Why you don't *have* to be messy to get started
You may have heard it said that when you’re starting a business you can’t be afraid to get messy. You should launch a great product or service, but know there will be imperfections and things to improve upon as you go. You should launch “before you’re ready”. And while I do agree that waiting for everything to be “perfect” likely means you’ll never launch, there’s always been an element of this idea that I don’t fully agree with.
In my opinion starting too “messy” can leave you with a product, service or process that’s just too disorganized, disoriented or complex to clean up. My dream is to run a small business that I love, that helps people and operates like a well-oiled machine. If you’re anything like me, a perfectionist who starts to sweat at the thought of launching something that isn’t refined enough or underserves on it’s mission, you may connect with me on these lessons from my first full year in business:
If it’s “messy”, it’s likely time to simplify, not launch
Follow your gut - don’t rush if it will send you into a panic attack
Push yourself just a bit - test to see your growth capacity in small doses
If you’re seeing NO progress, it’s time to push a little more
If everyone else is doing things differently but you’re seeing momentum - keep doing it your way
Perfect does NOT exist, so take your to-do list and cut it into MUST haves, and nice to haves
Remember why you started and ask yourself if you’ve started inheriting someone else’s goals
If you’re playing the long game you’re going to need your stamina, so think about that before your start sprinting while also trying to pickup falling pieces.
