Uncle Bob always seems to be the party pooper...
Do you have a producer? Not the money types who put up some of the budget, brag about how they're involved with movies and then kibitz about things of which they know nothing, but a real hands-on line producer who can handle the "dirty work" of filmmaking for you - keeping you organized, on budget, on schedule, dealing with paperwork, dealing with day-to-day annoyances, etc. Feature film work is a tough gig under the best of circumstances, and indie filmmaking is, most of the time, far from the best of circumstances; you need some help. (Just so you know, the best line producers, like most of the best bosses in any field, go completely unnoticed; they do their job right and most problems & disasters don't happen!) This will also lend you some credibility so that you can get and keep a few talented folks both in front of and behind the camera.
Having a budget plan impresses people; being able to show how all of the money will be spent means you are serious about the project (as well as heading off a few arguments later). So will having preliminary scheduling and organization.
Then comes preproduction, and there can never be enough. Besides getting everyone on the same page you have to inform everyone of your vision, and inspire them with your leadership. Yes, it's your project; yes, you have total control; yes, your word is law; and, yes, you have the final say about everything, but don't shut yourself off from the advice and contributions of other talented people; they may immeasurably improve your project, and, whether you take their advice or not, as long as they feel that you truly listened to what the have to say they will feel more like a part of a team and not an unappreciated supernumerary (which means they'll stick with you). (It's called two way loyalty - you want your team to be loyal to you, but in return you must be loyal to them.)
And (this is no surprise coming from me) expend every effort to capture great sound. Oh, I know, you'll say you're going to do everything you can to capture solid production sound, but once you get onto the set you'll promptly forget. Then you'll get into audio post, find out you have almost insurmountable audio problems, realize that you should have paid much more attention to your production sound, and then start banging your head against the wall until you get sick of the squishy sound.
All of this stuff seems to be what most indie filmmakers don't want to hear, but the successful ones eventually catch on. Being in the entertainment industry is one of the few fields where the harder you work the more fun you have; and most of that hard work comes at the beginning. As a musician I spent thousands upon thousands of hours practicing; once I got on stage or in the studio all that was required was to enjoy the experience - I worked really hard, and then I enjoyed myself. When I do audio post I get all of the donkey work out of the way first; contracts, long conversations with the director and the composer (with the endless pages of notes), the compiling of Foley & sound FX cue sheets, prepping the project logs, preliminary budgeting and the like. Once I've completed the first pass on the production sound most of the rest is fun - doing the Foley work, recording & creating sound FX, collaborating with the composer and finally creating a complete sonic tapestry from thousands little bits and pieces. The hard work comes first.
"Life has been meant for you to enjoy, but you won't enjoy it unless you pay for it with some good, hard work; this is one price that will never be marked down." Harpo Marx
If you take the time to sift through all of those, you can get some really great actors.
