Many of us have big ideas: a new business, a new product, a new initiative at work. But taking that big idea from a dream into reality isn’t always easy — and it’s easy to feel intimidated by the process. All too often, we shelve our dreams because making that leap seems impossible.

But just as persuasive communication (far from being the inborn talent we are sometimes told it is) can be broken into a set of specific, actionable skills, nurturing your big idea can be broken down into phases that make translating your inspiration into action much more manageable. With this approach, you can not only feel more in control, but you also make success more likely.

Fostering your own creativity and pursuing innovation require discipline, engagement, preparation and some dumb luck (good timing, the lightning bolt of inspiration or perhaps an introduction to the correct person). It calls for introspection. But it also requires the same fundamental skills as successful persuasion: an understanding of your audience and the context in which you will launch the idea. What kind of idea will resonate? What story do you want to tell?

Here, the story I want to tell is that of my company. In doing so, I hope you can connect to my experience as a way of understanding your own and understanding how you can break down the process of turning an idea into a reality.

The Latimer Group began with a hike in the Grand Canyon. I’d been working in financial services for five years, and I knew I wanted a change. I took a few months off to travel with my new wife, Emily. We drove all across the country, camping and hiking in 15 national parks and having many, many conversations about the future. On that particular morning, as we were enjoying the quarter-light and then the half-light of a sunrise in the Grand Canyon, Emily made the comment that changed the course of our lives together. “Dean, you’ve always been good at public speaking and you love to coach,” she said. “Why don’t you just do that … coach people on their communication?”

I knew immediately: That was exactly what I wanted to do. I had the idea, but what next? How would I find clients? What did people really need from a communication coach? How could I start my own company? What needs to happen?

These are the questions and doubts that can form a seemingly impenetrable roadblock. But I realized that I needed to focus first on the immediate first steps.

So, phase one: Assess the idea. What specific skills do you need to develop or questions do you need to ask to lay the groundwork for success? What do I need to know that I do not know right now? Who can I speak to who can guide me?