Get it out now!
This morning, I had a conversation with Scott McDowel, a business coach who helps “creative professionals and small business owners in self-expression, good business and money making.” He is currently offering free 30-min consultations on your chosen topic, to get a taste of the magic he works. On a recommendation from a friend, I decided to take up on his offer.
My chosen topic for the session?
Writing, of course!
I have struggled to keep this little blog up for a full year and a half now. I keep promising myself I’d update it more regularly, to make it live up to its promise of being a resource hub for fellow small businesses.
Alas, I still struggle, as you, dear reader, can see plainly.
Scott had some sage advice—such as “try and think about your project more creatively and fluidly. You can change your format if writing isn’t the best fit”—but my main take away is that I need to plain keep at it, however imperfect I may be.
And that is a question of habit-making. The habit of getting out whatever it is that’s in your head, sooner than later.
Awhile back, I was talking with a client about his marketing plan for his startup.
We had just finished developing a new name and a logo (which you can see here) and it was time to start thinking about how he’ll put them to use, to spread his gospel. And his biggest concern? His plan seemed “not good enough” or “fleshed out.” And that there wasn’t enough money to create a nice brochure, and a web site.
I listened as he explained to me his plans, of what he thought was important. Once I thought I understood his thinking and concerns, I asked:
What are the things you can do now, without spending any money?
We brainstormed together a little, and realized, there were lots! A Facebook page, Twitter, video clips, a blog… All the contents he thought he needed “once he had a working web site”, he could be creating them now. Heck, even before the branding process was finished, he could’ve been developing them on the side!
So we talked about a few of the things he could get started right away and how it could be done, without fancy equipment and hiring pros. He said, at the end of the call, “I feel so much better about all this. I was so worried that everything needed to be perfect!”
The trepidation he felt in creating a marketing plan, and executing it, was largely rooted in the unconscious misconception that things needed to be polished before being presented to the public. We all share this notion: You have to have a finished logo. You have to have your business incorporated. You have to have a impressive business cards. Etc., Etc.
But your message is so much more important! And if you have something to tell, it’s better you tell it now, in any way you can, than wait for some marketing “stuff” to carry the message. Sometimes, it’s even better not to have the shiny brochure carry your message (because if the packaging isn’t right, it just distracts from, rather than compliment, the message).
So, what do you have to say today? Let’s get it out!
