If Nike didn’t have dibs on the slogan “Just do it” I would totally use it for my business because teaching solopreneurs how to be confident about taking action is my FAVE!

In this week’s episode of The Dare to Grow Show we’re chatting about why it’s so hard to stop over-planning and overthinking and focus on DOING.

I’m sharing an example from my own business, how I conned my bf into taking fast imperfect action, and an example from one of my students who decided to JUST DO IT too!

Resources + Links

Join my Dare to Grow Coaching Program and learn how to create + launch a digital product. Enrollment opens August 3rd (for the last time this year!) ➜ xosarah.com/coaching

I’m all about doing things that are fun in your business, doing things you have passion for, but when you are the one doing most of the work and you aren’t able to hire help yet, sometimes you have to put on your CEO pants and just do it.

So let me set the scene for you…

I am in the bedroom closet, wearing sweatpants, crazy bun (per usual) and I’m standing on a stepladder to record the first 5 or 6 podcast episodes. (because I hadn’t been able to adjust my mic stand yet to make it lower – thankfully my boyfriend fixed that issue and I’m now recording safely standing on the ground)

At the same time I’m in a Facebook group for podcasters and every day there are questions about the right mic, headphones, editing program, podcast host, sound proofing, audio levels. 

And I’m over here recording straight into Quicktime on my laptop with a mic I’ve had for 5 years, and editing episodes myself with Garageband.

I picked a podcast host without doing much research. I didn’t hire an editor until I had already completed and published 6 episodes. 

Essentially I launched my podcast with a totally janky setup.

All of this to say – you need to start before it’s perfect and you need to trust your instincts and your choices.

Especially with something like podcasting – you don’t need the best equipment to get started, you don’t need the best podcast host, you don’t need the best recording studio. (I’m still in my closet recording this episode!)

So stop and think about your next goal – are you having the “I needs”?

I need a better…

I need to research…

I need to ask about…

I need to set up….

What if you just picked something or used what you have right now?

Let me give you another example.

My boyfriend Craig and I created an online shop and all the products in it IN ONE DAY. 

Now this was fully me dragging him along for the ride because that’s just how I work.

I get an idea, I think about it for a week or so, and if I decide I’m going through with it I get down to business. (Or i put it on my calendar and get down to business on that specific date) I don’t screw around.

Craig coaches college rowing and we’ve been building the website for his team for the past month.

One Sunday, we’re talking about website edits and he mentions that he wants to add a shop sell some t-shirts, to which I say “let’s do it!”

If you ever hang out with me, you will find out that that means, let’s do the entire thing, right now.

So we Googled the best t-shirt printers that do drop shipping (that means they print and mail the shirts and we don’t have to do a thing) and he figured out which one to use knowing we could always switch.

I created three designs. (and because I’m 36 and not a cool college student I totally went on the H&M website to see what the kids are into these days) Craig set up the products on the printing site and I set up the shop on the team’s site. And in one day we had the entire thing set up and pretty much ready to launch.

Now what do most people do with an idea like that?

Most people would think about it for weeks (maybe months or years), come up with a million designs, maybe put out a poll to see what people liked, research and ask people 1000 questions to find the best drop shipper. They would research all the ecommerce options. 

They would essentially stall themselves in research and indecision before they even started.

I want you to remember that – creating something new takes so much time because you are wasting time OVERTHINKING and planning instead of doing, testing, seeing what actually happens when you take action.

One more example in learning how to just do it.

Heidi is one of my Dare to Grow students – she helps women balance their life and career. She jumped into my coaching program to create her first digital product when her daughter was just 6-months-old. Can you imagine having a 6-month-old and trying to get ANYTHING done, let alone create an entire product from scratch??

She actually told me – this was the worst time ever to start this program, but I’m doing it anyway. I know that my business needs a change.

Not only did she create a digital product, she started bringing her in-person coaching online, created a 5 day challenge, and has become an Instagram stories rockstar. You can find her on instagram @heidi_jones_coaching and see her literally running while pushing her daughter in a stroller and talking to her phone making videos.

With all these examples, what I’m getting at is:

1. There is never going to be a perfect time to start – something new will always pop up the second life feels like it’s calming down. 2020 is really drilling this into us this year.
2. You don’t need to have your ducks lined up perfectly to show up, to hit publish, to launch – the internet is always adjustable. You will learn and evolve as you go. No matter how perfect you think it is – you will end up changing it anyway.
3. You can do things SO much faster if you focus on making decisions and taking action. Thinking and researching and planning can be a one day task – you are not building an entire school, you’re building ONE product.

One more note about why people don’t just do it – they don’t expect it to be that easy. Easy means you did something wrong. Easy means it won’t be as good. Easy means it won’t be successful.

And that just isn’t true.

You are hella smart, you can figure things out, you can trust your decisions. And you will learn so much more from people USING the thing you created than wasting time researching and planning. 

So if you need some of my just do it-style accountability and you’re thinking about launching a digital product, enrollment for my 12 week coaching program opens on August 3rd. (This will be the last session I’m running this year.)

So if you want to grow your audience, your email list, and learn how to create and launch a digital product – head over to xosarah.com/coaching and make sure you’re on the waitlist because space is limited.