Introduction: From Blueprint to Move-in.
The road to success is always under construction.
— ARNOLD PALMER, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER
You do not need a business degree to successfully plan, structure, launch, and move a new business into its early growth stage. Many of us who dream of starting a business are motivated by a great idea and the opportunity to work for ourselves, manage our schedules, make our own decisions, make more money, and make a difference.
Whatever your motivation, Your Small Business Blueprint offers a straightforward, step-by-step framework to build your startup, help you discover what works best for you, and ensure your dream becomes a reality.
A simple analogy to building a startup business is the process of constructing a new home. From the design layout in the blueprints to the construction, the final inspection, and the move-in day, there is a sequence of steps every contractor must follow to build a new home successfully.
From an early age, I started working in construction with my dad. My brothers and I were often “voluntold” to participate as general laborers. We were on many crews: roofing shingle tear-off crew, garage paint crew, trench digging crew, landscape crew, fall cleanup crew, snow removal crew, you name the crew where simple, low-risk labor was needed, and chances are high that we were on it. The three of us were cheap labor and, I like to think, a productive crew (most of the time) for our foreman (Dad).
“DRIVING TRUCK”
Just as building a business from the ground up can throw unexpected challenges your way, there was a moment during my childhood construction experience when I quickly realized I was entirely unprepared. One fall Saturday, Dad asked us if we were interested in being part of the crew for the sidewalk project at the family lake cottage. He explained that new sidewalks were being poured and we would get to “drive truck” during the day of the project. The sidewalks were long and led out to the lake. I remember telling my brother Joe, “Hey, we get to drive trucks!”
We were in our mid-teens, and I assumed we would get to drive some type of mechanized vehicles hauling concrete for the new sidewalks. I convinced Joe that getting to “drive truck” would be fun and we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to spend the day at the lake doing something cool. Joe was skeptical but eventually agreed, and we told Dad we were in for “driving truck.” When we arrived at the lake cottage, 8 From Blueprint to Move-In the forms were already in place for the concrete pour and other family members and friends were busy working and prepping for the arrival of the cement truck. I noticed a line of wheelbarrows near the street, and being excited to “drive truck,” I looked around for the mysterious mechanized trucks we would be driving. Dad gathered a few of us for a short briefing on what to do when the cement truck arrived. He explained that we would need to work quickly and accurately and keep the supply of concrete moving to complete the pour of the new sidewalk. He also told us not to spill any concrete in the grass, or we would have “one hell of a mess to clean up.” At that moment, I realized that “driving truck” meant pushing a wheelbarrow full of concrete.
By the end of the day, my brother and I were exhausted and our arms were so sore that I thought they might fall off. The good news is that we did not spill any concrete and did not slow down the process too much. The bad news is that I was way off in my understanding of what it meant to “drive truck.”
I had every opportunity to ask Dad for clarification and learn more details about the project and tasks, but as a fourteen-year-old, it sounded so cool that I made assumptions, had my own ideas about what it meant, and eagerly volunteered to participate as part of the concrete sidewalk crew of 1984. Dad was tough but fair, and that day remains a learning milestone in my early work life. I learned to question and confirm the detailed game plan and deliverables for any projects that came my way.
To pay for college, I worked in construction as a general laborer, stepping into roles as a carpenter, painter, landscaper, plumber, roofer, and more to keep projects on schedule. The owner, a supportive boss, was flexible with my class schedule and ensured I had as many work hours as needed. When work was slow, he connected me with other builders, allowing me to learn diverse construction methods and improve my efficiency. This experience conditioned me to seek better ways of doing things—a mindset I’ve carried into my professional life after college.
As my career progressed, I found myself in many different business roles, from working in large, publicly traded Fortune 500 organizations with thousands of employees, to mid-size companies looking for the next phase of exponential growth, to smaller companies with lofty goals of reaching the next growth milestone in their company life cycle. I evolved into a “fix-it-man” and a “change agent,” conditioned to relentlessly seek the root cause of business challenges and search for elusive insights on solutions to get the business back on track and improve financial performance.
Interestingly, the term “voluntold” made a comeback. I often heard, “Give it to Neary; he’ll figure it out” or “Let Neary handle it; he might drive everyone crazy, but he’ll get it done.” In response to the question, “Is he qualified to lead this business?” my response was, “I’m not sure and don’t have much experience in this field, but we’ll learn and figure it out together.”
What is different and unique about the Your Small Business Blueprint approach is that my career experience and drive to “figure it out” have led me to be mindful of three lessons when “voluntold”:
1. Learning never stops.
2. Change is constant.
3. Continuous improvement is, well, continuous.
These three lessons will resonate repeatedly as you work through Your Small Business Blueprint. Starting a new business is about learning and adapting to change and continuously improving as you engage with customers and move into the early growth stage of your business. Change is constant, and it is up to you to be mindful of these three lessons to qualify what you have learned and adapt yourself and your business to be successful and profitable.
My inspiration to write and curate a book about the steps of structuring and launching a startup business came from the unique perspectives of all the crew leaders, business leaders, veterans, military service members, and teammates I learned from, especially those who had the confidence to look at me and say, “You’ll figure it out.” They gave me the latitude to learn from my mistakes, challenge the status quo, push limits, and try new things, and they had the patience to answer when I constantly asked, “Why?”
THE HACK LEARNING FORMULA
The Hack Learning Life Series formula is the perfect format to guide you through the sequential process of structuring and launching your new business into its early growth stage. It fosters a pragmatic, step-by-step approach with practical solutions that you can workshop to address the key elements of your vision and ideas to develop a winning plan of action for your new business:
• The Problem – A specific startup business challenge.
• The Hack – A clearly stated solution to the challenge.
• What You Can Do Tomorrow – Action items you can use right away to get started.
• Building Momentum – Workshop strategies to establish foundational structures.
• Removing Obstacles – Answers to common questions and roadblocks.
• The Hack in Action – A real-world example of small businesses deploying the strategy.
How to Use This Book: From Blueprint to Move-In
Your Small Business Blueprint is a sequential roadmap for successfully constructing your startup’s critical elements. I recommend that you read each Hack (chapter) in its entirety to understand how to implement each step. Then, grab a pen and paper (or digital device), and workshop your startup idea through each Hack in chronological order.
Look at each Hack as a milestone. By objective confirmation, decide if you have successfully completed the current Hack and are confident and fully prepared to move on to the next one.
Look for the checklists at the end of each Hack and answer each question to confirm you are ready to move to the next step in the process. Additionally, visit my website, ronneary.com, to access free resources and tools to help you organize and work through the blueprint steps to successfully construct your startup.
