We have often come across this saying “An idea can change the world.” And we couldn’t agree more. But an idea alone has never shifted the course of the earth, the successful execution of the idea has. Sue Grafton, an American author has very well quoted this theory “Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats."

But can you directly start executing an idea that is just thought off? Performing an ice bucket challenge to launching a rocket, everything needs planning. Basically, you can only successfully execute something if you’ve planned well, and a good plan cannot be made without a great idea. It’s a natural correlation between an idea, planning and execution that is responsible for some of the biggest phenomenon in the world. This special correlation doesn’t exclude startups. A successful entrepreneur is knowingly or unknowingly following this cycle to build his startup.

Now your first startup is always going to be close to your heart, it’s your first step towards a new life that most can only dream of. We have to be honest in saying that none of the stages in building your first or your 100th startup is going to be easy. But we can at least share the outline or a cycle that you can build your startup on. It’s just like the water cycle from our old science textbooks, where instead of water it’s the idea that keeps flowing.

1. Ideate
   This is the Eureka moment! Here’s when you realize that the idea you have, can make it big. You just know you have it and just need to kick start. But this is a point where you need to hold your horses and understand where your idea is going to take you. Envision the possibilities, risks etc and figure out where you would take this idea to.
   
   
   
2. Plan
   Once you’ve convinced yourself that your idea is worth a million bucks (a billion if you like), it’s time to take it to the next stage – Planning. Here’s where the actual blueprint of your business is created. For a successful startup, you’ll need to plan ahead, way ahead. You really want to chalk out a plan that looks atleast 5 years ahead from the time you’ve started. Agreed that things might change on the way, but you now have a direction.
   
   
   
3. Execution
   If you think planning was tough, wait till you get to this stage where you execute your plan. This is a complete different ball game all together or should we say, the phase where your nightmares come to life. Executing your plan can be tough and a lot of things might not fall into place as you planned them. But the secret to making it through is to not snap and to continue to stick to the plan. Adapting to sudden changes can also make things easier for you and your startup. Most entrepreneurs will agree with us when we say that there are tons of obstacles while executing your plan but there are even more lessons to learn while you overcome them.
   
   
   
4. Analyse
   This is one of the most important stages of the cycle. This is not limited to the end of the entire cycle but rather should be done at each and every stage. A lot of mistakes happen during planning or executing, but what’s important is that we quickly learn from it and move on and ensure that we don’t repeat the mistakes. You never know while analyzing your work, you could find new ideas or maybe even create a blueprint template that you can now use for your future startups.
   
   
   
5. Repeat
   This entire cycle will remain the same for all new ideas, startups or changes to your existing product. It’s going to be your helping hand throughout your entrepreneurial journey and if done right, karma will reward you.
   
   
   

This is a cycle that we’ve learnt from many successful startups out there. What we’ve also realized that the never give up attitude has helped almost every entrepreneur through this cycle. It’s time you fuel your idea and make it a reality. We could only help you with this little formula, what happens in between is going to be all about you.

Article courtesy: http://bigrock.com/blog/sme/how-successful-startups-are-born