Flush the Toilet: Young Entrepreneurs

Article written by Guest Blogger: Anthony Putignano of Xonatek Multimedia Design & Development

So you have a great idea? “The next big thing”? Great – but if you are like most people, the thought will linger in your mind for months, maybe years, and then eventually fade away into an expanding sea of missed opportunities and regret. However, by using the right tools and techniques, you can achieve goals you previously thought were impossible.

Introduction: Developing an Idea Is a Lot Like Parenting

This world would be in big trouble if every parent that ever wanted to have a child didn’t because they didn’t know how available they would be, how the child would ultimately turn out, or how college and all of the other endless expenses could possibly be paid off. But luckily, most parents take that leap, and they find out that because they trust and believe in themselves, they are capable of being great parents.

Luckily, an idea is not the same as a child, and it can be managed differently – I will get into that shortly. But for now, the point of this analogy is that just because you are not sure what it would take to bring an idea to life does not mean you are not capable of doing it; it just means that you need to trust yourself and have a little bit of faith that over time, you will see positive results.

Stage One: The “Buffer” Between Good & Bad Ideas

The first thing I do when a new idea pops into my head is I write it down, then forget about it. “That’s ridiculous,” you say? Well, maybe, but hear me out. See, ideas can be distracting if you don’t use them the right way. The human brain is capable of sifting through thousands of thoughts in milliseconds, so naturally, new ideas are born every day. If you let yourself believe that every new idea is better than the goal you’re currently working towards, then you will never reach any of your goals because you will be too busy second-guessing yourself and changing direction.

So, that being said, the best way to manage your ideas is to write them down, then come back to them when you have some “free” time. 95% of the time, you will realize that an idea you wrote down days before now seems downright stupid. But 5% of the time, you will realize you are sitting on a goldmine. And the only way to make that distinction is to give yourself that buffer in between first writing down the idea and reading it back to yourself days later.

Stage Two: Letting the Idea Develop Naturally

Even once you’re sure you have the idea that tops all others, it’s important to let it develop naturally before taking any further action. Surely, the creators of Google didn’t have one clear and concise idea to put all of the world’s knowledge into one centralized location from the start. Rather, I’m sure the concept naturally progressed from an intuitive search engine, then to books, to maps, and finally, they came to the conclusion that they were capable of something much bigger than what they originally intended.

So, you ask, how do you let an idea develop naturally? Well, just don’t think about it so much. Again, it may sound ridiculous, but it’s extremely effective for me. I have a notebook near me during most of the day – yes, a physical notebook that doesn’t run out of batteries and doesn’t require you to confine your ideas to a screen with lines of text. In my notebook, I keep a page for each one of my ideas. During the course of my day, I inevitably have random revelations about one of my ideas, whether it is an improvement on the idea, a new twist on it, a connection that can help me out with it, a way to carry it out, etc. When this happens, I take out my notebook, go to the page with the original idea, and write down my thoughts next to a bullet point. This is important because it is the first step in making your idea a reality. These bullet points under your main idea should help you more clearly define the idea and its feasibility.

In effect, engaging in some long-term brainstorming is the best way to let an idea develop and really take flight.

Step Three: Think Long-Term, Not Short-Term

The following is something nearly anybody can relate to: There is something that’s been bugging you and you need to do something about it. It could be something small, like losing some weight or cleaning your room, or something larger, like finding a new job or buying a house. Either way, you put it off, because you tell yourself it will take _x_ amount of months/years to accomplish, and that is simply too overwhelming a thought.

Enter this painful realization: It is now _x_ amount of months/years later, and you regret procrastinating because you realize that by this point, you could have accomplished your goal.

So, there is a simple solution, really. It is just a matter of turning a negative outlook such as this:

“It’s impossible; a project that big would take me an entire year to finish.”
Into one more like this:
“It can be done; this project will take me one year to finish.”

See the difference? In the end, it’s all about your attitude.

Step Four: Think Short-Term, Not Long-Term (Take your mind off the prize)

I know, I know – I’m contradicting myself. Well, yes and no (note the humor). See, at first, your thoughts must be directed towards the bigger picture. However, once it’s time to get to work, it’s important that you focus on what it will take to get there, and that means thinking small.

(A): Organize your plan into a goal, milestones, and tasks.

Well, in order to do that, you need to first fully understand what each of these things mean.

• A goal is not the same as an idea. An idea is something as simple as developing a brand new internet application. But the goal goes much deeper. It states by when you plan to finish the new internet application, when to begin marketing it, how much revenue/profit you plan to make in the first year, etc. It assigns specific attributes which let you measure the effectiveness of your idea and your plan as it progresses.

• A milestone is a major leap of progress on the timeline towards reaching your goal. If your goal will not be reached for one year, then you should set roughly six major milestones in between now and that time. This will help you mentally because rather than focusing on how far away you are from reaching your goal, you can begin focusing on how close you are to reaching your next milestone.

• A task is simply a small “chore” that needs to be done, and when added up with other tasks, helps you achieve a milestone.

So, to review, you must create a clear goal from your idea. Then, from there, use the bullet points in your notebook to help you define milestones and the tasks which will be required to reach those milestones.

(B) Hold yourself accountable

To even have a chance of reaching your goal, you need to start holding yourself accountable for your actions and/or inactions. Remember that, although there are obviously important people in your life that care about you and your goals – family, friends, significant other – nobody will ever care about your goals more than you. If you slack off for a day, the people that care about you most won’t get on your case about it; in fact, they will probably encourage it. Sometimes you need to listen to them and take a break. But in the end, relying on yourself to reach your own goal is essentially putting yourself in the position of both boss and employee. And if you look at your new undertaking as a job of sorts, then you would have to assume that your “boss” wouldn’t like it very much if you constantly skipped work and missed deadlines. From now on, make sure you keep your boss happy. In the end, you’ll be happy you did.

(C): Use the right tools

It is essential that you use the right combination of tools to help you along with your tasks and keep you on track to reach your milestones and goal on time. This means utilizing some newer technology plus older standards as well, and knowing the advantages and disadvantages of both. Here is what I use, why I use it, and when I use it:

• Microsoft Outlook 2003 is a great program which lets me keep my life organized in one centralized location. And when I say life, I mean it. Outlook tells me when it’s that time of week to do my laundry, keeps track of the contact information of every single person I know/meet, keeps records of every single email I have ever received and sent, and allows me to keep track of any appointments I made over the course of the next few weeks/months.

• HP iPAQ is a Pocket PC (PDA) which basically allows me to take all of that crucial information from Outlook and carry it with me anywhere I go. Aside from being able to access this information from anywhere, it also allows me to add to it; I can jot down notes, add contacts, appointments, etc, and have all of that information synch right back up to Outlook when I come back to my computer. It also allows me to keep track of new email while I am away from the computer, but unlike many other entrepreneurs, I stray away from this feature; if I am away from the computer, I am probably trying to (a) take a break or (b) be productive. Either way, email is a disruption and chances are, it can wait until you return to your computer.

• Microsoft Project 2003 is very similar to the Tasks feature in Outlook, but is much more intuitive when trying to manage a goal. It allows me to define a goal in terms of milestones, tasks, etc, just like I specified earlier. It also helps me ration out resources/labor that can help move the process along. So, while Outlook can manage basic tasks, Project can help you organize them in a way that makes sense relative to a specific goal.

• A Dry-Erase Board is quite possibly the best thing you can use in your room/office. Even though all of the computer applications I discussed above help you keep track of everything digitally, the problem is that some of your more important information gets lost in the shuffle. So, that’s where my Dry-Erase Board comes in. Every week, I update it with my appointments, tasks for each day, plus my long-term goals, just so I don’t forget where I am going with all of this. So, every day, there is absolutely no way I can forget what needs to be done; it’s physically right there in front of me. And in some strange way, I feel guilty if I can’t physically cross out a task, so it helps me hold myself accountable.

• Post-it Notes work in much the same way. If there is something essential that I need to remember/take care of within the next few hours/days, I absolutely do not rely on my computer or Pocket PC to remind me. You can store an indefinite amount of information and reminders on a digital device, so one reminder never seems more important than the next. But you only have so much room for post-it notes on your physical desk. By using them, you help yourself remember what is truly a priority.

You Finally Got a Round Tuit

You used all of these tools and techniques, and now it’s _x_ months/years later, and you’ve finally reached your goal. Great! But remember, you didn’t get to where you are right now by riding out a wave and taking it easy; you were creative, motivated, and dedicated. Stay that way; continue to let new ideas develop, set new goals, and always, always hold yourself accountable for reaching a higher level of success.

Am I saying you can’t rejoice a little bit and enjoy the fruits of your labor? No, not at all. But I am suggesting that you should never settle. Give yourself a pat on the back, let yourself feel rewarded, then hop right back on the wagon and move towards something bigger and better. After all, if Lewis & Clark decided enough was enough after reaching South Dakota, they would have been cheating themselves and the rest of society out of something extraordinarily better.