Running your own small business is a constant struggle. Not only do you have to be every department imaginable (Marketing, IT, HR, Finance), but you also need to be just this side of NOT perfect that you can still get stuff done. If you’re wondering if you’re a perfectionist or have recently been accused of being one, here’s six sure signs that you are a perfectionist with a capital P:
- You are very hard on yourself
- You see mistakes when others don’t see any
- You need everything done in a specific order and a specific way
- You don’t allow for mistakes
- You detest feedback
- You define yourself by your achievements, which you rate with increasingly higher standards
Sound familiar? Sound like they could be you? For more information and a bit more detail on how to handle these traits, read this article.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why all of those qualities would be bad for business, but I’m going to anyway: by constantly striving for perfection and waiting for everything to be “just right”, you won’t get anything done. You won’t launch that website, you won’t hit Send on your mailchimp newsletters, you probably won’t even write a blog. Oh and do I need to tell you how that might impact on your staff? Nobody will want to work with you and you will be the boss from H.E.L.L.
You are setting yourself up to fail.
When I first launched my business, my website wasn’t up (or maybe it was, but it wasn’t perfect). I let everybody know on Facebook that I had finally “done it” and started my business. It didn’t take long for people to start giving me advice about my website and how it should be this, it should be that and blah blah blah. And you know what? I didn’t care because I was just happy to have something up there. Was I embarrassed? Maybe a little. But you know that famous quote by Linkedin Founder Reid Hoffman, If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.
So I’ll take that, thank-you very much! And four years down the track, I’m still here.
Clearly I don’t struggle too much with perfectionism. My blogs and newsletters sometimes go out with spelling and grammatical errors (is THAT even correct?) and sometimes even the quotes I create for my blogs are incorrect. One of my most pinned images IS WRONG! It was only pointed out to me years down the track by a divine lady I used to work with. Here it is, here. Can you see where my mistake is? Embarrassing but I share it here with you to show you how imperfect I actually am 
But anyway – it’s time for me to post this blog. I could spend days agonising over whether I’ve done everything properly, but I’m just going to hit Publish and wish you all a beautiful day!
Are you a reformed perfectionist? If so, I want to hear from you! Let me know how you got over it, or whether you’re still struggling with it.
Hardcastle Social Media is an independent social media consultancy based in the Inner Brisbane suburb of Paddington. We provide strategic social media marketing to organisations of all sizes and have recently started offering newsletter services too! Specialising in Facebook & Instagram business page management we provide services from setting up your Facebook or Instagram business page through to total management of your current platforms. Contact us today on 0401 505 423 or info@hardcastlesocialmedia.com.au. We offer expert social media advice and look forward to discussing your business needs.