Stop Trying to Be Perfect as a Mompreneur

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Do you struggle with perfection as a mom boss? Do you want everything to be done perfectly? Learn why you will never be a perfect mompreneur – and gain some essential perfection truths.

It’s okay to not be perfect!

In fact, I’m never going to be.

And neither are you.

Honestly, there will never be a perfect mompreneur.

We all have short comings. And make mistakes.

But, one important thing I’ve discovered since I started dabbling in this online money making world back in 2015 is that…

You don’t have to be perfect to make money online.

I’ve done a lot of things wrong over the years. And despite my failures, I’m still earning consistent income from my house. While homeschooling a crew of kids.

Perfectionism isn’t required to be a mompreneur. In fact, the quest from it can be a hindrance, causing you more harm than good.

Perfection Can Hold You Back

No matter where you are in your mompreneur journey, the quest for perfection can hold you back.

If you’re just starting out, your quest for perfection might sound like these common phrases:

• I can’t start until I have the perfect idea
• My schedule has to be perfect before I start
• I’m going to read all the books and take all the courses until I can do it perfectly the first time…

For mompreneurs who are a little bit established, it may look like this:

• What is the perfect Facebook Live strategy?
• This content calendar needs to be perfect
• My blog post is going to be perfect and go viral

The problem with these things?

If all you are doing is seeking perfection, you are stuck in a constant cycle of gathering information and comparing yourself to others. You aren’t actually doing anything.

You’re just waiting for perfect.

And since that’s never going to happen…your life will not change. You won’t take action. And you won’t see results.

Not Listening to Perfection Truths Can Make You Quit

Perfection is a pipe-dream. It’s not going to happen.

And if you don’t listen to perfection truths, you may quit before your time arrives.

Perfection tells you:

• You didn’t publish a new blog post last week – you don’t have what it takes to be a mommy blogger
• Your Pin is ugly! No one is going to repin that. Give it up already.
• You just binge watched your favorite Netflix show when you were supposed to write a blog post. You suck. Stop pretending you’re going to make it and go watch another episode…

Do you see how quickly perfection can talk you out of taking action?

It’s incredibly powerful if you let it be. Like mompreneur guilt, perfection will make you feel like a failure.

You Don’t Have to Do It Like “the Experts”

A winning strategy for one person may not work for you. Stop putting so much of your faith in these “experts” and “influencers” and start experimenting.

See what works for your clients. And your audience.

Try something. If it doesn’t work, learn from it and move on.

Perfection will keep you from trying things on your own, and from using common sense.

It will tell you things have to be done just so because so-and-so said so.

And if you fail to do it exactly so, you will beat yourself up and declare that you aren’t cut out for this.

It’s crazy to spell it out like that, but I know it’s happening. I’ve struggled with this..

But here’s some perfection truths for you:

Experts aren’t perfect either.

Nope. They still mess up. And fail.

Ever gotten one of those “oops, wrong link!” emails? That’s proof right there that the online entrepreneur that you hold in high regard isn’t perfect.

Mistakes happen. So own them. Fix them. And move on.

Don’t spend all day letting your thoughts go all negative because you messed up your “perfect” vision of what you’d do.

Be Willing to Learn as You Go

Perfect wants you to wait safely in your little routines until you have a perfect plan. It wants you to study and study and read and read and never act.

Perfection wants you to stay stagnant, and it convinces you that stagnant is the best place to be. That you deserve to be stagnant because you aren’t perfect yet.

But perfection truths tell you that this is insanity. You can never achieve goodness or greatness if you don’t practice.

You must get hands on, practical experience in the thing you want to do. It’s the only way to get better.

The quest for perfection is a big fat excuse that many people use to avoid taking action.

Perfection as an Excuse

Honestly, I’ve used this excuse too.

I’ve passed over some freelance writing gigs because I wasn’t a perfect candidate. I had almost everything they were looking for, and I knew I could do the job, but because I didn’t check every box in the “desired qualifications” list, I didn’t even bother to apply.

I’ve avoided posting on Facebook, because I don’t have the “perfect” strategy down yet.  So instead, it’s not really doing much.

What to Do Instead

If you’re struggling like I have at times, it’s time for some more perfection truths:

You can do this. You have the skills you need to be a mompreneur.

What you need to do is quickly decide what you are going to do, and then do it.

Take a baby step today. And another one tomorrow.

Before you know it, you’ll look up and realize that four years have passed. And that you’ve:

• Paid off all your debt
• Replaced your old salary
• Met some incredible people
• Learned SO much

But, if you stick around waiting for perfect, your life is probably going to look very similar to how it does now.

Are Letting Your Desire to Be Perfect Stop You?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be good. Or even great.

We should strive for those things.

But, if you’re striving for perfection, you are missing out on wonderful opportunities. You can’t let this quest for something that’s not achievable stop you from living your dream.

You can’t let fear of not being perfect make you do nothing instead.

Because it’s way better to do something, imperfectly, than to do nothing perfectly.

Do Something

Take a minute today, and do something to help you reach your goal.

• Write a blog post.
• Launch a blog.
• Make a pin in Canva and save it on Pinterest. (Pinterest Ninja can help!)
•  Start your freelance career.
• Apply for that gig.

Just. Do. something.

Even if it’s not perfect. Because it won’t be.

There’s always room for improvement.

It’s okay. Take a deep breath and tell yourself, “This isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough, so I’m doing it anyways.” Then do it.

Keep learning.

Keep improving.

But don’t ever let your quest for perfection stop you. You are good enough! You can do this.

So take the first step. It won’t seem so scary once you’ve done that.

Then take the next step.

Take baby steps past your fear of failing because you’re not perfect.

Action is the Enemy of Perfection

When you act, you can get over your desire to be perfect. You can fail and get back up again with confidence.

If you’re really struggling with this concept, I highly recommend Jon Acuff’s book, Finish. This one really opened my eyes to the power that perfection held over me.

It was insanity! And I’m so thankful to be moving past my desire for perfection.

Give yourself grace – and do something.

And if you know a mompreneur struggling with this, send these perfection truths her way!

This post was originally published in December of 2016. It’s been updated and refreshed.

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