“You don’t have to be perfect to be successful. In fact, sometimes the best growth happens when we embrace imperfection and just keep moving forward.” – Anonymous

Back when I was a freelancer I had a startup client who was very keen to grow her luxury high-ticket brand. I was excited to work with her, our initial meeting had been great and her passion and enthusiasm really shone bright.

However, as the weeks passed I realised that any images or ad copy that I created ended up with 7 revisions before the client was happy for them to be used in online advertising campaigns. I could tell this whole back-and-forth thing was stressing my client out….it was stressing me even more! and her campaigns were never launched on time.

The thing is, I understood where my client was. Her brand was her baby, she was so invested in it that anything less than perfect put out into the world was not ok. She wanted the world to see perfect, anything less, to her, was nausea-inducing.

The pressure to present a flawless brand image is everywhere we look. Glossy images, even glossier videos, and impossibly curated feeds make us, mere mortals, feel inadequate, feeding the belief that to let the curtain slide even just a little, would reveal flaws that could undermine everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

The Dangers of Brand Perfectionism

Being picky, having high standards, call it what you will, I applaud you, I really do. High standards in and of themselves don’t cause delays, it’s when those standards spill over into spending an hour deciding if the text on your image should be left or centre-aligned that things start sliding into paralysis.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the anxiety caused by the mere thought of less than perfect making it’s way into the public arena. The stakes often feel higher for e-commerce owners because their brand represents a personal vision they’ve nurtured from the ground up.

But, if perfectionism is left unchecked, passion and enthusiasm can start to fade. Whereas once you enjoyed the creative process you now find yourself dreading it, and at some point you realise you’re missing opportunities and growth has stalled.

Letting Go of Perfection: The Path to Progress

“Done Is Better Than Perfect”

I have always gone by the mantra “Done Is Better Than Perfect” this doesn’t mean I don’t have high standards – I do, I just don’t let those standards become a blockade for progress.

Let me tell you a story about Brian and Joe, they launched a little-known website called Airbnb long before the product itself was perfect. They had a clunky horrible website to start with, nasty branding and, when nobody would invest, they even sold novelty limited edition cereal boxes to fund it!

They didn’t

• Wait until everything was perfect to launch

They did

• Learn from feedback
• Iterate the platform
• Improve through testing

Take a look at the comparison images below….oh how far they’ve come

Permission to Be Real

A very wise mentor once told me:

You don’t have to be the best brand, the expert, the guru, it’s ok to simply contribute to the conversation.

Your brand is enough to be part of the conversation in your niche, your brand is worthy of being part of your industry just as it is.

And if you need permission, here it is, you have it, now go take some imperfect action. Practice making decisions faster and course-correct as you go along.

• Give Yourself Deadlines: If you’re anything like me you need a deadline to create that sense of urgency, without them I’m stuffed. Stick to your deadlines, even if your work is “It’ll do”—it can always be improved later
• Launch before you’re ready and focus on learning: Challenge yourself to release products, campaigns, or content before you feel they are 100% perfect. Then ask yourself ‘what have I learnt from this?’ rather than ‘what results have I achieved?’
• Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself when things don’t go as planned. Give yourself a massive ‘high five’ for effort and progress
• Set Boundaries For Revisions: For the love of God and for the sake of your freelancers’ sanity set a boundary of no more than 3 revisions.

Conclusion: The Power of Imperfect Action

Ultimately, perfectionism keeps eCommerce owners trapped in a loop of doing more while achieving less. Embrace action, especially when you’re starting out, small steps, deep breaths, repeat after me, “Perfection is procrastination in disguise”