Friday, June 5, 2009

Ready, Set, Launch – Gulp

As an entrepreneur, you know the feeling! Whether you're a solopreneur, mompreneur, intrapreneur (an entrepreneur within a company), a multi-million dollar entrepreneur—whatever level—that moment when the project is finished and you launch it to the world is daunting. You *think* you've thought of everything, dotted all your I's as they say, but invariably, something isn't quite perfect.


But it's still great. That gulp feeling, that nervousness, is all because we put too much expectation on ourselves, and our team, to be perfect. Perfect isn't sustainable or real. Perfect is a place where there is no room fo
r improvement, and there always is. Always. So if you're like me, and you've for too long held on to that perfectionist feeling, try to work it through. Realize, as I had to, that each mistake is a chance to learn and that when you're being realistic, you realize nobody—and no product or service launch—will ever be perfect.

Guess who reminded me of the whole problem with perfection? My middle school son. He is one of those guys—straight As, great at sports, a mentor, teachers love him, tons of friends. That guy. One night, tucking him in, I said something to the effect of you're just such a perfect kid. He looked at me, incredulously, and said: “Mom, nobody's perfect. I'm not. That's too much to expect from yo
urself.” Yes, he said it. Now I call him my “almost-perfect” son, with a smile.


That said, there's nothing wrong with doing your best. I just launched a new Web site for my Real You business—GULP. It's a work in progress, but it's a great start. I say that even while I acknowledge to you right now that I wasn't going to tell you about it today because it's not perfect. It isn't. But, then again, it never will be.

So, with pride, and a nod to imperfection and the entrepreneurial spirit, I hope you'll check out my new site: KairaRouda.com and watch with me as it evolves. Because a Web site, much like the business it represents, always evolves. And once you realize that fact, and the fact that your best is good enough—even if it isn't perfect—you'll be able to share more of the Real You with the world.

The best of you. The real you. And believe me, that is as close to perfect as you need to be.

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