Internet Business — Implementation Comes After Planning

Yes, planning and fine-tuning the “who, what, where, why and how” of your Internet business is vital to its success. But success is unlikely to come knocking on your door anytime soon if you don’t get your feet off the ground and execute that plan of yours.

There are many people out there who are extremely meticulous planners. You know the kind. They’ll draw up a plan so intricate, that it covers every possible detail imaginable, and probably even contains several best and worst-case scenarios plus an odd back-up plan or two. That’s all swell, until they wake up one day a year later and realize they’re still planning while others who started out with them have an up-and-running Internet business—a few of them even a profitable one.

So what’s the catch? The catch is a 15-letter word that we are all very familiar with: procrastination. It’s that torturous battle to get things done on time, or done at all. That e-mail you never get down to answering, that e-book you simply “haven’t had time” to write, that potential client you’ve been meaning to contact. It’s that Internet business plan you still haven’t implemented.

Why do people procrastinate? Is it because they’re lazy or because they lack the will power? Surprisingly, in most cases, it’s neither of those. Procrastination is usually a symptom of being a perfectionist.

Take our meticulous planner for instance: he gets a brilliant idea, he puts incredible effort into outlining his execution plan, but somehow, the plan just never seems good enough. So he puts his thinking cap back on and continues to plan, hoping to do so until the outcome is perfect. By definition, the perfectionist never achieves perfection.

The result is, as I call it, a vicious circle of planning-thinking-planning. He rarely actually executes the plan for fear of not doing it right, or for fear of rejection. He’s afraid of feeling helpless, powerless or disappointed if things don’t go smoothly or straight up. He might even be afraid of getting negative feedback from other people.

To err is human and nobody is perfect. And so, we must learn to forgive ourselves more for our mistakes and learn from them. Get started no matter what—despite those fears. You can always fine-tune at later stages.

Stand up before everyone else. Jump over a hurdle in lightning speed so a thought of “should I or not” doesn’t have a chance to occur. Kick butt fear of rejection by having confidence front and center in your mind. Confidence beats every fear.

One beauty of the Internet is that it is an ever-evolving and versatile environment, where many issues can quickly be resolved. It’s learning curve is steep and you will master many obstacles in a short period of time. Every expert started out as a novice at one point in time.

A good technique to curb procrastination is making a list of your goals and then utilizing The Power Of Deadlines. Also, have a look at Brian Tracy’s short yet powerful video I posted the other Sunday. Giving yourself a pat on the shoulder once in a while would be beneficial too (instead of damaging words and thoughts about yourself.)

But most of all, be brave, understand your fears, and get over them. If you do that, you’re well on your way to starting your very own successful Internet business. Or…

How often do you postpone?

How do you handle perfectionism?

How about fear?

What are your plans for overcoming daily hurdles?

—Marcus Hochstadt