Perfection can harm your business
by Joi Murugavell / Joi Design
I’ve promised in the last two newsletters to introduce you to my personal blog and new online business called Oodlies. Oodlies is an online store that sells my paintings, t-shirts and objects. Oodlies is now live and you can view it here.
I will be documenting every step of Oodlies into an ebook about the trials and tribulations/joy of owning an online store. Like all business owners, I am very excited about my new venture and can't wait to start promoting with very little money, the best kind of promotion (and on the web), usually the most effective.
The quest for perfection …
We’re pretty awed with the number of business owners we meet and get to know. There are so many fantastic, amazing, enthusiastic, clever people out there. Over the last 5 years, I’ve realized a slightly disturbing trend amongst many business owners (even the clever ones) – perfection. It may seem slightly strange to put the quest for perfection into the negative traits basket. But this isn’t your essential, productive level of perfection. I’m referring to the type of perfection we crave, that can actually harm a business.
About 4 months ago we started work on a branding project (a branding process usually takes a month). But this project is still not complete. Our client is a perfectionist, which in theory is not a bad thing. The logo options were very professional, he agreed they were fantastic, but he’s now wondering how it can be better. Developing the right logo for your business is important, however starting your business is important too.
In these four months, my client hasn’t started selling any products as he doesn’t have a logo, he can’t hand out business cards and continue with his website. His business has been stalled due to his quest for the perfect 'brand'. We had a chat about this and I told him I was writing an article about his quest, he finds it very amusing and even agrees with me, but in his words “there’s just something I need changed”.
'The End Panic'
My perfectionist client is not alone, I’ve come across this many times. Quite often, when we are 10% away from completing a job (usually for a new business) something happens that I call ‘the end panic’. This is when everything you liked and thought was fantastic is seen in a different light, as you know the end is nearing and this is it, this is your brand, this will be your website. And then it kicks in, ‘now I ACTUALLY have to stop planning and start my business' you then start to wonder if you should change anything to make it even better. Do watch that this isn’t just a decoy to delay starting your business.
The same thing happened to me with Oodlies, 'the end panic' caused me to waste another 3 weeks wondering what else I could do. In those 3 weeks I could have made it live, I could be 3 weeks ahead of the testing stage and that much closer to promoting and driving traffic to my website. But instead I chose to make it ‘perfect’. In many ways I was apprehensive, the ‘now I have to start my business’ panic kicked in and instead of moving on, I was tweaking images! :)
I did have a good chuckle, as it made me feel for my clients who have been struck by the end panic.
Finishing thoughts
A brand is not your logo, it’s how people perceive your business. If your business is not running, then there is no perception, a logo should look professional and appropriate for your business, a logo will not work miracles. Get started, use time as a test. Identify 'the end panic' for what it is, then move on.
We’ve been extremely busy this month launching some amazing websites. Everyday I wake up wondering what ideas I’d bump into, the new people I’d get to work with and get to know, this makes me love my job.
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