Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship pdfdrive com

THE PROCESS PATH
Congratulations, you’ve proven your idea’s potential. Now we want to draft a
nuts-and-bolts road map to your first sale. The process path is a “low-level” stair-
stepped estimation at executing your idea to reality. A typical process path shows
numerous bulleted action items, each representing a major laddering toward
your first customer. Each bullet itself is not one action but represents dozens of
subtasks. For example, let’s say you are creating a new party game. Your process
plan might look like this:
(1) Source a game board manufacturer
Secure product samples, cost estimates
Negotiate pricing
Evaluate financials, fixed and variable costs, margins, 
etc.
(2) Content creation
Graphic design, theming, and branding
Card creation (Learn) 
Board creation (Learn)
Humor testing
Prototype
(3) Operations
File paperwork for LLC
Secure merchant account
Open bank account
Secure insurance (if necessary)
(4) Website creation
Investigate and select hosting, CDN options
Design website
(Outsource)
Mailing list software
(5) Launch
Disburse press releases (Outsource)
Influencer outreach, research 
Marketing actions
In this example, the process path contains only five major elements.
However, within each of those five elements are numerous subtasks, which could
take weeks to complete. The subtasks could entail a variety of actions, from
meeting with manufacturers to learning new skills to outsourcing expertise
where needed. The key for an effective process path is to define the 
major action

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blocks
and their requirements while eliminating unnecessary actions and their
costs.
For example, can you get away with a logo you designed yourself? Or do you
really need to spend $1,500 at the local design boutique? (If the path to your first
customer doesn’t involve face-to-face meetings with anyone, you have no
business buying business cards. Seriously, save the custom-branded T-shirts and
water bottles until IPO day.) Another element of the process path involves self-
reflection—knowing what things you can learn and what you cannot. For
example, “learning to code” was a part of my process path years ago. I am very
much a “hands-on” guy, so many of my process paths involve doing things
myself. However, this “learn it” and “do it yourself” process path might not be
right for you.
The truth is, not everyone can learn how to code. You might have a knack for
communication and delegation, whereas outsourcing, partnering, or hiring is the
better process path. 
UNSCRIPTED
is not about 
my way
as the best way. The best
way is 
your way
: the one that fits your personal strengths.
The process path’s objective is not detailing every actionable nuance but
breaking down execution into broad progress chunks, each with bite-sized
actions that can drive Chapter 28’s motivation cycle and spark the feedback loop.
Remember, we’re entering a forest and we won’t know what’s needed until we
get there.

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