How to stop putting it off and start

Too much detail and fussing over how it works can hold you back from getting your idea launched. It’s what people often use to delay starting when they’re unsure or nervous about the idea.

My favourite Seth Godin quote summarises it all “If you wait until you’re ready it’s almost certainly too late”. Getting your idea in front of your audience is the quickest way to get feedback and see if it will work, and learn why it won’t. So why are so many ideas still ‘almost ready’?

In this blog, I will show you how you can take the leap, and just start.

It’s not finished yet

There aren’t many cases where something needs to be ‘finished’ before it’s launched. Your inner perfectionist might tell you otherwise, but most people don’t know what your ‘finished’ looks like. So the only person who has created this requirement to ‘finish it’ is you.

Done beats perfect

If it works, people can use it and it delivers a result, then what else does it need? You could polish it, adjust it, refine it forever. But at some point, you need to get it out there. The best people to give you feedback and tell you what needs polishing and fixing are your customers.

Sell it then make it

If you’re working on something right now then consider this: What if you didn’t actually make it until you’ve sold it?

What if you went to your audience and said “I’m going to do this, would you like to join me?”.

It worked for Tesla, they sold 250,000 Cyber Trucks in one week, without making any. They one they did make didn’t even work it was only a model. They even broke the ‘unbreakable’ glass window during the launch. It doesn’t have to be perfect to sell, if people believe you’ll deliver, they will buy.

You can’t sell an idea

People can’t buy an idea. They can buy a promise, process or method. So even if you haven’t built it yet, you can still sell it.

Inviting people to get involved when it’s at an early stage will help show you what people really want. You can ask them as many times as you want but they’ll always tell you something different. What really matters email signups, deposits and early bird tickets.

Trials and pilots are a great way of getting people interested and getting feedback. Make a landing page, collect details, deposits or sell tickets and see what interest there is. Better to learn early on that the idea isn’t right, or that fewer people than you think are interested. It’s easy to change the offer before you’ve made it. It’s much harder to change once you’ve made it.

So before you build it, try selling it.

What if people don’t like it?

I know it feels daunting putting your idea out there early. Especially when it’s going to be judged by your audience. The reward of saving time, effort and money by not building something no one wants is worthwhile. If people want to work with you they will tell you by either saying why your offer isn’t quite right for them or by saying yes! You won’t know until you try.

Don’t deliver it finished, promote the promise that you’ll deliver. Then once the offer has sold you can deliver it

If the offer doesn’t frame the pivot, refine and adjust until it does. Don’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board if the idea isn’t quite right. Ask your audience what they want, then deliver it.

Got you thinking?

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