Embrace imperfections to get sh*t done
In the book The Obstacle is The Way, Ryan Holiday writes,
“Simply do what you need to do right now. And do it well. And then move on to the next thing. Follow the process and not the prize.”
As a small business owner, pursuing perfection can be enticing yet paralysing. Many aspiring business owners fall into the trap of endlessly refining their ideas, products, or services, aiming for an elusive state of flawlessness before launching into action. However, in the real world of small business, there's a greater lesson to learn: the power of working on the immediate task rather than striving for perfection.
Founders often misunderstand that perfection equates to success. They envision a meticulously crafted product or service that captivates the market from day one. If this is you, read on.
Perfection is an Illusion
Read that again. While striving for excellence is important, perfection is an illusion—an unattainable standard that can hinder progress. The essence of entrepreneurship lies in taking action, embracing challenges, and learning from mistakes along the way.
Here's why focusing on the immediate task at hand is pivotal for the growth and sustainability of small businesses.
Momentum over Perfection
The business world moves fast, so momentum is a precious commodity. No matter how small, every completed task propels the venture forward, creating momentum that fuels further progress. By prioritising the immediate task, entrepreneurs can maintain a steady rhythm of productivity, building momentum that drives the business toward its goals. As they say, energy creates energy.
Iterative Improvement
Small businesses thrive on adaptability and agility. Rather than fixating on perfection, adopt an iterative approach to development. By continuously refining and enhancing your products or services based on real-world feedback and market dynamics, you can stay responsive to evolving customer needs and industry trends. Each iteration brings the business closer to its ideal state, guided by practical insights and tangible results.
Choose Your Own Adventure
Agility is a crucial trait for navigating uncertain terrain and seizing opportunities. Tasks, events, and actions must only follow a linear sequence if they genuinely impact the next thing from starting. Remember those 'choose your own adventure' books? Business can be just as exciting and adventurous. Have you finished setting up your Instagram account but not your website? No worries. Start with a soft launch on Instagram and get your brand out there. Don't wait for everything to be ready.
Test and Learn to Mitigate Risk
The quest for perfection often entails significant time and resources, exposing businesses to unnecessary risks and delays. In contrast, focusing on the immediate task allows entrepreneurs to mitigate risks by testing ideas, validating assumptions, and identifying potential pitfalls early on. Embrace a mindset of experimentation and learning to navigate uncertainties more resiliently, adjusting real-time strategies to stay competitive and relevant. Learn more about marketing experimentation here.
Empowerment through Action
Action breeds confidence and empowerment. By tackling the immediate task at hand, you can overcome inertia and gain a sense of control over the journey. Each small victory—gathering feedback before launching a minimum viable product (MVP), acquiring a customer, or securing a speaking slot on a webinar—reinforces belief in your capabilities and strengthens them, giving you the resolve to persevere in the face of challenges.
Cultivates Resilience
Building a small business is a journey filled with highs and lows, triumphs and setbacks. By embracing imperfection and focusing on the present task, you cultivate resilience – the ability to adjust, recover, move and thrive in the face of adversity. Learn to embrace bungles and botches as a natural part of the entrepreneurial process, extracting valuable lessons from missteps and using them to progress toward future success.
That's a Tomorrow Problem
The power of working on the immediate, present task cannot be overstated in the context of small business. Rather than succumbing to the allure of perfection or adding more and more items to your to-do list, embrace imperfection and slow it down as a catalyst for building sustainable momentum. The hustle culture has us believing that we need to constantly "be on" and optimise every second of the day, but it's ok to break it down and mark items as a tomorrow problem. Don't get caught up in the hustle and overwhelm yourself. That is more likely to stall progress.
If you work with me, you’ll hear this a lot 😜
This is How We Do It
Not only is it a catchy Montell Jordan song from the 90s, but it is also a metaphor for the following example and "how we do it” here.
This website looks quite different from the launch version. Instead of waiting for perfection, it was launched with only a home, about, and contact page—not even this blog section. But that was enough to test early copy and design and gather feedback from family and friends. Since then, I've been chipping away, making small changes regularly.
By prioritising action over perfection, you can harness the momentum of progress, iterate towards excellence, mitigate risks, enjoy the process of building something, empower yourself through action, and cultivate the resilience needed to weather the challenges of entrepreneurship.
When creating a small business, it's not about achieving perfection; it's about embracing the joy of the journey, one task at a time.
Need help breaking that perfectionist mindset?
I, too, suffered the perfectionist's curse until I learned how to break it. To find out over a virtual coffee, tea, or juice, click the link below.
