How to turn your Big Ideas and Vision into reality
Did this holiday season gift you with a few extra pounds around the waistline (expected) and also new notepads of plans, ideas and dreams for what you might create next? Good.
As a founder, your entire job is to turn these scrabbles of ideas into tangible products or services. You get to do this however you like, which is both a blessing and a curse. I know from my own experiences and conversations with clients just how much slippage can occur in that gap between idea and execution.
Those experiences? I’ve spent over a decade working with entrepreneurs, and through my coaching practice, The Ask, I offer business coaching tailored to founders and entrepreneurial professionals. My approach blends transformational coaching with strategic guidance, helping you develop the entrepreneurial and leadership skills, confidence, and foundation for growth.
I know that projects always take longer than expected. Then, imposter syndrome and comparisonitis creep in. You fall into the trap of overthinking it thanks to your internal board of inner critics and directors who pipe up with their scare tactics and fears around time, money, and all the rest of it.
Slippage? We don't want it. Let's put those pesky challenges to one side and streamline your vision with these three essential steps.
How to turn those notepad musings and scribbles into tangible results in 2025
1/ Get lucid with your imagination
Let's just call it out: as entrepreneurs, it's an absolute privilege to be able to build what we want.
Sure, what you build might not work every single time, but if you have the means, the energy, and the willingness to build something of your own this year, that's a pretty incredible place to be in. So starting from a place of gratitude for the position you have found yourself in, it's time to tap into the future you seek.
If you're like most startup leaders, one of your biggest strengths is this part. So play and have fun with this part of the journey, and know that it's not a 'one and done' exercise but a process you repeat, to keep stepping into a potential future that does not yet exist.
When you enter that state of intentionally looking ahead through your mind’s eye, there is a spiritual act at play: what might be possible for me next?
I really want you to spend time with this step... really feel into what it is that you are seeking in this next phase and when integrated with somatic breath work and tapping into bodily sensations, the experience is made that much more empowering. Give yourself an ample timeframe (1-3 years ish) so that your belief system allows you to see more possibilities than it does restrictions. For this to be effective, your key ingredients are a positive mental attitude, time, and a calm environment.
This past December, I got to spend some time in Madeira at a retreat for startup founders. One day we were guided towards our success with exercises and reflections, whilst looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. While this setup is a little tricky to emulate again from the smog of London city, what was happening in my mind was just as powerful as my surroundings. I left the session overwhelmed by the ambition of my startup dreams, leaving with as many questions as answers about how to best lead my company. But I know just how many benefits will come from doing this deep reflection and strengthening my awareness of what I truly want out of life and business.
2/ Release expectations of perfection
As founder, you are in charge of figuring out a concrete plan that can be executed on for your company. This plan moves wishful thinking and dreaming into a tangible strategy with KPIs and project timelines.
However skilled you are at forward planning, allow me to deliver a reality check: this will not all pan out exactly like you imagined in this visualisation. And life would not be exciting if we could will things exactly into existence. Where would the fun be to take out all of the moments of trial and tribulation?!
Most of the coaching client relationships I've had have been with bootstrapped founders, who, unlike venture-backed CEOs, are the only ones truly invested in the company succeeding. Sure you have a team. But with no one else's money at stake, the company is theirs to do with as they please. This is of course an easier ride than pressure breathing down your neck 24/7, but it comes with its own unique challenges such as:
Second guessing the plan and starting from scratch, time and time again, and realising it’s now June, not January (been there!)
Plans being bigger and more ambitious than your resources allow for (I can't tell you the number of times through founder coaching I've heard about all manner of wonderful plans that haven't accounted for the scale of work involved and assume there is more than a team of one!)
Time management, productivity, and focus issues that slow down your output (turns out you weren't the superhuman leader with the peak performance you'd hoped)
Those solo or small business owner challenges aside, there is also the fact that your ideas have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the marketplace. Just because you want something to exist doesn't mean your customers do too.
Universal challenges like these keep me in business as a founder coach, as coaching conversations will discuss at least one or all of the above.
But before you shut this tab and start applying for jobs in despair, let me frame why this lack of perfection gets to be your disguised blessing: because to quote Ryan Holiday, whose leadership advice tells us that the obstacle IS the way.
Not many people ultimately overcome these challenges and see their plans through. So, if you are the one who can, I can promise you that you'll succeed in the end. Company building is the biggest growth journey you'll ever go on, and you will learn so much about yourself in the process of overcoming these challenges. I have seen such variety here across clients. Your personality and working style has such a big influence on the way that you actually stick to a plan (or not) as it all unfolds.
In fact, I would argue that the way your startup unfolds is much more interesting when your dreams provide you a sense of general direction and inspiration rather than a yardstick by which to chastise yourself for not measuring up.
If you loosen the reins and let the world play its own card dealings for you, things may unfold better than you could have ever imagined. Give serendipity permission to scope creep.
3/ Commit, don't quit (advice from a seasoned startup founder coach)
This might sound obvious. You might hear me saying 'just do it, yeah!?' in hustle-bro tones in what would be my least favourite type of founder coaching that pursues scale at all costs and just makes your feel more anxious.
But I DO have to keep saying this part about staying the course, precisely because I’ve seen too many clients quit in my years of founder coaching before the results had time to reveal themselves. Running out of time, money, or conviction is par for the course in entrepreneurship, and I know that it takes a great deal of self-leadership to stay the course.
If staying on track through scale feels like challenging territory for you, and this past holiday season of conversations with relatives asking 'what is it that you DO exactly?' has got you all up in your triggers...
Here's my commit, don't quit coaching guidelines...
Reflect regularly, take stock, track the data, and course correct if needed. But move in milimeters, not miles. You had that vision for a reason, so ask yourself how you can inch closer to it with a different tactic or attitude. Don't tear the script up and start from scratch. You'll likely end up rewriting something all too familiar.
Follow your energy, passion, and excitement. Within them, you'll find the clues to your unique blueprint and skills for success. It's about doing business your way, not the way (there is no one right way to scale).
Process your emotions properly. I promise this can give you a competitive edge. This year I'm investing in more coaching than before, exploring the role of IFS, somatics, mindset, and self-development in a bigger way than ever and am excited to see what fruit this practice might bear professionally, and want to grow as a leader. If you know what's bothering you internally, and address it in yourself, both your business strategy and results will improve drastically as a result.
Get accountability, a startup founder advisor, a mentor, a team member, a therapist... as many as you can afford (can you afford not to?). Their guidance and powerful conversations will keep you focused. Being a solo founder does not mean you have to navigate this world on your own; as you scale, that would be really ill-advised. Talk to people who treat you like the CEO that you are, regularly. Co-create a more powerful business with their support. Or lean on your co-founder of course, if you are lucky enough to have one!
If this doesn't feel 'new', remember that creating success is so rarely about finding the latest trend or hack. It's about reminding yourself of the essentials skills, and reorienting yourself back on track. Being your own boss is so rewarding, but it's so damn hard to follow your own orders and lead yourself effectively, I know from coaching so many founders who've found the opposite.
Exploring a 1-1 coaching relationship in 2025 to build your business and personal well being?
If you got this far, I hope this has inspired you and one day hope that I can support you further inside one of my workshops or founder coaching programmes. All of which are designed to support yo feel that bit more prepared, create a dedicated plan for your growth, and gain the confidence you seek to lead your startup or team in the direction you dream of this year.
Deliver hero
Ellen has coached me for a number of years and I could not recommend her more highly. She's been a partner while we have scaled our PR agency, supporting me on all manner of personal and business pain points, headaches, and difficult team decisions. If you want someone in your corner, with the smarts and emotional intelligence needed to provide genuinely good advice, look no further. Our sessions have always felt like a completely safe space for exploring the nuts and bolts of professional life, and that is invaluable to any entrepreneur. — Nick, PR CEO + Founder
She's got an acute understanding of the wider business world, as well as specialist knowledge of my world. Most importantly, she kept my goals on track, making sure we covered everything I needed in the allotted time. I will be forever grateful for Ellen's leadership and guidance, and recommend her programme to absolutely anyone in need of a coach! — Nicola Davies, founder and brand strategist
