It's Already Good Enough

The Perfectionist's Dilemma

Shortly, after graduating from college I had my first job interview. It was at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in New York City. I felt confident about the interviewing process based on my extensive research and preparation as advised in my Google search of “How to Have a Successful Interview”. The interviewer asked me all the questions that I was expecting related to my education in IT and engineering, my internship experience, and where I saw myself in the next five years.

The last two questions, I was not expecting. As we winded down the interview, she asked, “Give me an example of your strength and an example of your weakness”. I quickly put together the answers in my mind and responded, “My weakness is that I don’t take criticism very well, but it's something that I've become more aware of and I'm working on it”. I continued, “One of my strengths is that I am a perfectionist. I love details and making sure projects and assignments are completed well and as expected”.

A few weeks later I received the news that I had gotten the job.

Fast forward, years later as I transitioned from the corporate world into my entrepreneurial journey, I still used most of the lessons and experiences I learned during that time, except for one.

If you can imagine in a corporate, IT-focused role, details are everything. From billable hours to verifying binary code, precision and perfectionism are the key drivers of success. What I learned much later in the start-up world is that these same traits lead to a loss of precious time, resources, and ultimately business failure.

The problem with perfection.

When you're starting a business whether it is a product or service, it's crucial to start with an MVP (minimum viable product). This MVP is a “good enough” version of your idea that you can offer to your prospects. Please note, the MVP is not meant to be cute or sexy or the final offering you imagine. The purpose and benefit of the MVP are as follows:

1. Test if people are willing to buy it.
2. Make adjustments based on the feedback of your audience.

The danger of perfecting your concept into the most precise translation of your idea is that you will more than likely fall in love with it because you've invested so much time and energy into it. This will make it nearly impossible to obtain the necessary feedback to make your business sustainable and profitable.

Perfectionism as a Crutch

Another critical challenge with perfectionism is that we can sometimes use it as a crutch because we are actually too afraid to launch. As long as we use the excuse of, “I’m perfecting my idea” or “I’m waiting for the right time to launch”, we ultimately are holding ourselves back.

Let my journey be a lesson to you in getting your MVP out as quickly as possible. In the first few years of my first business, I spent too much time, energy, and resources “perfecting” the products, just to have to change them later on to meet the market needs. This was a difficult time because I had already become emotionally attached to the early products without the feedback that I needed to really grow the business.

Time for action

Action Step: Whether you are a start-up or a seasoned entrepreneur, offering new or updated products and services will be key to developing a profitable business over time. Take 15 minutes to decide what MVP offering you can develop and quickly test in the market.