Most of us want to be successful, but are never sure what that really means or how to get there. For Maria Bartiromo, CNBC’s top female anchor, one key ingredient is self-knowledge, “…..the ability to define for yourself what shape your life will take, and how you will pursue success.”

Just recently, I have been looking at successful start ups, and what allows them to overcome the multiple obstacles in their path. Australia’s Snowy Mountains Cookies is one such example. The founders looked for an all-year round product that would also allow a young mother time off for family duties.

Significantly, they quickly identified a new need in the biscuit market, left open by one of the big guys. They plugged the gap by creating a quality product. The result is that after three years of operation, they have a client list including some of the continent’s biggest names.

Lone Tree Brewery also makes for a wonderful case study. Whilst I admit to a certain level of bias, because my colleague, Dorit Kosto, and I have been associated with the progress of the team, I believe that many entrepreneurs can learn from their experience.

A little over a year ago, we sat down with four people, who were very excited about creating a boutique brewery. Their philosophy included encouraging employment and tourism in a relatively undeveloped part of Israel. Each had qualifications in their own field. They talked with knowledge about raw ingredients and production processes. They came to us with a file, full of details.

What was missing was an answer to the “what next” question.

And this is where they got smart. First, they sought help. Second, they learned to establish for themselves a realistic set of targets; timelines, budgets, task allocation. Third, while sticking to the overall dream, they moved from trying to succeed big overnight and began to concentrate on implementing a series of small, achievable tasks. 

Dorit and I met up with Lone Tree Brewery today at their new premises. No, it is not a large factory, but they are producing. And they have room to grow. One of the founders has had to leave the group, but the three remaining members seem to have very clear roles. They were hosting an open-house tasting session. No fancy pre-advertising campaign, but bottles of beer were being sold to many happy customers. 

Speak to our heros, and all are looking ahead. Pricing and marketing, investment, marketing strategy – again, they want to define and to break down the next issues into a series of targets, which fit into a realistic timetable. Interestingly, they seem to be setting a high price in order to position themselves as a quality product.

Is that a risk? Maybe, but a taste of the beers on offer more than justifies the initial strategy.