Idea to Execution Book Summary - Idea to Execution Book explained in key points

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Idea to Execution summary

Name: Idea to Execution
Rating: 4.2 (80 reviews)
Author: Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg

Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg

How to Optimize, Automate and Outsource Everything in Your Business

4.2 (80 ratings)

20 mins

Brief summary

Idea to Execution by Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg is a business book that provides practical tips and tools for entrepreneurs to streamline their processes, increase productivity, and achieve their goals.

Topics

Effectiveness Entrepreneurship

Table of Contents

Idea to Execution
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Create a successful business in just one day!

Have you ever come across a new product or service and thought to yourself, “Hey, I had the same idea!”

What if, instead of keeping your inspiration to yourself, you had seized the day and turned your idea into a thriving business?

There are many reasons why we don’t act on great ideas. You probably felt overwhelmed by the complexity of starting a business from scratch or were intimidated by the amount of capital you might need to get started.

But times have changed. The fact is, it’s never been easier to set up a company, quickly and with little or no investment.

These blinks show you the steps, from day zero to infinity, to starting a business and keeping it going once you’ve begun. The secret? Optimize, automate and outsource.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why a lack of available funds is not a deal breaker for an aspiring entrepreneur;
how to build and manage a remote team of workers; and
why customer engagement is crucial to a company’s success.

It’s possible to start a company in just 24 hours if you need to seize an opportunity while it’s hot.

Many people believe that starting a company requires years of careful planning and diligent market research. But sometimes it’s best to seize an idea spontaneously and run with it.

While it might sound crazy, it’s possible to bring a start-up to life in just 24 hours. This isn’t mere hyperbole, as it’s been done!

In August 2015, authors Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg were having dinner when they came up with an idea: a company that provided virtual assistants. Both friends had extensive expertise in maximizing business efficiency and productivity, so it seemed quite feasible.

Just one day later, their business was up and running.

How did they realize their idea so rapidly? And why did they feel the need to act immediately?

Their timing was propitious, as Zirtual, one of the largest US-based virtual assistant firms, had just folded. This left 2,500 clients without assistants and 400 assistants without a job. Ari and Nick saw the opportunity of a lifetime – but only if they responded quickly.

The authors knew they had a narrow window of opportunity. This is, of course, true for all start-ups, regardless of industry. Savvy entrepreneurs know to grab an opportunity while it’s hot.

The duo that night made a quick sketch of their virtual assistant business. Their first clients and assistants were secured from the Zirtual fallout. Within 24 hours, their company, Less Doing Virtual Assistants, was up and running, using free online tools and apps as infrastructure. They didn’t need a penny to get started, and their business was scalable and profitable from day one.

Over the year, Ari and Nick consolidated their company, dealing with challenges as they arose. These blinks tell the story of that adventurous year.

The authors’ business acumen helped them identify the flaws in other virtual assistant services.

The authors were well aware of the flaws of other virtual assistant companies, and knew that their start-up could address such problems more effectively.

One of the major limitations of the virtual assistant business model was that it offered either on-demand assistants or long-term dedicated assistants.

Infrastructure can be built with free tools, but services should always be of the highest quality.

If you think a start-up can’t launch without sophisticated, expensive infrastructure, think again. A new business can be run easily with software tools that are not only free but also easy to use.

To manage client tasks, Nick used a free management program called Trello. Trello’s structure is straightforward. It offers boards for specific projects; lists that give the status of a project; and cards that show which tasks still need to be completed.

Be clever when hiring. Have a plan and look for potential employees with a proactive attitude.

Applying for jobs is a grueling process. But hiring employees isn’t a walk in the park either – in fact, hiring can be one of the most energy-consuming tasks for a young company.

So when you begin to look for new team members to grow your start-up, you need to have a thoughtful, efficient strategy in place.

Networking can help your company grow quickly, but growth can also present structural challenges.

Networking is essential to moving your company to the next level. You can’t just make a great product; you have to get out there and show it off.

In November 2015, Ari and Nick were invited to speak at a Genius Network event that Ari had participated in a few years earlier. Joe Polish’s Genius Network brings together industry leaders, well-known authors and high-powered entrepreneurs.

Don’t let negative feedback fester; use innovative problem-solving techniques to keep ideas moving.

When you’re nurturing a project that you feel is your “baby,” it’s not always easy to hear negative feedback. But when you do, it’s vital to act decisively to fix the issues, before they bring down your company.

By January 2016, Less Doing was thriving, but some customers were complaining that the onboarding process wasn’t smooth enough.

Once you’ve nailed a strategy for success, you can teach it to others.

By the time your business is going strong, you will have acquired many skills and a lot of insider knowledge. You’ll then have the opportunity to create a secondary source of income through teaching other entrepreneurs what you’ve learned along the way.

To gauge the potential of training as a new offering, Less Doing advertised on Facebook that it would sponsor a business boot camp.

There are many ways to optimize a company’s processes, but getting clients hooked is priority one.

Building a successful company requires an entrepreneur to constantly optimize operations, such as considering which tasks can be delegated or even outsourced.

Many managers try to keep a tight grip on a business as it grows, but sometimes it’s smarter to let go and step back from the day to day.

Once your structures are solid, start working with your company’s numbers and keep investing.

Once you’ve solidified the processes that keep your company running, it’s time to start working with your performance numbers.

When Ari and Nick took a hard look at their company’s numbers, they realized the next task was to optimize the company’s “churn rate.” This industry term describes the percentage of clients who drop a company’s services or product after a given period, such as within three months.

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What is Idea to Execution about?

Based on the true story of two friends who founded a company overnight with zero cash investment and built it up over the following year, Idea to Execution (2016) is about the everyday challenges entrepreneurs face when launching a start-up. These blinks show you the steps to success, from sketching a business plan to putting tools in place that optimize your company’s performance numbers.

Best quote from Idea to Execution

It is our belief that people should work on only the things they derive true enjoyment from or utilizes their unique abilities.

—Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg

Who should read Idea to Execution?

Aspiring entrepreneurs with limited capital
Virtual assistants looking for ways to optimize performance
Productivity enthusiasts who use apps to reach personal and professional goals
Small business owners and employees of large corporations who want a different way of getting things done

About the Author

Ari Meisel was a real estate developer before he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2006, making it impossible for him to work. He had to develop a new way of getting things done, so he founded the Less Doing system of productivity, detailed in his book Less Doing, More Living.

Nick Sonnenberg was a high-frequency trader on Wall Street for eight years before becoming an entrepreneur specializing in efficiency. He developed CalvinApp, which connects people to make plans or share ideas. Along with Ari Meisel, he is the cofounder of Less Doing.

Categories with Idea to Execution

Entrepreneurship

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