The work you put forth towards entrepreneurial pursuits takes long hours, dedication and some form of being organized. I find myself within a stack of different concerns that I need to sort out on a daily basis. Some of these concerns are planned the night before as I schedule my day and some of them just come up out of nowhere that demand my attention. This type of lifestyle can cause anyone stress if he/she does not have the temperament and/or organization of some kind.
Personally, I like to use various tools to develop my ideas and thoughts to keep me organized throughout my day which helps me throughout this journey of entrepreneurship. This allows me the ability to take a step back periodically and get a wholistic view of my progress. I am able to get an understanding and know what I am doing – what I was thinking – am I still aligned with my core vision and purpose? It is so easy to get lost in the weeds and get off track from the mission and the purpose. I often find myself working on a section of a project and I get so excited about the thought of it that it consumes me. When that happens I have to take a pause – I have to take a step back and make sure I am staying the course to the direction of the intentions of the company. During this time, if it is determined that I am not on course of my intentions- I table that idea or “work” in a “parking lot” list or “drop box” area that I have created where I keep my ideas.
“Use what works for you”
I am finding so many uncertainties that cause me no other option but to be fluid. Being strapped for cash, time and resources – I have to pick the tools and techniques that will keep me productive and agile. Personally – I have found the business model canvas developed by Alexander Osterwalder coupled with the value prop canvas and empathy map to be very useful. These little gems along with the validation board have been the tools that help me get a clear picture when developing new business models and/or understanding the relationship between value propositions and customer insight usegments.
“That works for me…”
I am able to get a great deal of information from the canvases. They provide me the ability to analyze the potential relationship our product(s) will have with our intended customers. More importantly, if the product(s) will even resonate with the customers. I can formulate directed questions that will help me understand the value of the product for the intended customer(s). The bottom line is, the most important thing I think about is whether I am developing something that customers need and will use? It is all about the customer. Do you remember the movie line – “If you build it they will come…”? Remember it is just that – a line in a movie.
