Imperfect Action Is Still Action

Here’s a shocking revelation: I’m a perfectionist. dun dun DUN!

OK, so it’s no surprise that I’m a perfectionist. What gave me away? My Type A tendencies? My obsession with color-coding everything in my planner? The fact that I’m an editor to begin with?

And I’m in good company. I’ll wager that nearly 99% of my followers are also perfectionists.

We can try to justify our need for everything to be “just so,” but in reality, it kind of sucks to want everything to be perfect all the time. Life just doesn’t work that way.

For instance, Chris and I recently had a tough conversation over dinner about my need to start hiring staff members to help me run my business. I need to take action soon, and it’s stressing me out.

By the way, did you know that I don’t have anyone working for me? Sometimes people think I have an army of assistants or designers or something.

I hope this doesn’t come off as a humble brag (“My business is soooo profitable and successful that I need to hire employees!!! It’s soooo hard being a super star!!!”), but my business has grown tremendously in a short amount of time.

The last thing I want is for things to start falling through the cracks. Or for me to have a nervous breakdown. Yep, that’d be great for my life coaching image.

Anyhoo, I was listing off the dozens of tasks I need to delegate to other people. Chris helpfully suggested that I look into hiring virtual assistants.

That didn’t fly with me.

“No! I want someone IN PERSON, who only works for MY business, and can be a personal assistant, doggie assistant, graphic designer, videographer, website specialist, marketing manager, customer service rep, project coordinator, and chief operations officer…IN ONE!”

Typical perfectionism.

Funnily, it’s much easier for me to help my clients handle their perfectionism. For instance, they’ll stall on taking the next step for their businesses because they want to do it perfectly.

“Sage, I can’t start blogging yet because I don’t have a logo.”

“Sage, I can’t create a package yet because I don’t have a subscriber list.”

“Sage, I can’t raise my prices yet because I haven’t worked with enough people.”

Excuses, all of them! Here’s what I tell my clients when they need to tone down the perfectionism:

[Tweet “Imperfect action is still action.”]

I’d rather you be making at least some progress on your business every day no matter how teeny tiny that progress might seem.

And sometimes taking action imperfectly is the only way you learn what will work.

My new group coaching program Startup In 60 could probably be renamed “Rehab for Perfectionists.” It’s a group coaching program for busy women who want to start their own businesses, even if they feel like they don’t have enough time to do it perfectly.

Every day for 60 days, you’ll choose either a 60-minute or 60-second exercise relating to your business. It puts you in control (and perfectionists love that), but I won’t let you stack off either.

As for me, I’m working up my nerve to hire an imperfect staff. After all, I’m not perfect either.

Need to push past your perfectionism? Check out Startup In 60.

Registration is now open for Startup In 60! Click here for all the details and learn how to build your business from scratch in just 60 days.

And be sure to join the Startup In 60 Blog Party to share your best time management tips.