming so much sugar.<\/p>\n
Great thought, but the obvious isn\u2019t what we need. If that were the case, the problem would be solved already.<\/p>\n
Case closed. We won. Let\u2019s go home.<\/i><\/p>\n
No, most humans are great at recognizing what needs changing (whether in diet, business, relationships, or life). What we\u2019re not so great at is implementing the changes necessary to succeed.<\/p>\n
So what we DON\u2019T need is someone reiterating the problem and telling us a solution.<\/i><\/p>\n
What we DO need is a framework to facilitate success:<\/b> a process to help us make change; a template to help us ship our project (or lower our cholesterol).<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re stuck, confused, depressed, exhausted, or ready to throw in the towel (or already have), here\u2019s what you need to do.
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3 Steps for Starting Anything from Scratch (even if you don\u2019t have money, connections or an audience)<\/h1>\n#1. Take The Lead<\/h1>\n
Nobody is going to create your vision for you.<\/p>\n
Nobody is going to write your book, or call the wholesaler to coordinate the import, or build your website (the way it needs to be built).<\/p>\n
Nor is anyone going to tell you how each chapter ought to be written, how to structure your import \/ export business, or how your website should look.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s on you to do the hard creative work.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n \"Taking the Lead\" means:<\/p>\n Because I personally find examples helpful for learning, here you go:<\/p>\n For the past week I\u2019ve been in Traverse City, MI, so I\u2019ve been drinking a bit more delicious micro-brew than usual, so I figured we could use a brewery example.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s say you have an idea for a brewery...<\/p>\n The answer isn\u2019t to imagine cool flavors you\u2019d brew or great names you\u2019d give them. Sure, this part is fun, but fun doesn\u2019t create anything.<\/p>\n Your job is to brew (or source the brewer), connect with people who love artisan beer, and sell your beer to them. <\/i><\/p>\n When enough people are buying, it\u2019s time to scale.<\/p>\n In other words, your job is NOT to:<\/b><\/p>\n Your job IS:<\/p>\n (or, if you don\u2019t care about the creation aspect of it: sell someone elses artisan beer)<\/p>\n That\u2019s what a brewery is.<\/p>\n Everything else is a distraction until money exchanges hands (for delicious micro-brew).<\/p>\n Now, once you understand you need to execute your idea at the lowest level possible, you ought to build out a lean canvas.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s possible to try executing your idea at the lowest possible level with no plan, but let\u2019s be real: you\u2019re shooting in the dark.<\/p>\n So an actionable business model is essential.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written about the lean canvas before, so I\u2019ll simply share the results of my hypothetical brewery lean canvas here.<\/p>\n This took me 10 minutes to create:<\/p>\n As you can see, stuff is pretty basic right now.<\/p>\n We have a solid idea, though, of:<\/p>\n The lean canvas is a living document and something you should continue to develop and refine as you execute, but even this basic structure is enough to get started.<\/p>\n Once you have your lean canvas created (again, this should take about 15 minutes), then it\u2019s time to break it down into a series of systems, processes, and checklists (so you can move from point A, the idea, to point B - your minimal viable product)<\/p>\n Next, turn your lean canvas into a project management board.<\/p>\n I prefer Trello to just about everything out there (it\u2019s free and awesome):<\/p>\n As you can see, I\u2019ve started to flesh out precisely what needs to be done to bring this thing into reality.<\/p>\n The key with a good project management board: there is a system for turning ideas into reality (and a way to track it).<\/p>\n I generally like to assemble my boards using the: \u201cTo Do\u201d \u201cIn Progress\u201d \u201cDone\u201d framework.<\/p>\n Couple notes:<\/b><\/p>\n I know - people hate checklists.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the deal: without them, nothing gets done.<\/p>\n And on the opposite side of the spectrum, with detailed, clear checklists, ANYONE can execute on your vision - important if you ever want to build and lead a team (next section) or eventually scale the operations of your business.<\/p>\n For this task, I like to create a Todoist project:<\/p>\n Todoist is a simple checklist program. Like Trello, the basic software is free and incredibly valuable.<\/p>\n Keys to a good checklist:<\/b><\/p>\n Once you have your lean canvas, project management board, and checklists setup, it\u2019s time to multiply your results the SMART way.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Tom, I don\u2019t know how to brew, or I don\u2019t know how to get my beer in local taprooms, or I don\u2019t know how to blah blah blah.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n First: yes, you do.<\/p>\n Or at least: you could<\/i>...<\/p>\n You could <\/i>learn to brew, or figure out how to get your beer in local taprooms, or connect with investors, or figure out the proper licenses you need to whatever.<\/p>\n It takes creative hustle, sure, but it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s say you really do come up against something that seems insurmountable:<\/p>\n Like you want to start a brewery but don\u2019t know how to brew, nor have the passion to master it.<\/p>\n What do you do?<\/i><\/p>\n Simple: you find the right person (or people) to team up with to bring your vision to live.<\/b><\/p>\n This is what it means to \u201cassemble a team.\u201d<\/p>\n No one has every skill they need to build something from scratch.<\/p>\n For the new book I\u2019m writing<\/a>, I interviewed dozens of entrepreneurs who have built and led teams.<\/p>\n Recently, I sat down with Chris Guillebeau, bestselling author of The $100 Startup<\/i> and creator of one of the biggest conferences in the world (at least it seems like it it) The World Domination Summit<\/i> (WDS for short).<\/p>\n I asked Chris how he did it - how could he possible launch WDS when he had:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Chris did:<\/p>\n Key take-aways:<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to hear the full interview between Chris and I, sign up for early notification of the launch of my new book: COMMAND. Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n His interview and many others are\u00a0exclusive bonuses, several of\u00a0which I will share with early notification list subscribers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n If I were doing the same thing with a brewery, I would figure out what skills and assets I brought to the table, and source the rest.<\/p>\n For example, I\u2019m good at:<\/p>\n I\u2019m not good at:<\/p>\n It would behoove me then to team up with a brewer who was committed to the project. And as far as the legal stuff goes, I\u2019d either suck it up and read some laws (and ask other brewers how they did it), or potentially find a lawyer who loves beer to team up with.<\/p>\n That would be the basic formation of the team (sales + product creation), and all you need to get started.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019re underway with your collaborative project, it\u2019s time to ship the thing to market.<\/p>\n What does \u201cship to market\u201d mean?<\/p>\n It means ACTUALLY launching your product so that people exchange dollars for your idea (for your delicious micro-brew, in this case).<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written about lean launching projects from scratch before, so I won\u2019t go into detail here.<\/p>\n What\u2019s most important about shipping your product to market:<\/b><\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean rush and pump out garbage. The world is noisy and full of half-assed stuff (books, blogs, businesses - you name it), it doesn\u2019t need more.<\/p>\n But by setting a ship date and definitively committing to it, you break through the enemys roadblocks, propaganda, and obstacles, and increase your chances of success dramatically.<\/p>\n An important reminder when it comes to launching something:<\/p>\n The real winners aren\u2019t the people who ship perfectly.<\/p>\n The real winners are the people who ship.<\/p>\n If you're working on a project, I hope this gives you a helpful framework to follow to turn your idea into reality.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this post, then you may want to check out my new book:<\/p>\n\n
How to Execute an Idea at the Lowest Level Possible<\/h2>\n
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How to Build an Actionable Business Model<\/h2>\n
1. Build Out a Lean Canvas<\/h3>\n
![\"lean](\"https:\/\/tommorkes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/lean-canvas-brew.png\" "\\"\\"")
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2. Develop Your Project Management Board<\/h3>\n
![\"trello](\"https:\/\/tommorkes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/trello-brew.png\" "\\"\\"")
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3. Develop a Checklist System<\/h3>\n
![\"todoist](\"https:\/\/tommorkes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/todoist-brew.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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#2 Assemble a Team<\/h1>\n
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#2 Ship Your Product to Market<\/h1>\n
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Next Steps
![\"COMMAND](\"https:\/\/tommorkes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/COMMAND-2a-188x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
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