This guest post is from Melanie Kissell of SoloMompreneur who I’m thankful to have connected with during a blog challenge last year. Melanie’s blog shares small business strategies for solo mompreneurs and moms who want to work from home. You can connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/melaniekissell
She manages to roll smarts, encouragement, and a touch of wise mothering topped with pizazz into one package to inspire you in your quest for world domination a successful online business. And her blog images crack me up. So go visit her and subscribe to her blog, but first read this post, comment, and share it.
Are You Spending Time Getting Ready to Get Ready for Success?
© Aleksandrn | Dreamstime.com
Practice makes perfect, right? Not always so – although I bet you’ve been hearing this chant forever from your parents, your grandma, your peers, and no doubt, your piano teacher.
I’ve been practicing the piano for decades and a concert pianist, I’m not. Not even close. I couldn’t even get a gig entertaining shoppers (common practice in high end department stores where I live). I’ve spent countless hours sitting at the piano and I’m pretty far from perfect or ready to perform in a concert hall.
What’s this got to do with being an entrepreneur?
All the rehearsing (getting ready) in the world won’t guarantee a good performance or lucrative results. Not only is there no guarantee all that practicing will make you perfect at the art of small business ownership – it’s most likely smothering and stifling your progress.
Too much practice holds you back from taking action. And taking action is the only thing that’s going to move your business forward and put pennies in your piggybank.
What have you been doing to get ready to get ready for success?
Would any of the following show up on your list?
- THINKING about starting a blog
- Signing up, weekly, for every single Twitter or Facebook teleseminar or webinar that comes down the pike
- Downloading freebies, daily, hoping to find the holy grail of online marketing success
- Purchasing products and programs that swear you don’t have to do any “work” to make money
- Checking your emails, constantly, and opening every time-sucking get-rich-quick offer and bright shiny object
- Reading, researching, reading, researching, reading, researching – you’ve got a nice little rhythm going on
- Watching hours and hours of tutorial videos on YouTube
- Just celebrated the completion of your 100th “how to make money online” course – haven’t made a dime yet
- DREAMING of a successful business and entrepreneurial lifestyle
You can spend years (I know – I spent three of them) gathering information and extending your learning curve. But you don’t have to do that. Whatever your knowledge base is right now is ENOUGH.
Want to be successful? Stop getting ready!
Put this on a Post It Note and stick it on your monitor or your bathroom mirror: “Imperfect action trumps no action at all.”
Melanie Kissell
Knock on the door of Solo Mompreneur to find small business strategies for savvy mompreneurs and moms who want to work from home.
It is easy to get an information overload on the internet and “paralysis by analysis”. Instead try to find 1-2 super authorities in your field, try to learn from them and the most important part is, convert your knowledge into action as soon as possible.
Good strategies. It’s easier to keep up with that taking action when there aren’t so many voices that we’re trying to listen to.
You’ve hit on something super critical — Paring down (I’ll be writing a post about this topic soon). Trying to follow, befriend, and learn from dozens of online experts at once will only leave you overwhelmed and confused. It’s much, much better to “zero in” on just a few people you admire and who’s work you respect.
Thank you for your thoughts!
Thanks for giving me the honor of taking a seat on your blog today, Michelle!
My own personal experiences with procrastination, info overload, bright shiny objects, time-sucking hype, lousy advice, and blatant hogwash compelled me to craft this post.
Wishing you and your readers a splendiferous 2011!
Thanks for coming by, Melanie! :)
Thanks Michelle for sharing and Melanie you are spot on! Been there done that, over and over again. I too finally realized after over 4 years, ok, I got my internet MBA! time to make some money. But I must admit, through all the ‘getting ready’ I made a lot of mistakes that were my best education ever!
I like that – Internet MBA. lol Sometimes mistakes do make for a good learning experience.
A big thank-you to everyone for the Re-Tweets – much appreciated!
Melanie…superb post…nothing happens…until there is some action:) Sheri