One way to start asking the right questions at the right time is to use my Basic Idea Research and Development Sheet (BIRDS) method. This checklist can give you a good idea where you stand in relation to how well you have thought out the entire project. It also acts as a guide to the basic questions you should be asking yourself. These questions should be the basis of your business plan and your ability to put your plan into action. If you don't have answers to most, if not all, of the BIRDS questions, then you are not really ready to do much more than continue thinking about the idea.
The BIRDS checklist builds upon NapoleonΓÇÖs views (Click the Quote Light bulb) and expands them to include the basics of a good report: why, who, what, when, where, and how. You can feel confident that you are on the road to success only when these six queries can be answered fully and understood in relation to your project.
The BIRDS checklist that follows is a master form that you can use in different projects. You may want to start a BIRDS checklist on each idea as it comes to you. Completing all of the information on any single idea may take considerable time. But when you have completed the checklist, you can feel secure that you know what you want to do, why you are doing it, who will be part of the project, how you will proceed, where it will happen, and when. This knowledge is essential to the success of any entrepreneurial inventing endeavor.
