When to press the button......

There are times when you are running your business that you have to accept that less than perfect is sufficient. You could be launching a website, or implementing change – but being a perfectionist is the worst sin for budding entrepreneurs.

Even if you are contemplating starting a business, of course you need to do your research, if people continually delay the launch you are in danger of never getting to the starting line and achieving what you set out to do.

Once you have 80% or even 60% of your project completed it may be enough to launch it. The effort / reward curve once you have got to this stage tails off dramatically so the work you put in to complete the final 20% is so great that the rewards can appear to be almost lost.

There is a great rule in business called the 80/20 rule - it suggests 20% effort provides 80% of the rules with the reverse being true.

You really don’t need to be a perfectionist and here are some of the things to think about….

• Your idea of perfection may not be the same as your target audience – i.e.: do your customers really want the items you spent the past 3 months doing and want some other features instead.

• Research is your enemy (but your best friend) – have a core product/offering and then add features in time if you wait there is nothing there! For example Google launched their search engine and have been honing it ever since.

• You can start small and build it bigger – don’t be put off because you want a business today that earns you the income you need. Be prepared to start off small but in most cases being a large niche player is a real strategy for long term success.

• Business success is always a long term goal – expanding on the above observation many people still believe that they will make it big in a short time but it will usually take time - by starting small you can hone your skills and lower the risk.

So if you have a new website that’s “nearly ready” or are thinking of starting a business why not launch it today. If you are having trouble getting your business started and need sound commercial advice please contact Richard Dare at Dare Accountancy on 01202 875900.