Ep #17 The 80% Rule to Get More Done

Perfectionism will steal your dreams because you stop moving forward.  It keeps you safe and allows you to never get it out into the world. Whether it is a product or a social media post or an email. I see it all the time with my clients. They stay stuck under the thumb of perfectionism.

I offer all of my clients the 80% rule and I give them permission to put it into action. Learn more about this and three ideas you can put into action to get more done and achieve your goals!


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Transcript

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Sari: 0:04

I'm Sari Kimbell and I've done just about everything in the food industry. I have helped hundreds of packaged food business entrepreneurs and now I want to help you make your delicious dream a reality. Whether you want to be successful at farmer's markets, online, or wholesale on the store shelves, Food Business Success is your secret ingredient, I will show you how to avoid an expensive hobby, and instead run a profitable food business. Now let's jump. Well, hello there and welcome back. I think you are going to really get a lot out of this episode if you have ever had anybody call you a perfectionist or if you identify yourself that way. And I know a lot of you do. But before I get started, I wanted to take a minute and just read a review that came in on iTunes. And I just want to make a request that reviews really help me grow the podcast and reach more people just like you who want to start or grow a packaged food business. And it's super easy to do if you head over to iTunes on your phone. And just search for Food Business Success, like you're trying to find a new podcast. And there'll be a spot there with the five stars that you can rate and review. So Chris with Boons Red Onions, and I think we've talked before, he said, Thank you for starting a podcast Sari. I did a webinar with you last year and found it very insightful. I'm launching my pickled red onion business at the farmers market in a few weeks. Your podcast is so helpful for the info and the encouragement. Thanks so much. Well, thank you, Chris. I really appreciate the five star review. And if you're listening, please just take a minute and head over and leave me a review there. I really appreciate it. Okay, let's talk about perfectionism. I am a recovering perfectionist. If you have known me for a number of years, you know that I have very deep seated perfectionist tendencies. I am terrified of making a mistake and failing and being judged. Can you relate? I'm guessing you can. And here's how I know it's a problem. Because I have this conversation multiple times a week, sometimes multiple times in a day. I know that you struggle with the same perfectionist tendencies. You tell me I just want it to be perfect. It has to be perfect. I don't want to put it out there unless it's 100%. I know you struggle with this. So here's my rule, 80%. B- work. Did you just freak out for a second there? Did your heart stop? You're a perfectionist. It probably did. You're thinking like, No, I have to do this perfect. I cannot put this out in the world. And I will tell you that I truly believe that perfectionism is going to hold you back from achieving your big dreams. If you stay stuck in perfectionism, this is a way of your brain keeping you safe, right? Like, you're never going to take action until it's perfect. And it's never going to be perfect. It just won't. So what if you give yourself permission, so you literally say, Sari, I give you permission to do B- work, to put work out in the world. And I will tell you that this concept which I am borrowing from Brooke Castillo with the Life Coach School, this concept of B- work has changed my business, it has revolutionized how much I can get done. I am so freaking productive. I get so much done because I'm willing to put B- work out into the world. And you guys tell me and I'm okay with that. I get emails that say Oh, there's a typo in your email. Oh, there's a grammar issue in your on your website on this web page. Oh, something you know, same thing and social media posts or in my contract. And there would have been a time when and I bet you guys just thinking about getting an email like that, you probably can feel this in your body but I would get that like white heat of shame rush over me. I remember when I was at Whole Foods Market and I was in charge social media when I was the marketing director there, and I would put something out and somebody would comment and say, oh, there's a typo. And oh my gosh, I would like, like, it would plague me for days, right? I mean, I would just be like thinking about it and feel so ashamed and so like, how could I put that out there? And like, I could have just gone back and fixed a right, but I like, I just ruminated about it. And that's what stops me, that's what would have stopped me from putting out work into the world, right, because I was so afraid of being judged. But I had to that was my job to put up social media posts, to put out emails, right? So giving myself the freedom and I'm going to give you permission and the freedom to put out B- work. And there's actually a secondary bonus that comes with doing B- work and putting the 80% rule into play is that you actually develop so much more compassion for yourself and for others. Wwhen you see an email from someone else that has a typo in it, you end up saying, oh, wow, good for them. Right? And ultimately, that builds up your own compassion for yourself, and allows you to put that out into the world with a little bit more confidence. I want you to really start adopting this philosophy and I tell you, you will get so much done, you will become so productive. People are like how on earth are you doing a podcast, a YouTube channel, social media, you're doing lives, you've got the website, you're doing client work, B- work. That's how I get so much done. And the more I do, the easier it gets, and the more experience I have, right? So it's like, I get practice. And then the next pieces always come easier and easier and easier. But when you're stuck in perfectionism, this is a way of keeping you safe. I want you to think about like, what does perfectionism what, what function does it serve? It is a way for your brain to say, Hey, we want to be like your brain just wants to be safe and happy and seek pleasure. And when you're starting a business, you are definitely not doing those things. You are not safe, you are probably in discomfort, you are going to be putting yourself out there in new ways that, you know, open yourself up to judgment by others and judgment by yourself. And so perfectionism does serve a purpose in your life to keep you safe, and it will keep you inaction. And, and I don't mean in action. I mean, without action. Like you will not put push publish on that post write that blog post, if you are so worried about it being perfect. So like I said, I had this conversation three times yesterday, one with a client who already has a product and has a website and we're doing a rebrand and we were talking about doing a flash sale, and then one with a client in Food Business Success who does not have a product yet. And she says to me, you know, they're they're working on their prototype and getting it straight she's like, but I'm just, I'm such a perfectionist, I don't want to put this product out there unless it's 100%. And they've gone back and made batch after batch after batch after batch. And I said to her, I was like 80%. You have to get something out into the world. In entrepreneurship terms and startup world, we would call this your MVP, a minimum viable product. What is the baseline product that you will accept putting out in the world it is not perfect, but it is the minimum amount that you are willing to put out into the world. So you have to be willing to put your MVP out there and do that 80% work. Then you get feedback, then you get real world feedback, not just the feedback in your head that saying it's got to be perfect. But you find out what is important to people with your product. You know, the thing that you're like, obsessing about that one thing and like oh, that's just not right. And it's you know, you know, the way that the product is supposed to taste or look like that just isn't right. But you are unwilling to try and put it out there and trust that maybe other people don't really know that it's supposed to taste like that or look like that. Like, that's when you can actually get real world feedback and come back. And if you want to circle back around, and come back and make it better, make it more perfect the next time? Absolutely, I am all for that. But done is better than perfect. And I want you to get your product out into the world. So besides just giving you permission to do B- work, to write that blog post, to write that social media post, to do a Facebook Live and not have it be perfect, to do that flash sale to start to package that product, right, and I know what some of you are saying. Let me be clear, this is passable work, this is not C work, this is not D work, not F work. This is passable, but not perfect. Put that label on there, get the product packaged. My caveat is don't go all in and get 5000 units of a pre-printed package before you've actually done the testing. And you do the tweaks and you come back and you rework it and you get your label reviewed. So that's my caveat there, but get it out into the world in a small quantity when possible. So yes, you have permission now. I want you to write it down, write on a sticky note and say 80% is done. And you will get worked out into the world. I give myself permission to do B- work. So I'm laughing to myself, because I have to tell you that I am actually right now I am editing those podcasts. And it is so hard for me to not go back and rerecord pieces of this to actually just be like, it's B- work. Remember that Sari, it's B- work. So I just had to throw that in there that you're seeing a little behind the scenes here. But it is so hard for me. So I need the reminder all the time, I have a sticky note right on my desk that says B- work. All right, hopefully, I've drilled that into your head. And now I want to share a couple of tools with you that have really helped me to put this into practice. Because I don't like putting out B- work, I want to put out A+ work every single time. But sometimes we actually have to create situations that force us into doing this. So that we can get more done. I want you to think about changing your mindset to be not about here's my to do list with 50 things on here that I need to get done. But thinking about it as a results list. So what is the result you are trying to accomplish? Maybe it's to launch that flash sale. Maybe it's to actually get the product packaged with a label in a package in the kitchen and get it out that prototype out for sale. So in either of those cases, if you're if those are your results, then you start working backwards to say what are the things that I need to do to produce those results. So let's take the flash sale, for instance, we need to create a graphic, we need to create an email, we need to create a discount code, we need to create a social media post. Are we going to boost that post? So you start building the list around what is going to create the results. So it's not just a busy list where you just have a whole bunch of things, but you're really thinking in terms of this results package. And that's where you can start feeding in some more creative ideas. And if you are willing to do B- work, then you are going to be able to do a whole heck of a lot more for that flash sale than if everything has to be perfect. So you can actually do so much more to support it, to do more posts on your social media, to write great emails, and not be so worried about whether they're perfect or not. So if you think in terms of results versus just to do's, you're going to get really tight about what you need to do and then the other piece of that is to constrain your time. Have you ever noticed that if you give yourself two days to write a blog or to do a post, it will take you two days? If you say it's going to take me 30 minutes, it will take you 30 minutes. In addition to being results focused, I want you to really constrain your time and give yourself urgency. You know we talked about procrastination, right? Like think about when you're in school and you had a book report due. If it wasn't due for a month, I mean, really, when did you start reading that book, right, or writing that report? It's not until we get pretty close up to the deadline that we get really serious for most of us anyway about writing that report. So we need to put the same kind of constraints on our schedule and on our time, so that we get those things done quickly. And you're definitely going to be much more willing to do B- work when the urgency is high. I think that's why we do get that term paper done in a short amount of time, because you're just like, well screw it, I just got to get something out there, right? So by creating sort of your own deadlines, so if you put this into action, the way I do it is I have five things I need to get done in a day. And you can make a game out of it and give them time constraints. So put it on your calendar, when you wake up, you set your five priorities. So let's say it's the flash sale, and you know, you need to write an email and social media content, and you are going to set a timer for 45 minutes and 45 minutes is up they're done, right? You have to post whatever you've done. That's it, you don't negotiate with yourself, you don't go back, you don't try to do it over, make it better you put it out into the world when that timer goes off. Giving yourself some deadlines and creating urgency. And the key here is that you have to be willing to honor that, right? You have to believe your own urgency. Because if you say well, yeah, really, I mean, yeah, I'll get it done in an hour. But really, I'll do it, you know, I can get it done anytime you're not going to get it done. And perfectionism will sink in, and then it will never ever get done. One other idea that just came to me that has really helped me become a true recovering perfectionist is really thinking, getting out of my own way and not making it about me, but making it about my customer. Who is it that I want to serve? And if I really believe that they need this, let's just take your product, for example. If I really know that, like your life would be so much better if you knew about my product, that if you could just find this, your life, like you would enjoy your life so much more. I talked to so many of you, I know that there are 1000s and 1000s of people who have a business, a food business dream that they want to start, that they have started a product and they're flailing and they know they need help. And I believe so completely that Food Business Success will help them will alleviate the doubt will alleviate confusion and overwhelm. I believe in this program like if I had the cure for cancer, right? I know I think it's crazy that that I talk with you and then you won't sign up, you want to keep doing this on your own and suffering and getting stuck and it taking so much longer than it needs to. So I am willing to put myself out there and be judged. And that's okay. Because I believe in Food Business Success that hard. That's how I want you to believe in your product and your business as well. What is more important to me is that I reach that stay at home mom who's been baking in her kitchen. And people are like, we need your biscuits, we need your cookies. These are amazing, like get this out into the world. Or that jam maker that is you know, been operating under cottage food and they're like, stores want this but they are asking me for specific things. And I know that my branding needs to be better. How do I get into big stores? Help me. So I am willing to put myself out there to look like an idiot to fail to be judged. I can get over all of my perfectionist tendencies if I put my customer in front of me and I say it's worth it. This is why I'm doing this. I am compelled. This is my hard why. I will put myself out there, I will do hard things because it's not about me. It's about you. Okay to recap. It's about being results focused, not just tackling a to do list. Putting your priorities down and then creating time constraints that you honor so that you get work done quickly and efficiently and at 80%. And you put your customer first. It is not about you. It is about believing that they need what you have to offer. And they are just waiting for you. They're waiting around for you to put this out into the world, tying it up in a bow with 80% done. I know I keep saying this, but I really want you to hear me 80% is good enough. And I'm not talking about doing F work, or C work, right? Like it needs to still be good, but it doesn't need to be perfect. So get it out into the world. Perfectionism will kill your dreams. Alright you guys I hope that was so helpful for you. I would love for you to head over to the Facebook group and let's start a conversation about perfectionism and becoming a recovering perfectionist. All right, you guys have a fantastic week. Are you ready to start that delicious idea that you make in your home kitchen, or grow your existing packaged food business and take it to the next level? The most successful food business entrepreneurs have support, guidance, focus and accountability to help them make it happen quickly without wasting time or money. Plus, I think starting your packaged food business should actually be fun. Food Business Success is your secret ingredient to creating your food business dream. Please don't go this alone. Check out the private free Food Business Success Facebook group to connect with other foodprenuers, get your uestions answered quickly, hare your wins and receive pecial training and tools I nly share inside the private ommunity. Just search for Food usiness Success on Facebook, or et the link in the show notes. urious about how food business uccess can help you? Head over to FoodBizSuccess.com and fi l out the application to see if you're a great fit for the pr gram. Together let's make yo r food business dream a re lity.