How-to Finally Launch That Idea You've Been Putting Off For Years
It's seriously time...
“So if you are feeling overwhelmed by an essential project because you think you have to produce something flawless from the outset, simply lower the bar to start.” — Greg McKeown, “Effortless.”
This article is for everyone who has asked me for advice about launching a business, venture, project, social media page, or whatever. You’ve been talking about launching but haven’t done anything. It’s time to change that.
Procrastination is often disguised as planning.
“Having the world's best idea will do you no good unless you act on it. People who want milk shouldn't sit on a stool in the middle of the field in hopes that a cow will back up to them.” — Curtis Grant
I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but planning is procrastination.
You won't launch anything if you’ve been planning and researching for a few months without taking any action. You’re just going to keep on keeping on. I know this because every entrepreneur I’ve had on my podcast mentioned how they started before they were ready. The longer you research and talk about that idea, the more likely you never launch.
For the sake of this article, launching can refer to anything that you’ve been planning on publishing, including:
That Instagram page.
The YouTube channel you keep talking about.
Your own side business.
Any creative project.
“We often assume that the world moves at our leisure. We delay when we should initiate. We jog when we should be running or better yet, sprinting. And then we’re shocked –shocked!—when nothing big ever happens, when opportunities never show up, when new obstacles begin to pile up, or the enemies finally get their act together.” — Ryan Holiday
Why you haven’t launched yet…
“I’m slowly looking at starting this online business.”
I asked a buddy about his online business ventures, and he said he was slowly figuring out what to do. I didn’t want to lecture him, so I dropped the conversation. When someone says they’re exploring options or looking into things, it usually means they’re doing nothing.
Here’s what keeps most people from launching: they think they must know everything before they start.
So, they end up doing nothing in the pursuit of attempting to acquire all of the knowledge possible.
We tend to worry about the following:
Getting the perfect business cards.
Designing the best logo.
Having a full business plan.
Researching every aspect of the business.
Waiting for permission.
Trying to get advice from every single person.
You know what happens while we’re worrying about everything? Somebody else launches. They launch, and they learn on the job. I took an entrepreneurship course in college, and my best lesson from it was that you don’t need to take a class on this stuff. Some of the best entrepreneurs out there are self-taught folks who take risks.
You have to get into the habit of launching before you’re ready and then pivoting as you go.
I’m not saying that it’s easy because it’s certainly not. You’re going to embarrass yourself.
What else holds most of us back from ever launching?
You don’t really want to launch.
You’re waiting for the perfect moment to launch.
You think that you need the perfect idea.
You’re worried about what strangers are going to say.
You’re nervous.
You’re waiting for somebody to pick you.
You think you need another book or course.
You think that you’re not good enough.
You want to be an instant success.
You rely on motivational quotes.
There’s another conference that you have to attend first.
You’re still waiting for permission.
You’re worried about your co-workers.
You’re afraid of failing.
You’re worried about what your friends and family will say.
You think that you have to go all in.
It’s fun to just talk about this stuff.
Now that you know why you haven’t launched, it’s time to do something.
SET A DEADLINE OR MOVE ON!
You need a deadline, or you’ll never get anything done. Too many of us set vague goals with no real deadline or finish line.
You have two options for launching:
Set a deadline for launching. You have to set a deadline and do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Move on. You don’t want to lie to yourself for another year or so. Just move on and drop the idea.
Rules of launching.
Here are a few rules that will make launching less stressful…
Rule #1: It’s all an experiment.
“Only failure of omission is real failure. Because if you don’t do something, you can’t learn from your experience. Every experience is a teacher, filled with enough lessons to carry you to the next level of your education in any field.
Again, the habit of constantly experimenting in all facets of your life will bring you enormous success. With each experiment you are either adding to your knowledge or you are succeeding and propelling forward in the hierarchy of that interest/passion/career.” — James Altucher, “Skip the Line.”
View everything as an experiment. Every idea you launch and work on is another experiment. With every experiment, you learn new skills and become more confident.
Here are some examples:
Your Instagram page may not go viral, but you get noticed for your copywriting or video editing skills.
You realize that you hate making videos for YouTube but love designing backgrounds.
You’re not really into coaching, but you get hired for freelance writing.
Rule #2: Failure is feedback.
“Failure is the information you need to get where you’re going.” — Rick Rubin, “The Creative Act.”
If you fail or are not an instant success, then take that as feedback. Failing gives you permission to try again. Accept the results and try not to take everything so personally.
Most business ideas will fail on the first attempt. Get those first few failures out of the way.
Instead of giving up when things don’t go your way, do this…
Rule #3: Pivot as you go.
Let’s say you want to start an Instagram page about your love for dog walking. A few months in, people notice that you take amazing pictures of your pet. So they ask you about taking some photos for them. This wasn’t your initial goal, but here you are.
Pivot as you go and learn on the job. Instagram started as a bourbon app, and we know Facebook's story.
What to remember about launching…
You don’t need all the answers to get started.
You can invest $100 or less in your knowledge by reading a book, taking a course, or paying for insights.
You never know what doors will open from a simple decision.
The sooner you launch, the sooner you can improve.
Keep on experimenting.
What are you going to launch and when?