I have a confession to make:
I am a die-hard perfectionist.
Whew! Glad to get that off my chest 
I think many entrepreneurs share this feeling of needing everything to be “just so” before we can send something off to a client or move on to the next project. I’ve talked before about how perfectionism affects your work-life balance, but it can also hold you back in your life and business if left to grow wild.
- Are you waiting for your business to be in that “right place” before you start going for the clients you want to work with?
- Are you waiting to get that “right project” before finally charging what you’re worth?
- Are you waiting for your work-life balance to be “just right” before you finally take that vacation?
Pam Slim once said that, “The enemy of a new entrepreneur is endless planning and perfection.” And it’s true! If you keep waiting and trying to get to this imaginary place of perfection, you may blind yourself to the opportunities that are presented to you right now. As much as we want to plan and time everything right, life rarely follows a straight and narrow path.
If your ideal client comes along, don’t be afraid that you might fail if everything isn’t perfectly aligned in your business. Trust that you have the abilities and talents to not only wow this client, but also quickly adjust your business plans to get to where you can comfortably work with them.
When I get particularly stressed over a business proposal I’m writing for my PR company, I try to remember that no one ever got anywhere agonizing over something for hours (another Pam Slim-ism). Instead, they spent less time at the edge of opportunities and more time jumping into them with both feet, learning from the experience, and then fine tuning their approach based on this success (or failure- it does happen!).
Perfectionism isn’t a bad trait to have, but it definitely shouldn’t be a life sentence either.
Are you a perfectionist too? If yes, how have you learned to “let go”? If no, what’s been keeping you from moving forward that you’re working on finally letting go? Leave a comment below or connect with me via Twitter or Facebook. Looking forward to your thoughts!
Photo Credit: Flickr
Elena is founder of a technology PR agency that works with startups to billion-dollar companies. She is passionate about helping marketers and small business owners with practical publicity strategies.
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I feel like this post came from a lot of first hand, personal experience of trial and error efforts. As a student about to graduate college I can really appreciate the honesty that there are business owners and professional adults in the work force that are indeed human and make mistakes in thier jobs. Perfection isn’t everything, espically in the workforce when sometime the biggest mistakes can turn into genius ideas.
Although I am not a business owner nor do I have to make major financail and professional dicisions that’ll effect mine or others’ livelihoods, I can relate to trying to make every one of my steps perfect in the “big kid” world. Seeing as I am senior, I have noticed that I am taking twice as long to complete assignments, and this is not due to seniorisits but to wanting every project to scream “I’m 100% prepared and ready for the work force, hire me!” I’ve discovered that I’m treating each project as if I was actually getting paid for it’s completeion, like it was one of my job requirements to make it perfect. Granted this type of homework mantra does ensure that my grades rock, it also takes a lot out of me and makes me sometimes resent the work that I once found so much pleasure and joy in.
It took me a while before I realized that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. I was pricing myself out of the best work because I didn’t feel I had proven myself. I only did small jobs that paid little so I could build up my portfolio. I didn’t realize that I was the one holding myself back. But once you realize you’re doing all that it opens up so many opportunities. This is a great article because I know that so many people do all these things.
Small Business PR´s last [type] ..Our Services
Personally, I think that this post can be used in just about any situation in life. Take social media and college students for example, there are a select few that are jumping into it with both feet and other who are barely sticking their toes into the water. In my opinion this is because a large portion of young adults are afraid they wont get it done right the first time and everything has to be perfect. This philosophy is vital for any person to follow “just get out there and do it!” Thank you for this post and I look forward to sharing this with my peers and educators.
I am a fellow perfectionist, Elena! But I have not let this stop me from moving forward with my business. I have made great strides, mistakes and all!
One thing that is an eye-opener for perfectionists is that when we finally do achieve something that we think is perfect (which is rare), others often don’t see it that way. It makes you think long and hard about why you wasted so much effort just so others can be oblivious to your “perfection” at best, or trash it at worst!
Thanks everyone – it’s great to know there are other perfectionists and recovering perfectionists out there! And yes, it takes a lot out of us and most of the time we are our own worst critic. So here is to imperfection and just getting it done!
I realized that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. I was pricing myself out of the best work because I didn’t feel I had proven myself. Thank you for this post and I look forward to sharing this with my peers and educators.
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Thank you for this post and I look forward to sharing this with my peers and educators.I realized that everything doesn’t have to be perfect.
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Thanks for sharing questions. I’m going to think if I could answer them. Then ask them to my friends as well!
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Thanks for sharing this amazing piece of information, this will really help to the people who are searching for these kinds of topics.
Whilst I understand exactly what you mean about blinding yourself from opportunities I am in the middle of reading Steve Job’s biography and I can tell you he was an extremely successful perfectionist. He had a rough time at some points and generally seemed to wind up everyone around him but he got there in the end with the iPod, iPhone etc.
Also, would recommend his book to anyone who needs an inspiring tale to read.