Most businesses start with an idea and a lot of effort. Entrepreneurs run from one customer to the next, the focus is on keeping the lights on.

The most successful projects start with the end in mind. Spending the couple of days required to map out what the project will look like in a year, 3 years, 5 years – whatever timeframe you’re working on.

The typical challenge entrepreneurs provide is – this is impossible to do. It’s not. So first up, you won’t be right. However, if you have something to aim for, it makes it so much easier to hit.

For example, if you’re setting up a business selling custom organic cotton t-shirts, the common thing to do is either:

1. Jump straight in – setup website, facebook page, contact suppliers, etc.
2. Prepare a detailed business plan mapping out all the exact details – *yawn*

Instead, if you work up a one-pager (a slide, word document or whatever) clearly setting out what the business will look like in a specific timeframe (I like either 1 year, 3 year or 5 year [or all 3!!!]). Start with the longest time frame and map out what you actually want the business to look like. Lenses to consider include:

• Operating model (in-house design or outsource, in-house production or outsource)
• Marketing (where will your customers be coming from – mailing list, FB, Insta, Networking, etc.)
• Financials (turnover, profit, costs, etc)

This work is easier to do than you think and is a hugely worthwhile exercise. Give it a go.

When building a business, it’s incredibly difficult to remain focussed. So many new shiny distractions, it’s easy to get pulled away.

A quick and easy way to ensure you maintain some focus is to commit to spending 20 minutes every day completely focused on the one thing that will have the biggest impact to your business. Every day means weekends too.

Most entrepreneurs tend to get bored and move to the next thing. Working out the most important thing for growing your business and then committing to spending 20 minutes every day working on that will be a game changer. After 60 days, this will become a habit and while it’s only 20 minutes, it really adds up. After a year spending the most focussed 20 mins of your day on this game changer, you’ll have spent the equivalent of 3 working weeks on this one thing.

Examples:

1. Write a book for your niche
2. Reach out to 5 contacts and set meetings
3. Research and book networking sessions
4. Write down and review your KPI’s
5. Write a blog post

Repetition is the key. Commit to it.

If you’re working on a project and trying to work out what the hell a critical milestone is, let me help you.

A milestone is the completion of a significant piece of work on a project.

A critical milestone is a significant piece of work that needs to be completed for the project to be delivered ie. if this piece of work isn’t completed, the project cannot be completed.

For example, if you’re working on a project to deliver a website, a critical milestone may be the selection of a platform to deliver the project on. if this isn’t done, the project can’t be delivered.

Every critical milestone requires a confirmed delivery date and an owner.

Do you need to setup a project super fast and you’re not sure how best to do it?

This is a quick article explaining how.

1. Start with the end in mind
   In a single page, write out what will be delivered at the end. This might be a website, a document, a piece of code, a new branch for your office or your store.
   Whatever it is, in concise plain English write a clear description of what your going to deliver. So, if it’s a website, write who the website is for, what it will do, how it will look and feel, how users will engage with it etc. This will be your “go to” document if you’re explaining what the project is about (for new staff, for funding, etc.). I like to make this document look as good as possible – typically I use powerpoint.
   Note: I know it’s very hard to summarize complex projects onto a single page but it’s critical that you do this. You’ll be surprised how often you use this page.
   
2. Don’t do a detailed plan, focus on milestones
   When you read the manuals, the wisdom from people who’ve never led projects is to spend a long time on a detailed plan. Having worked in the recovery of countless highly challenged projects, I’ve seen lots of detailed plans. They don’t work.
   When setting up a project FAST, I suggest focusing on critical milestones. This means identify the 10-12 things that absolutely need to be completed to get the project delivered. So, for setting up a website this might be,
   A. Finalize logo, domain name and branding
   B. Select platform for the website
   C. Complete photoshoot and select key photos of the products
   Make sure each one of these critical milestones have a delivery date and owner. Of course each one of these milestones will have a lot of individual activities needed to get the milestone completed but it’s easy to get stuck in the detail on this. If you keep it nice and simple like this is helps to stay manageable.
   
3. Work out the resources you need
   When setting up a project FAST, it’s really important to work out what you’ll need to get the project completed. Typically you need people and money. Even if it’s a bootstrap project you’re working on by yourself though, you’ll need some stuff to get it delivered.
   Doing this at the start (at least at a high level) will mean you’re better prepared than most.
   
4. Setup a process for monitoring progress
   If you’re not tracking progress you’re unlikely to complete the work on time. Setup some sort of system to ensure you stay focused on delivering.
   
   Good luck!

When you’re in the middle of a start-up it can be very difficult to know if you’re on track or not. Here are a few things to check:

1. Are the project objectives clear and understood by everyone that is key to delivery (if there are any receivers of the delivery, do they understand).
2. Is there a list of critical milestones that make sense? Are there dates and owners assigned to each one? Have any dates been missed yet? Do the dates look credible and realistic? if you need resources, do you have them.
3. Are the objectives and the milestones being actively tracked? Is someone watching them?
4. Has anything changed since the project started that fundamentally challenges the objectives of the project?

Sit down for an hour and take a cold look at these. Remember, you’re likely to be the most critical person. I suggest you make a video of yourself at the start and at various critical points along the path. Keep it short and explain what you’re trying to deliver and why. Generally, we’re hugely enthusiastic at the start but as we hit the most challenging bit of the project we can’t see the wood from the trees. A short video will re-inspire you and will hopefully stop you beating up too much on yourself.

Remember, you can’t change the objectives or the milestones without significant thought and hopefully someone elses input – this is why most projects fail, they change mid-stream. Unless there’s something hugely significant, deliver what you set out to deliver. It might not work. You knew that at the start – better to deliver something that might work than deliver nothing.

If you’re off track on any of the questions above, take corrective action.

The most effective way to deliver your start-up is to set it up as a project. Running your start-up as a project is not the same as running a typical project.

1. Define your Minimum Viable Audience (MVA)
   Who is your project for? Write it down. As specific as possible – creating characters if it helps. So if your product is for event planners create profiles for the event planners you’re trying to target. Be as specific as possible – event planners is too broad so get as narrow as possible.
   This product is for Rosie. Rosie is 33, a freelance event planner based in NYC. Rosie manages event budgets from 10k-30k and plans 15 events per year. Her primary social media channels are Instagram (posts 5 times a week) and Twitter.
2. Define your Unique Selling Point (USP)
   Be really specific – try to get it down to a single sentence. Make it as clear as possible.
3. Begin with the end in mind
   Start-ups are incredibly tricky – there are so many ideas and tasks, you’ve so much to do. The only way to be sure you’ll deliver is to set out very clearly at the start what you’re going to deliver. Be as specific as possible. Map out the critical pieces. Once you’ve finished the detail and are clear, do a one page slide in plain English explaining exactly what you’re going to deliver and when – this becomes a critical document for the project to keep you focused on delivery.
4. Prepare a list of critical milestones
   Detailed planning is very difficult to do for a start-up. Setting out a list of 10-14 critical milestones is an effective way to create a roadmap of the required steps to complete the project. Milestones are specific pieces of work you need to complete along the way to project delivery. Make sure your milestones are in plain English with challenging but realistic dates. Commit to hitting every single date.
5. Prepare a list of key items you need to deliver
   This is called the “long list”. Create a list of every item you need to deliver. Ideally these should be listed under each critical milestone. This helps focus and also helps you feel you’re making progress as you start ticking them off the list.

That’s a list of the key things you need to start – a general rule of thumb is, don’t spend longer than a week on this. Be as concise as possible. If you have any comments or suggestions, please add them below.

A quick tip for delivering your start-up – spend time mapping out exactly what your delivery will look like at the end.

For example, if you’re building an online business, get the full design fully complete before you start. This becomes your true north and will keep you focused as you get stuck in the weeds.

When you’re working on a start-up, detailed planning is incredibly difficult. No matter what type of project you’re working on, I suggest you set 10-14 key milestones that are critical to you achieving your project.

Milestones are specific things that need to be achieved at specific points in time.

So, if you’re working on setting up a t-shirt company, example milestones might be:

1. Website wireframes and design finalized – 10 March
2. Website development complete and live – 4 April
3. Facebook split testing complete – 30 April

The delivery of a project is a long and difficult process – setting realistic milestones makes things much more achievable.

Some general tips on setting milestones for a start-up project:

1. Milestones need to be actions within your control, not outcomes ie. you shouldn’t set a milestone to sell 10k units by x date. Rather the milestone should be focused on what you need to complete to get that expected outcome – for example: Round 1 of split testing complete with website optimization tasks complete
2. Milestones need to be achievable. It’s critical that milestones are challenging but achievable. Not hitting milestones puts your project at risk, it’s also hugely demoralizing.
3. Always hit your milestones, whatever it takes. Every single milestone, every single time. Completing things is a habit. Missing milestones should never ever happen. Once you commit to this, you really become a project manager. Web developer a bit flakey, have you worried? Get someone else. Designs running behind schedule? Ask the designers to stay late. You start to watch for all these risks around the corners and totally focus on hitting each milestone.
4. Don’t assume everything will go perfectly. Back to how realistic your dates are. Stuff always goes wrong – don’t plan for a fair wind and everyone to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. People get sick, first versions need changes, etc.
5. Make sure your milestones are critical to the project delivery. It’s easy to focus on the nice to have but make sure your milestones are all absolutely critical, if they’re not critical, they’re not a key milestone.
6. Put your key milestones on a single slide. Make a simple slide with the expected deliverable and the required date. Share it and put it everywhere. track each milestone as Red, Amber, Green or Not started throughout the project. Update each status at least once a week – it’ll help you stay focussed.

I hope this is of help.

1. Being organized increases your chance of success significantly. (and saves significant cash) Most start-ups start in fire fighting mode, it’s panicked and it’s fast. You’re trying to do everything fast so it’s an understandable default mode. It doesn’t help though. Being organized up front makes a huge difference. Huge companies are NEVER organized. You have a significant advantage here – most big companies are bloated and slow – a well organized, well executed plan is much more likely to be successful.
   Agreeing realistic objectives up front including the “How” these will be delivered really helps move away from the panic allowing you to find the most efficient way of delivering.
2. Once you’ve agreed the plan, stick to it. I’m sorry to say that I’ve been caught out on this more than once. When you’re working on a start-up, you’re constantly worried. You tend to move from one idea to another. This won’t work, when you’ve got your plan keep at it until it works, tweak it for sure but don’t change it until you’re sure it’s not going to work (it always takes longer than you think).
3. Take advice at the start but then minimize input. While it’s important to give the tyres of the project a good kicking at the start once your up and running, don’t continue to look for faults – spoiler: there are lots of faults in every single project. Keep focused on the objectives and the milestones – step by step. Everyone is always keen to give advice, stay away from this in the middle of the project.
4. Working hard doesn’t mean working 16 hour days. This is a tricky one – the latest trend from the gurus is that you have to “work your ass off”. Delivering a start up requires commitment – I’ve delivered lots of projects, I’ve seen hundreds. One thing I have seen is that projects where everyone is working 14 hour days are in big big trouble. It’s not possible to sustain this level of intensity. The quality of the work is never great. The reality is everybody working on a Start-Up never fully switches off – you’re always thinking of new ideas. Plan out your day but don’t plan 14 hour days. There will always be occasions where long days are required or you’re in the zone but these days shouldn’t form part of your plan.
5. Commit to Hitting Every Milestone. 90% of projects don’t deliver the objectives within the planned timeline. It’s usually a surprise at the end of the project when this happens. Once you’ve identified all your key milestones and you’re happy that they’re realistic and achievable, make sure to hit them. Every single one, no matter what it takes. If you do this, you’ll deliver what you set out to achieve.