Why You Need Roadmaps Not Dreams
For the past few months I’ve been hard at work on a new project. It’s about making money online, but not in the infoproduct niche.
Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I get ideas buzzing around in my mind all the time. I like that. It’s creative and exciting when an idea jumps into my head.
But then the work begins.
The idea has to be captured on paper. It has to be elaborated and detailed. It has to be evaluated. Can it be implemented? How much coding time will it take? What’s the potential Return On Investment? What will the delivery vehicle be? How does it fit in with my existing plans?
With my background in science, I have a few mental tools available to me that help me filter my own creative ideas through some cold logic. Believe me, I have some fanciful ideas which need a good “reality check”. 
Usually the most painful part of the whole process for me is the implementation… the actual “nuts and bolts” of creating the websites, the products, the sales letter. I find I get bored quickly after a few minutes.
I drive myself through the “nuts and bolts” process because it’s only when the project is finished and working that I can then distill what I did, when I did it and how I did it into a simplified “roadmap”… a roadmap that smooths out the bumps and avoids the potholes. I can then offer the roadmap to my clients and customers as a new product.
I can only offer a product after I’ve established the “proof of principle”… whether that means getting indexed by a search engine quickly, building great websites on autopilot, generating traffic or making money.
If I haven’t done what the product says can be done, then I wouldn’t be selling a roadmap, I’d be selling a dream.
My latest roadmap is being created right now. I’m excited. The system is working… and I think it can work for almost any niche online!
February 1st, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I agree with you Neil, just as I’ve done on Lynn Terry’s website. I was guilty of not following a roadmap instead merely chasing shadow or living in the excitement of ‘oh this idea is beautiful… I can do it and succeed’ mentality.
The results? Continuous Failure!
Now, I am following a roadmap and seeing results already. Though I am devoting most of my time to my offline business at the moment, but the principle remain the same: CREATE & FOLLOW A ROADMAP… )
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Hi Neil
You are so right, we all need roadmaps to follow to success…
In NLP we call it modelling… Do exactly what others have done before you, and get the same results… Thats a roadmap too…
And another thing we have in common, the nuts and bolts are boring
Good luck with the project
Janno
February 4th, 2008 at 11:51 am
So incisive as always Neil.
Ideas are 2-a-penny. Taking action on them is far less interesting than having them. Someone needs to take the action nonetheless, or the pie tends always to remains in the sky
February 4th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
mmm, pie.
:-)