One of the scariest things you can do as an entrepreneur is stare at a blank piece of paper. However, it is also the most important.

Taking the time to visualize your product and its various use cases allows you to see how your idea can go from a concept to a viable product. In particular, it is vital, especially in the initial stages of your venture, that you take the time to do so prototype your product.

It goes beyond drawing. Playing with materials such as paper and cardboard to build a physical representation of your product, whether you're building for the physical or digital world, allows you to move to the next stage with a realistic plan. This allows you to test ideas, get feedback, and rework your design, all before you start coding or looking for the real stuff.

As director of Weissman Foundry at Babson College, I help aspiring entrepreneurs and business students realize their ideas through creative and practical applications. I run our popular Makerspace on campus, a resource for our business students to bring their ideas to life. I like to remind students not to think of prototyping as a rote process; rather, it is the impetus for a fleeting idea to become a reality.

Is a blank page in front of you? Here's how to turn it into something useful in the prototyping process.

Related: Do you have a business idea? Here's how to put it into action.

Brainstorm freely

It's a simple tip, but that's because it works. Start by getting it all out—on paper, that is. Write down all the things that come to mind when you think of your product. My favorite method of brainstorming is sketch notewhich uses words, drawings, doodles and symbols to express ideas. Find the method that allows you to feel uninhibited and gets your thoughts out in a way that you can then internalize.

I recently taught a session in an entrepreneurship program for high school students about designing and building digital applications. Before the students started building prototypes with paper and scissors, I stressed the importance of carving out time to really think about your idea. This process ensures that from the start, you are keeping your target customer at the forefront.

Then add the structure

In the brainstorming process, you can touch on topics from aesthetics to function to features for your target audience. When you start listing everything you know about your product, you start to notice what you didn't consider. Once you have spent enough time thinking, you can start categorizing your ideas and perfect them.

You want to get to a point where you're thinking about how you're going to use your product. I recommend thinking about your product as part of a narrative. How does your product fit into your day? Your trip? Your work day? During the meal or before bed? Do your children or spouse use it? Would you use it while traveling?

Furthermore, what story do you want to tell? Many of my students want to tell the story of sustainability through their products, for example. How does design inform this? This narrative prompt also helps you define what problem you are trying to solve.

Keep your tools simple

Advanced tools, such as 3-D printers, vector editors and coding programs, will come into play at some point. But why waste your time and money in the first place when office supplies are cheaper and more accessible? It's much easier to mash the paper together than try it on a coding tool.

Start with office supplies. Things like rubber bands, index cards and paper clips are durable and versatile and force you to be creative. You can easily share them with collaborators instead of working in separate files. The best part is: You've been using these tools since elementary school, so there's no learning curve. They give you the gift of time.

When guiding students through their app idea brainstorming sessionI asked them to start literally visualizing what the app looks like on a piece of paper, whether vertical to represent a phone or horizontal for another screen. This step eliminates distractions and you don't waste time intricately designing a product that you later learn doesn't work or your customers don't like.

Related: 6 reasons why you should prototype your idea before developing it

Consider the comments about your best friend

It's easy to get stuck building a product for yourself when you're really building one for your customers. You want to think outside of your demographic. The most powerful tool you have as an entrepreneur is knowing what someone likes and dislikes and why. The best feedback is honest, specific, polite and in service of the product. When I have a product idea that is ready for this stage, I ask for feedback from my friends in various industries beyond education, including real estate and finance.

To collect feedback on your prototype, share it with members of your inner circle and ask for feedback from online communities like Discord, Reddit and other social media platforms. Having a physical prototype that you made affordably with paper materials is easy to share and easy to refine once you get feedback. You can also do a lot.

Even if the feedback is from an audience outside of your target audience, it will all help inform your product design. Having a physical analog version of your product helps you make it more universal, expand your audience, and learn more about your niche, all at a low cost.