Can you think of anything in this world that’s absolutely perfect? If you can, it’s probably doubtful that it’s man-made. Are you making the mistake of treating yourself, or your business as if it has to be perfect? If you are you really need to stop.
Too often, you strive to achieve perfection in yourself and in your business, and all you’re doing is giving yourself an unrealistic goal. Stop white-knuckling life and stop trying to be perfect. No one expects you to be perfect, except you.
Sometimes you have to let go of the reigns a little. Sometimes you have to loosen your grip on all the things you try to control. Sometimes you have to trust that spontaneity will prove to be just as great as charting the perfect step.
Why is this so important?
It’s essential in your business because people want to do business with people they trust. And the best way to gain people’s trust is to show them just how imperfect you really are, and just how relatable you can be.
You want to be approachable. People don’t want to think “oh there goes Mr. or Mrs. Perfect.” They want to see your moles, and warts and your hair a little frazzled. It makes you human, and makes you like them. And when you’re like them, they trust you and they want to do business with you.
Mistakes will happen in your life, and they will happen in your business. You’ll have to say I'm sorry once in a while, and you’ll have to make up for the mistakes you make. That’s ok, it’s allowed. You’re allowed to make mistakes, because when you do it lets other people know that they can make mistakes, too. And they will too.
The key is to be able to make mistakes, reveal your vulnerabilities, and to be able to recover from them. It’s that recovery that will make you a stronger business person, because it’s during that time that you not only say “I made a mistake, it happens, and I’m sorry,” but you also say, “I’m going to fix it.” And you do just that. You fix the mistake.
This can be challenging for some people. You want everything in your business to be just right and to be perfect, because you think that’s going to set you apart. There’s a difference, though, in doing things right and doing things perfectly. You can do everything right and still make honest mistakes. And when you work to do things right, you’re able to forgive yourself when you make mistakes, because you know you were doing what you thought was the right thing.
But when you try to be perfect, it creates stress when you make mistakes. It makes it harder for you to recover because you didn’t plan to have things not go according to your perfect plan.
In life, and in your business, you have to hold on loosely. You have to stop trying so hard to be so perfect. When you stop white-knuckling the controls, you’ll find your business is more fun, more of what you wanted it to be when you started it.
You can achieve a lot while being imperfect. You will be imperfect. It’s easy to be imperfect – you have to be willing to forgive yourself. You have to know and understand that mistakes are going to happen. When you realize that, you will have better relationships with your clients, and everyone else too.
Diane Conklin is an author, entrepreneur, coach, consultant, event planner, speaker and copywriter. Diane is a direct response marketing expert who specializes in showing small business owners how to integrate their online and offline marketing strategies, media and methods, to get maximum results from their marketing dollars. Diane also shows entrepreneurs and small business owners how to outperform their competition by measuring their marketing, and strategically use multi-media campaigns to stand alone in their marketplace as the go-to provider for their products and services.
She is the co-founder of Complete Marketing Systems and for more than 15 years has been showing small business owners how to start, build and grow Information Marketing businesses where they take knowledge they already possess and turn it into passive, ongoing, leveraged profits.
Through her company, Complete Marketing Systems, Diane helps event promoters market, plan and manage their live events, workshops and seminars, using cost effective, multi-step marketing strategies that put butts in seats, without the promoters losing theirs. As an Event Marketing & Planning expert, Diane has planned and produced multiple events grossing over $1,000,000.00.
As a business and marketing strategist, Diane has been involved in numerous campaigns grossing over $1,000,000.00 in sales several times in her career.
Diane has proprietary home study systems, coaching programs, and provides done-for-you services in the areas of Social Media, Information Marketing, Direct Response Marketing, Direct Mail and Event Marketing, Planning and Management.
As a speaker, Diane has shared the stage with the likes of Joan Rivers, George Foreman, Dan Kennedy, Bill Glazer, Lee Milteer, Harry Dent, Lee Phillips, Fabienne Fredrickson, James Malinchak, Dov Baron, Peggy McColl, Marshall Sylver, Alex Mandossian, Marie Forleo, Barbara Corcoran and many others.
Diane was voted Information Marketer of the Year for her innovative marketing strategies and campaigns.