#1 Reason
These are two important questions defining your purpose.
Your why. Why you want to go on this journey?
Your What. What will you do to obtain it? This will drive you forward when things get tough and when you find yourself on the brink of giving up. Don't give up.
#2 Research
Audience. Know them, embrace them.
Describe your audience as much as you possibly can. What are they like? Where do they live? What do they eat? Music? Playlists? Clothes? Style? Interests? Hobbies? Travel? Anything you can think of, use it to create a persona.
Market:
Where are you launching? Online, offline, or both? Is this a service, product? What are the markets advantages and disadvantages?
Competition
Who’s the enemy? What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? Learn from them, study them. Know them inside and out. Period.
#3 Relevance
Why should people care? Guess what... They don’t. They only care when you make what you are doing, what you know, or what you have RELEVANT to them.
Now you have their attention. Don't blow it. Be Relevant. Stay Relevant.
#4 Monetisation
What’s your business model? Pricing structure? Monetisation scheme? Can you sustain your idea? Can you afford it? Is it scalable? If not, try to find creative methods to make it so.
#5 Risk
Think about EVERYTHING that will go wrong because SOMETHING always goes wrong.
#6 Results
What’s your currency? No... not that kind of currency. We mean your measurement of success. Is it measurable impact, making peoples lives easier, having a solution to a problem, scaling into a large business, gaining more followers, or growing awareness? Find your metric then measure it. You need to know your KPIs
#7 Repeat
Repeat what works and NEVER, EVER discard what didn't. Those mistakes are the crown jewels to your success.