Letting Go of Perfect
How I’m finding freedom and success in my business
It took me an eternity to realize that I was using perfectionism as an excuse to avoid going all in on my business.
I told myself that everything had to be perfect otherwise I was doing a disservice to my client.
What’s ironic about this thought is that in every other aspect of my life, I’m a firm believer in having a process but your process must be fluid in order to adapt to external circumstances, clients’ changing needs, etc.
Even though I believe it in my core, I struggle to apply this thinking to my own business.
I finally realized that I was actually using perfectionism as a means of procrastination.
And when I dug deeper, I realized there are a lot of reasons behind my procrastination, most stemming from fear – fear of failure, imposter syndrome, etc.
One part of my original thought is true. I started my business to help small businesses and entrepreneurs learn how to market their businesses. I want to give my clients my best at all times. This means I want everything to be perfect.
But the reality is that marketing is ever-changing and, as a business owner, I need to adapt just as you do.
If you think about it, just in the last couple of years, marketing has seen significant changes. Covid turned everything on its head. Now AI is throwing the business world for a loop.
My first marketing class was pre-internet. I went back to school for digital marketing and even some of that content is “old.”
Mindset
First things first, I had to deal with my mindset and my fears.
My fear of failure and of being an imposter was my biggest struggle. My thought was that anything less than perfect was a sure sign of failure and that I’m not the one to be doing this.
I was very focused on what others would think. What if I disappoint my family? What will my friends say?
I was letting others’ thoughts stop me from pursuing my dreams. This is comical when you consider that, 99% of the time as it relates to everything else, I give zero f*cks about other people’s opinions.
I had to shift from caring about what others may think about me pursuing my own business and focusing on my development and strengthening my skills as an entrepreneur and leader.
This remains a constant battle for me but one I’m determined to overcome!
Progress over perfection
I’ve heard the term “progress over perfection” so many times, I can’t attribute it to any one person.
Despite having heard it and agreeing with the concept, I never fully considered how this phrase applies to me.
I now make every effort to embrace this philosophy. I write it in my planner. It’s at the top of my goals and objectives, my quarterly planning – basically anywhere I can write it, I do.
Something is better than nothing.
Serving my clients with everything available at this time is the best I can do. And it’s better than not serving them at all.
I really have to embrace this motto when it comes to social media. I know the value of social media for marketing, but I honestly can’t stand doing it.
Right now, I’m a one-woman show and I find social media tedious and time-consuming. It’s to the point that I monitor my metrics for social media religiously in an effort to motivate myself and to remind me that it’s helping promote Aynsli + Company. (I assure you, it will be one of the first things I hire out when I expand.)
My 70% Rule
I created a rule for myself to help with my perfection issues.
I call it my 70% rule. I consider 70% to be my C grade, or my “good enough.”
I heard a TED talk that really helped this sink in for me. I wish I could cite it for you, but I’ve spent way too much time trying to find it.
Anyway, I believe it was about taking action.
In the TED talk, they used Apple and the iPhone as an example. They shared how Apple released a “good enough” product and has a team focused on continual improvements, hence all the updates. If Apple had waited until the iPhone was perfect to release it, we probably wouldn’t have smartphones today. (If you’ve seen it or run across it, please forward it to me – hello@aynsli.co)
Here’s how I apply the 70% rule in my business:
If I’m working on an offer or lead magnet or something similar for my business, once I hit that 70%, I know it’s time to start sharing with my audience. I continue to make improvements and adjust.
In fact, in the past, as I was making it perfect before I shared, I would often procrastinate in making the updates and improvements since no one had seen it yet. But by putting it out there, it forces me to prioritize working on it.
I use time blocking for many of my business tasks and projects. I set aside a chunk of time every. Friday is reserved solely for making improvements to my current collateral. I use the time to work on updates to content-related items, templates/swipes for my coaching clients, website updates, and other similar items.
Action creates clarity
I first heard Marie Forleo share this and then I heard a similar version from James Wedmore.
It is so true!
If you haven’t heard this and you can only take one thing with you from this blog, let it be the phrase action creates clarity.
You can make what you consider to be the most perfect product in the world but until you share it with the masses, you’re actually working on a lot of assumptions.
It is only after people engage with what you have to offer that you will learn how to improve your product and better serve them.
One person cannot consider every single perspective. Receiving feedback from others is instrumental in enhancing and growing your business.
Let’s say your offer digital courses as your product. It is only once your students begin engaging with your course that will you learn what’s working and what’s not. You can learn things like a module may have too much information and cause overwhelm, a module may not have enough information, instructions were confusing and not broken down clearly, some content may be irrelevant, etc.
Think of your product and your business as a collaborative effort. You can only grow and improve as you take action and begin having others engage with your product.
Forgiveness
Lastly, I’m trying to make an effort to forgive myself when I falter.
Whether I let myself procrastinate on a task that should’ve been done earlier or if I only posted once to Instagram this week instead of five times, I am being very intentional about forgiving myself, not obsessing about it and moving on.
This is critical for me because I tend to let the stress of not “living up to” my own expectations shut me down. So rather than moving forward, I procrastinate on everything and end up further behind and more stressed. It’s a never-ending cycle.
Forgiving myself and immediately moving into action on something – anything – has made a significant difference in my business and my well-being.
I’m going to continue to focus on putting myself out there even when I think I’m not ready.
It’s a constant process for me and I have to be intentional about my mindset and allow myself to use perfectionism as a means of procrastination every day.
If you struggle with perfectionism, hopefully, some of these tips can help you too.
If you have any other tricks you use to combat your need for perfection, I’d love to hear them. Shoot me an email at hello@aynsli.co.
