132: The hidden secret of online business success for entrepreneurs

In this episode, I’m sharing the hidden secret to online business success for entrepreneurs and it’s probably not what you think. It’s not about having everything perfectly planned, polished or ready to go. Instead, it’s about embracing messy beginnings and letting go of the myth of perfectionism.

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in endless edits, tweaking the same idea over and over, or waiting for the “perfect moment” to launch your course, product, or membership then this episode is for you.

I’ll take you behind the scenes of how my own now-thriving membership started out as nothing more than a rough idea and why those imperfect first steps are often the ones that create the biggest breakthroughs. I’ll also share practical ways to move past procrastination, start taking action, and use real audience feedback to refine and grow your offers over time.

Plus, I’ll introduce you to my brand-new Digital Creators Community Hub… a free space where you can join monthly masterclasses, grab resources, and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs who are building freedom-driven businesses.

So grab your notebook and tune in because this episode will inspire you to embrace imperfection, take bold action, and discover the hidden secret to powerful results in your online business.

Get in touch:

• Click here to book a free Discovery Call
• Click here to access Passive Profit Plan

Transcript

Karen [00:00:01]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is episode 132 and in today's episode, I'm talking about why it's important to start messy and how imperfection can lead to powerful results. 

So let's jump right in and let's get started. Hello and welcome. Thank you for joining me today. I'm your host, Karen, and I really do appreciate you hitting that play button to listen to today's episode. 

So today I want to talk about something that I think is quite prevalent for all entrepreneurs really and business owners when starting a new project or releasing a new service or doing something new for the first time. And that is the power of starting messy and how imperfection can lead to such powerful results that will get you the success that you're looking to achieve.

Karen [00:01:20]:
But before I dive into today's episode, I just want to update you about about something that's been really exciting for me behind the scenes that I've been working on for some time now. One of the things that I really love to do in my business is deliver training and masterclasses. And so going forward, each month I'm going to be delivering free monthly masterclasses that are designed to help you turn your expertise into digital products, passive income, and ultimately a business that gives you more freedom. Because that's what we want, that's what we're looking for, that's what we're looking to achieve. Now, each month I'm going to tackle a new topic and this could range from building offers that you can sell and repeat to launching your products with confidence and ease and everything in between. And one of the things that I'm now doing is all the replays which will be available, plus extra tools and resources are going to be waiting inside my free community, which is the Digital Creators Community Hub. And this is a place that people can connect with other entrepreneurs, get support, and be the first to hear about any upcoming master classes that I'm going to be delivering. So if you would love to gain access to free training resources and a community of like minded creators like yourself that are going to be cheering you on, then I'd love you to come and join me.

Karen [00:03:01]:
You can pop in today. It's completely free. Just head on over to my website, www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com/community. I'm really excited about this and I hope you are as well. And it's an opportunity for me to take this podcast to another level so I can help you to achieve your online business goals. So back to today's episode. And today I am talking about why it's important to start messy and how imperfection can actually lead to powerful results that start to get you the results that you want. Because, and I know this firsthand, I know how easy it is to get caught up with wanting things to be perfect before you put them out in the world.

Karen [00:04:11]:
And I think creating an online business where you're working on products and things to sell, it's so easy to get caught up in the things that you're creating and then try and make them flawless before you put them out to be sold. But the thing is, nothing starts with perfect. Everything has to evolve over time. And that's exactly what I'm diving into today. So I want to start with the myth of perfection. Because it is a myth. I don't actually believe that perfectionism exists. I think that it's a subjective thing.

Karen [00:04:53]:
Everybody's idea of perfection is different. And so it doesn't. It doesn't really exist, but it does in our heads. And this is a way that we can sabotage our own success by getting caught up in the idea of making something perfect. Because I think, I think a lot of entrepreneurs get caught up in the mode of perfecting the thing that they're working on. You know what I'm talking about. You know, you've got an idea, you're mapping it out, you're tweaking, you're editing, you're polishing it up, trying to make it look great, and then you go to launch it, and then something doesn't quite feel right. You do not feel ready.

Karen [00:05:35]:
And so what can then happen is that you end up tweaking it and then you end up editing it. And then you second guess what you've created because you're thinking, well, is this really what something wants? Oh, I'm just going to change this or I'm just going to do that. But the problem with that is that it perfectionism is, is what's keeping you safe. It keeps you stuck. Because all the while you're polishing something up. You're not getting it out in the world and you're not trialing it and you're not getting feedback and you're not getting insight. Instead, what you're doing is you're procrastinating. And you may be thinking that you're being productive with the tweaks and the edits, but actually you're stopping yourself from moving forward and potentially getting those sales that you could be getting if you got your product out there.

Karen [00:06:26]:
Now, I think the Thing that really sits behind this is fear. I think it's fear of judgment. It could be fear of failing. It could even be fear of what people will think if it doesn't land the way that you want it to land. And I really understand this. I get this. I have been there. It is something that I have been conscious about for myself.

Karen [00:06:53]:
I've been working on things this probably over the past few years where I'm trying to focus on things getting done. So rather than getting hung up on making things look perfect, I want to get it done. I want to get it done. I want to get it out there and want to make those sales. So I know firsthand what it's like to get caught up in that cycle of tweaking, editing, polishing. That fear that you start to feel once you know that you're ready to kind of release it. And also the rabbit hole of then going that you then go down of making more tweaks and edits. It is a cycle that I know really well, having done that myself.

Karen [00:07:39]:
But I think as entrepreneurs, we need to be looking at the bigger picture and we need to be thinking, well, this is the first draft, it will evolve. And we need to give ourselves space for that to happen. And we can't do that if we're sitting on something. So we need to things forward and actually get things out there and hit publish or hit launch and see what happens and be okay with seeing what happens as well. Because the truth is impact. And as online business creators, as digital product creators, the. I think if you wait for something to feel perfect, then you'll be waiting a long time because you will never feel like that. The truth is that the impact that you're going to be creating from what you have created doesn't come from perfection.

Karen [00:08:48]:
It comes from taking action. And you can't take action if you're not actually releasing your ideas and you're not getting them out there. So we have to be okay with things not being perfect so that we can allow for the evolution to take place with the thing that we've created. Now this is where the first rough draft comes in. And believe it or not, the first rough draft that you create for anything is probably going to be the most powerful because it gives you something tangible that you can work with. It's the thing that will move your idea out of your head into the world. And once it's there, you can then refine it, you can tweak it, and then you can evolve it. But if it only stays an idea.

Karen [00:09:46]:
It can't change anyone's life, including your own. So we have to create that first draft. We have to get it out in the world so that we can start creating that impact. Think about writing a book. No one writes a perfect manuscript the first time round. They start with a messy draft and through editing and refining it then turns into something amazing. Your online course, your digital product, your membership, your group program, whatever it is that you are creating needs to go through that same process. You need to have something that is rough in the beginning so that you can improve it.

Karen [00:10:39]:
My very first digital product wasn't anywhere near what it is today. It was rough, it was really simple. But. And this is where the power comes in. It got me started. And that's the point of it. The first draft is about progress. It's not about perfection.

Karen [00:11:03]:
When you put something out there, even if it feels messy, you gain clarity because you can start to learn about what works, what doesn't work, and what your audience actually wants. And that is where magic happens, because you can then take that insight, you can then put it into the first draft and then you can develop it so it becomes really impactful because you've got feedback and you've got insight and you have a clarity, and all of that goes into the next step. So I just want to bring it back to digital products because this is where I think so many entrepreneurs get stuck. Maybe for you, you've been thinking about creating a course or a membership or a group program. Maybe this is an idea that you've had in your head for some time. You've got an idea, but maybe right now doesn't feel like the right time. So you're sitting there waiting for it to be a perfect moment to pull it all together. Now, the reason why I say this is because this is what is said to me so many times.

Karen [00:12:21]:
I want to create an online course, but I'm not ready yet. My website's not finished. I'm looking for client work. I'm doing this, I'm doing that. It's not the right time. Maybe this is you, and maybe you've convinced yourself that the right time is when you have nothing on your plate, when you have nothing to do and you suddenly have free time to focus on creating an online course, a membership, a group program, whatever. Now, the truth is that's never going to happen because you're always going to have something that you're going to be working on. There's always going to be a new client, there's always going to be another networking event you need to go to.

Karen [00:13:05]:
There's always going to be tweaks that are needing to be made to your website. There's always new copy to be written, a new landing page to be created. The list literally goes on. I don't think in eight years of business, I have had a period of time where I've had nothing to do with. I have always had things that I've needed to focus on. But alongside those things, I have carved out time to create products to sell because I understand the power of them and how to create a sustainable business that is around long term. It's not enough for me to just trade my time for money. I need other things that I can make money from.

Karen [00:13:53]:
So we need to be realistic when we think about the perfect time. Because the perfect time doesn't exist. The perfect time actually I think, is when you have your idea. I think that's the perfect time to get started. Now I have this kind of belief that when we have these ideas, I think they're often sent to us for a reason and it's our job to bring them to life and to get them out in the world. And, and these ideas that we have, they come from a place of experience, of conversation, of knowing that something out there is missing and we can bridge that gap. So when you have that idea and you start to get that feeling in your stomach where there's an excitement about what could be, that's the time you get started. Because that's the time where you have that energy that is going to help you to bring that idea to life.

Karen [00:15:00]:
So rather than waiting for things to be perfect, start now, start messy and work on something that you can evolve. Because that process is what's going to make you more money and bring you the success and freedom that you actually want. When I started my membership probably back in 24, so my membership has been going now for about 14 months now. My plan was never to create a membership. It was something that came to me a bit left field. I was at an event and I was mapping out my core offer that I wanted to create. And at that time I thought it was a program. I thought I was going to take my online course and I was going to feed it into a program and I was going to deliver that.

Karen [00:15:45]:
And then I came back from this event. This event was out in the US and it was a three day art and it was, it was honestly, it was absolutely brilliant. But I came back and I felt like my head was all over the place because I'D I had all of these ideas, didn't know where I was going and it just, I just felt stuck because the thing that I thought I was going to create no longer felt right. But I didn't know what that new thing looked like. Anyway, this was in the December, in the, the January I was kind of in planning mode and I was again, my head wasn't completely, because I was trying to, I suppose, process everything that I'd learned at this. And then the February, it was really weird. I woke up one morning and I just had this absolute clarity. And what I realized was that the thing that I was going to create was a membership.

Karen [00:16:40]:
And up until that point I'd done no work on memberships. In fact, whenever something came about about memberships I just, I didn't really take notice because everything that I'd been working on up until that point was digital products and online courses and I delivered group programs as well. Anyway, I set about mapping out my membership and I outlined what it could look like. And when I started to do that I started to get excited because what I then recognized was the potential of what this could be. So I then went on and I kind of sort of sorted out what my membership was. So it was February when I woke up one morning and I had this idea about creating a membership. And as I said, it wasn't something that I'd thought about before but I had this clarity around what it was that I could create and I started to get really excited about that. And so I went about sort of outlining the membership, what I would include in it, how I would deliver it, all of that good stuff.

Karen [00:18:04]:
And then I went on to kind of do the research, get insight, all of that stuff that I talk about. And then I made a decision that on the 1st of July I was going to launch my membership. So I did a launch where I released a three part them and I built a wait list. And on the 1st of July I opened my doors and I converted. I think it was something like 89 of my wait list into my membership. And my membership wasn't perfect. It wasn't perfect. I, I didn't really know what I was doing.

Karen [00:18:40]:
When I looked back I was winging it because I, I'd never run a membership before and I didn't really know how I was going to show up because I think when you're a membership host, it's very different to being an online course creator. Memberships are about community and it's about bringing people together with a shared goal. And that's very different to creating something that you sell on repeat. But it's a done and dusted approach, unless you have a community piece that is attached to your online course. So I launched my membership and I'm now 14 months into hosting this membership community and it's one of the best things that I've ever done. I absolutely love it, but as I said, it wasn't perfect. The design of my site wasn't nailed down, it looked nice, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't fully refined. And over the past 40 months, I have tweaked, I've edited it, I've made changes, I've recently gone up there and I've.

Karen [00:19:49]:
I've recently given it a bit of a, a visual overhaul because my idea about my membership has become more refined. So now I have a better idea on how I want it to be. This month, the month of September, I've launched a brand new event in the Masterclass, sorry, in the membership, which will be running every single month. So now I host four monthly events as part of the membership, which I'm really excited about. But this is stuff that has come about through the evolution of running that membership. And the membership that it is today is so different from how I first started it. However, had I got so caught up in the weeds of everything at the very beginning today, I wouldn't be here with having the membership that I have today. So as of now, I've got roughly about 40 members.

Karen [00:20:54]:
My goal, of course, is to grow the membership, but I've got 40 members, I've got reoccurring income, I've got a solid offer that I present when I have sales calls, I have a roadmap, I have things that I can, I can utilize to really support people on their journey. And I'm so proud of this membership. But had I got caught up in the weeds of perfectionism, I wouldn't have it. I would not be here today being able to talk about the thing that has probably been the biggest game changer in my business. So what I say to you is that if you have an idea and you feel that excitement about it, then work on it, outline it, get it planned, go and get the insights that you need to go and get to validate your offer. But get it done, get it out there and get it tested. I have so many testimonials from my members from my membership, and the feedback that I've had is amazing. And what I love about it is the fact that they're telling Me that I am changing their business because of what they're now ableing to do.

Karen [00:22:19]:
I teach them every single month a masterclass on a topic that alone is worth so much because they're learning things to help them grow their business. So if we were to hold back on the brilliance that we have, we wouldn't be creating that impact. And I do really believe that we're in business to create impact. Yes, we want to make money. Yes, we need to pay bills. Yes, we want to kind of have a lifestyle that we can afford through the work that we do. But I think deep down, I think most entrepreneurs and business owners are looking to provide service, are looking to put a serve at a deeper level that creates an impact in somebody else's life. But we can't create that impact if we're holding back on the thing that's going to create that impact.

Karen [00:23:14]:
If we are holding it back and we are trying to make it perfect and we're waiting for the right time and we're waiting to feel ready, it's never going to happen. So I encourage you, if you have an idea and you have something that you know is going to make a difference to somebody else, pull it together, get messy, refine it, develop it, evolve it. But get it out there, get it tested, get feedback. But start creating that impact in somebody else's life, because that's where you're going to start making that, that success that you're looking to achieve. And I think if we, if we stick to what we're doing, if we show up and we be of service to the people we're trying to help, we will make the money that we want to make. But we have to start with a first rough draft so that we can create something that truly creates the impact that we want to create. So let's get practical. Four steps to help you do this.

Karen [00:24:21]:
First step is I want you to commit to getting something outlined. Set yourself a deadline and create that very first version of your product. Don't overthink it. Just commit to doing it. Second step, I want you to detach from the idea of perfectionism. Remind yourself that it isn't your final product. It's simply a test, a starting point. It's about learning and not locking yourself into something forever.

Karen [00:24:52]:
You can develop, you can tweak, you can evolve, but you need to start somewhere. Step three, I want you to collect feedback. Once you put it out there, I want you to listen to the feedback from the people that have purchased what you're selling. Ask your audience what they loved, what they would change and what they still need. Because that feedback is going to be gold. And then step four is I want you to iterate it and improve it. Use what you've learned to develop it. Each round that you do will get better, it will get easier, and it will be more impactful because small steps compound into big results.

Karen [00:25:36]:
And every version that you put out there is going to build on the last version you've created. And you cannot do that if you're caught up with trying to make something perfect from the get go. So here's what I want you to take away from today's episode. Don't wait to be perfect. I want you to start with your rough draft. Because it's in the doing, in the evolving that you create something that truly has impact. Your audience is not looking for you to be flawless. They need you to show up and do what you do so that you can help them to move forward.

Karen [00:26:20]:
So commit to getting that first draft done, commit to getting it out there and then refine, develop, evolve it and you will create the impact and the success that you're looking to achieve. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope you gave it the clarity it gave you. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope it gave you some clarity and I hope it sparked some new ideas for you as well. 

Now, if you found this helpful, then I'd love you to share it with a friend or a fellow entrepreneur who's building their business online because it may be exactly what they need to to hear today. And if this episode has you thinking, okay, I'm ready to start turning my valuable expertise into income, then I'd love to invite you to join my free community, the Digital Creators Community hub. Inside, you'll get access to free tools, resources and monthly masterclass replays.

Karen [00:27:29]:
And you'll be the very first to hear about my upcoming workshops. You go and sign up now at www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com/community and I look forward to seeing you in there. I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great rest of your week.