“You don’t have to be great to get started but…”

I was reminded of this quote from Les Brown recently;

“You don’t have to be great to get started but you do have to get started to be great”.

That is so true in just about all areas of our lives isn’t it?

It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about business, our relationships or anything else in life, we have to get started first.

The old Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Without that first step there will be no journey.

Those of you that watched The Secret video will maybe remember the example that Jack Canfield gave about the headlights of our cars only lighting up the road 100 to 200 yards in front of us and yet if we just trust that the next 200 yards will unfold, and the next 200 yards will keep opening up for us we can drive from New York to California.

Getting started is so relevant to marketing online. It is so easy to just be a perpetual student, always getting ready, nearly there, getting close now – while all the time we are just really procrastinating.

I have to admit that getting started has always been my biggest issue that I have to constantly fight against. I enjoy the development process so much that I’m constantly drawn to creating another offering rather than launching the one I was just working on.

I have to keep checking what I’m doing to make sure I don’t fall into the trap of creating yet one more product to sit on my hard drive.

Several years ago now I sat in a seminar listening to Marlon Sanders telling us that nearly done, half done, be done next week Marlon, just need to make a few more tweaks – ain’t done! and ain’t done makes you no money!

The fact of the matter is that it’s only buy buttons out on the Internet that makes us money. And when it comes to getting buy buttons out there it’s important to get it done – not perfect.

That’s not to say that we should put up any old rubbish, not at all, there’s enough of that out there already.

No, what I mean is don’t keep tinkering with your products to get them perfect because they’ll never be perfect. Get them good enough and up for sale, you can always improve them as you get feedback from your buyers.

Microsoft have been doing that since the start of the company and Bill Gates has been the world’s richest man for years now as a result.

I like the idea of the minimal viable product (MVP) which asks us to decide what is the minimum we can include in a product offering whilst ensuring it’s still viable.

We can add enhancements in future upgrades paid for from the revenue of sales of the MVP.

There is so much PLR available online today that is clogging up people’s hard drives and never seeing the light of day.

That PLR material could be published online and at least have a chance of generating you some income.

To go back to Les Brown, you don’t have to be great to get started but you do have to get started. It all starts with that first product. Then you can work on the next, and the next. The more you do the better you will become at product creation and the sales will build from there.

It’s the same with building a list and marketing to it. Don’t put off mailing to your list until you have hundreds or thousands on it, mail to it when there is just you and your mother.

Get into the habit of sending out a mailing even if it’s only once a week or a few times a month. As your list grows you will have formed a habit that is the basis of a million dollar business for lots of people online in all sorts of niches.

Get started today, and you have the chance to become great in the not too distant future.

Until next time,

Kindest regards,

Trevor

As always I welcome your comments or questions down below this post.