Wrong. Don't start at the beginning.

If you don't want your creative process to be messy like coming home and realizing you forgot to crate your untrained Boston Terrier puppy (my poor shoe collection), then you need to forget about how to start and focus on how to end.

Whatever it is that you are creating, whether it be an online assessment (try the one on our website for a sample), online course, digital event, membership site, or an LMS (Learning Management System), a solid plan is the only way you’re going to end up with an impactful result.

“All things are created twice; first mentally, then physically. The key to creativity is to begin with the end in mind with a vision and a blueprint of the desired result.”

Stephen Covey, author, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Without knowing the end goal, you won't know how or when to start. It will be a mess (remember chewed shoes?).

• Imagine giving a basketball player a ball with no net?
• Imagine writing a book without a reason?
• Imagine buying a video game without knowing why you’re playing? A video game with no Boss fight is like drinking water out of a wine glass - what is the point?

This is why we need a target. Something to achieve, something to measure, something to guide everything we do before that.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”

Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor, poet

So, here are some questions you should ask yourself before you begin your digital product (or any other project really):

• What is the desired outcome?
• What problem will this solve?
• What need will it fill?
• How will this change how I do business?
• Why is it important to the business or the team?
• What criteria will be used to judge success or failure?
• Who has a stake in it and does their outcome differ from mine?

Once you understand the true goal and how it will impact the business, you can start to develop your plan to get to that desired result.

ALSO DON’T MISS: Group brainstorming doesn’t work! …unless you know the secret sauce.

Want more great stuff like this?

Visit SparkologyLab.com, where this post was originally published. It’s a place where we develop creative digital products to engage your audience for real results...and we share ways you can do this too.

Get ideas, tips, creative-thinking exercises and more.

NOTE: The author of the featured image (without the words) is Softly Lit Studios and can be found HERE under THIS license.