Tonia Kendrick - Imperfect Action: Just Do the Thing

0:00  Hey there, I'm Tonia Kendrick and I am thrilled to be here with you today. Are you sitting on a brilliant business idea but maybe you're feeling stuck in the planning process? Or maybe you've got multiple, multiple half finished projects just gathering dust in your Google Drive because they're not quite perfect yet? Well, you're in the right place. Today we're going to explore how to move past perfectionism and start taking imperfect action that gets real results. Before we dive in, let me share just a little bit about my background. I spent 26 years in the corporate world before starting my own business almost nine years ago and let me tell you, that transition taught me a lot about the paralysis of perfectionism in corporate I had systems, procedures, multiple layers of approval before anything went live.    

01:07  But in my own business, I had to learn that done was better than perfect, or nothing would ever see the light of day. I'm a lifelong productivity enthusiast. I'm always looking for ways to work smarter, not harder. But what I've discovered is that all the productivity systems in the world won't help if perfectionism is keeping you stuck. My expertise covers a lot of areas thanks to those corporate years. I did a lot of different things. But what I really love helping business owners like you move past perfectionism and into profitable action.    

01:49  I've been where you are, second guessing every decision, tweaking everything one last time, wondering if you're really ready to put yourself or your product out there. So I'm excited to share not just what I've learned, but practical steps that you can take to break free from perfectionism and start making real progress in your business. So let me take you back to when I was creating my first online course. I had the idea, I had the outline, and I even had the lessons written. But instead of finishing and launching, I kept convincing myself that I needed to make it better. Should I add more modules? Should I learn how to add intro music? I should probably take a course in video editing.    

 02:40  What if I reshot the whole thing with a better microphone? I kept telling myself that I was improving the course, but really I was just delaying the moment when I had to put it out into the world. And the worst part? While I was stuck in this cycle of overthinking, I was watching other people. People with less experience and with honestly with lower quality content, successfully launched their courses and help their students. Not because they had the perfect course, but because they actually put it out there. It literally took me months to finally say that's it and launch, and when I did, nobody cared that my videos weren't as Hollywood level productions.    

03:30  What mattered was the transformation that my course delivered. My students got results not because it was perfect, but because it existed. There's a quote by Voltaire that perfect is the enemy of good, and I want you to realize that if you wait for perfection, you'll wait forever. Meanwhile, somebody else will launch their messy version and learn more than you ever will. They'll be getting real feedback from real customers and making real improvements based on real data. While you're sitting around tweaking your font choices, second guessing your button colors, I'm willing to bet that there's something sitting on your back burner right now.    

04:20  Maybe it's that course you've been planning, or that lead magnet you keep tweaking, or even that Instagram post that you've written 12 times. Why because it doesn't feel ready yet. Here's the thing, you're not alone. We're all sitting on ideas that could be helping people right now, if only we'd let them out of our perfectly organized digital notebooks. And let's be honest, how many half finished projects do you have sitting on your Google Drive right now? How many brilliant ideas are gathering digital dust in your Notion workspace? A lot of this has to do with self doubt.    

05:04  So let's talk about why self doubt happens in the 1st place. You know that voice, that whispers? Who are you to teach this or there are already so many other people doing this better. That voice is trying to protect you from judgement, usually your own judgement from failure, from not living up to that, to those highlight reels that we see on social media every day. I see this all the time with people who want to start a blog, a podcast, or even just post consistently on social media.    

05:37  They see these well established creators with their viral content, their huge followings and their perfectly curated brands, and they start thinking, well, why would anybody listen to me when they could just follow them instead? And I remember feeling this exact same way before I started my podcast. At the time, I was listening to people like Amy Porterfield. You know, we all listen to Amy Porterfield. Her episodes were so professional. She always sounded so confident and accomplished. Meanwhile I was over here Googling how do I record an episode? So what did I do well, I procrastinated. I spent weeks researching the best placement for my microphone, testing different recording software and re recording my intro because my voice sounded weird.    

06:35  But here's what I realized. Amy Porterfield didn't start out with the polished show that she has now. Nobody does. Every successful podcaster had awkward first episodes, weird sound quality and moments where they cringed at their own voice. They got better because they started. And when I finally hit publish on my first episode, nothing bad happened. In fact, people actually listened. They didn't care that it wasn't perfect. They cared about the value, the message, and the connection. That's what you're missing when you let self doubt hold you back.    

07:16  The people who need what you have to share don't care if it's perfect, they care that it's you. Every successful online entrepreneur started somewhere, and I guarantee you that their first version wasn't perfect. Ask anyone who's been in this space for a while to show you their first lead magnet or their first course materials if they're willing to share, and if they haven't deleted them out of embarrassment, you'll see something that's far from perfect. But here's what I discovered in my own business journey.    

07:49  Self doubt doesn't mean you're not capable, it means that you care. It's a strength, not a weakness. At the beginning, I promised you practical tips. So here's the first one, and I want you to write this down. Action is the antidote to self doubt. Marie Forleo has a saying that really drives this home. She says clarity comes from engagement, not thought. In other words, whatever The thing is, you'll figure it out by taking action, not by thinking more about it.    

08:26  But here's the key. Start small and focus on the next step, not the entire staircase. Let me break this down into what it actually looks like in practice. Instead of trying to create the perfect six month course, start with a single workshop. Instead of planning a year's worth of social media content, focus on showing up consistently for one week. Instead of trying to craft the perfect email funnel with twenty five automated sequences, start with a simple welcome series. These small steps create momentum, and momentum makes it easier to keep moving forward. Think about it like this. Every time you take action, even a tiny action, you're building evidence that you can do this.    

09:23  Each small win becomes fuel for the next step. I'll give you a real example from one of my members, Sarah that's not her real name. Sarah is a website designer who wanted to create a course teaching other designers her signature process. Sounds good, right? She had everything mapped out in her head. It was going to be a comprehensive 12 module course with templates, swipe files, video tutorials, the whole shebang.    

09:58  But month after month she never got started because it felt too overwhelming. Finally, she decided to start small. She created a single 90 minute workshop teaching just one part of her process, her client onboarding system. She priced it at 47$ and sold it to her small email list. Know what happened? She made 15 sales. She got fantastic feedback and most importantly, she gained the confidence to keep going.    

10:33  So today she has that full course that she dreamed of, but she never would have gotten there without taking that first step. You know, Zig Ziglar said something that changed my perspective forever when I heard it the first time. And honestly, who doesn't love a good Zig quote? You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. That hit me right in my perfectionist heart when I heard it the first time because it's so true.    

11:04  So don't get stuck in research mode. Trust me, I know how tempting it is to tell yourself that you're preparing when really you're just procrastinating. The truth is, no amount of research can replace the learning you'll get from actually doing the thing. So let's talk about perfection for just a minute. There's this idea floating around in the online business world that we have to look, sound, or operate a certain way to be successful. But here's the truth. Perfection isn't relatable.    

11:40  What actually connects us, what makes people trust us and want to work with us, is our humanity and our individuality. Think about the people that you follow online, the ones that you really connect with. Chances are, it's not because they're flawless. Those people are usually intimidating. The ones you connect with it's because there's something about them that feels real or different or uniquely them. Maybe it's the way they tell stories. Maybe it's their sense of humor.    

12:14  Maybe it's how they make complicated things feel Simple. Now I want you to do a quick exercise. Write down three things that make you unique. Maybe it's your background. Maybe it's your life experience. A fitness coach who's also a mom, for example, might connect with other moms in a way that no one else can. A web designer with a background in psychology might approach branding differently than someone who has a purely technical focus. You have something that sets you apart, even if you don't see it yet.    

12:53  So instead of worrying about what you lack, focus on what only you can bring to the table. Throughout my career I've worn a lot of hats. Marketing, training, human resources, finance, executive leadership. When I started my business at at first I was afraid that having such a broad background meant that I didn't have a clear enough niche. Everybody tells you that you need to niche down, right? But when I started weaving all of that experience into my business, I realized that it was actually one of my biggest strengths.    

13:35  Because I've worked in so many areas, I can connect the dots in a way that others can't. I can take a big picture strategy and break it down into actionable steps. I can talk about marketing through the lens of human psychology, or explain business finances in a way that doesn't make people's eyes glaze over. And that's exactly what my audience responds to. That wasn't an accident.    

14:03  That was me embracing my natural strengths instead of trying to fit into a narrow box. So what makes you different? What's something that people always compliment you on? That's what will help you stand out. So lean into it. And that leads us to practical tip number two lean into your strengths instead of obsessing over your perceived weaknesses. For me, that meant embracing all of the areas where I have expertise and weaving them into my business. It meant sharing personal stories in my content instead of just sticking to dry business advice. And it meant letting my personal interests show through.    

14:49  So I want you to think about something that you've been trying to fix about yourself or your business. Maybe it's your casual writing style, or your tendency to use sarcasm in serious topics, or your unconventional appearance. What if, just what if that thing you're trying to fix is actually your superpower? So instead of trying to smooth out your edges or fit into someone else's mold of success, what if you doubled down on being uniquely you? Because that authenticity, that's what people are really looking for.    

15:28  That's what turns followers into customers and customers into raving fans who can't wait to tell others about you. Understanding your unique value is powerful. But here's where many of us get stuck. We still hesitate to share those gifts with the world until everything feels perfect. But let's talk about the real cost of perfectionism. And I'm not just talking about money, though that certainly is part of it. I want you to think about all the time that you've spent tweaking and adjusting things that were already good enough. I remember a quote that I read years ago i can't remember exactly who said it it might have been Seth Godin. I, and I don't remember the exact quote, but the gist is if you wait until something is perfect to release it, you've waited too long let me share another story that kind of drives this home.    

16:27  Last year, one of my membership clients, let's call her Emma, she had been working on her first digital product for six months. It was a template pack for social media managers. She had created 150 templates with a fifty page guide to go with them, and she was still adding more because she wanted to make sure it was worth the price. But here's the kicker. Her target price was 27$ She had spent six months of her life perfecting a 27$ product. When we calculated her hourly rate based on the time she'd spent, it came out to about fifty cents an hour.    

17:12  But more importantly, she had missed out on six months of feedback, testimonials, and income, all because she was trying to achieve perfection. What's the worst thing that could happen if you put something imperfect out there? Maybe you'll get some feedback. Maybe you'll learn what your audience really wants. Maybe, and this is actually the best case scenario, you'll discover ways to make your next version even better. And here's practical tip number three and this will help you shift your mindset and move past procrastination, which goes hand in hand with perfectionism.    

17:54  Set a timer for 15 minutes and commit to taking action. That's it 15 minutes. You can do anything for 15 minutes, right? Write that email newsletter. Create that social post outline that workshop idea. I use this technique every single day in my business. Actually, I use it in my life too. I set timers all day long. When I'm procrastinating on writing an email to my list, I set that timer. When I'm overthinking a new podcast episode, I set that timer. It works because it breaks through the paralysis of perfectionism.    

18:35  When you only have 15 minutes, you don't have time to make it perfect. You just have to make it happen. And if you're stuck on getting started, 15 minutes can get you over that hump. And here's practical tip number four start seeing feedback as data, not personal judgement. Every piece of feedback is valuable information about what your audience needs and how you can serve them better. Let me share something that happened a couple of years ago.    

19:09  I had this system for 90 day planning and weekly planning that I had been using and teaching for years. It worked great for me. And you know, I was confident teaching it to others, but I got some feedback from people who really wanted to include monthly planning they felt like there was a gap. Now, I could have looked at this as a failure, my system isn't good enough, I should have thought of this, yadda, yadda. But instead, I chose to see this feedback as valuable data. I started asking questions. I talked to these students about their specific challenges and you know what? Those conversations led to creating an alternative version of the system that includes monthly plans in between the 90 day plan and the weekly plans.    

20:01  It worked great for those students and actually it worked so well that I incorporated it into my own routine. This is what happens when you let go of perfectionism. You create space for real connection. Real improvement and real growth. You stop trying to predict every possible scenario and start responding to what your audience really needs. Think about your own business right now. What are you holding on to that's almost ready? What could you launch this week if you let go of perfect and embraced progress instead? Every step you take, even imperfect ones, is progress.    

20:49  And progress beats perfection every single time. That's not just a cute saying. It's a business truth that can transform how you show up in your business. Right now, I want you to think about one thing you've been holding back on. Maybe it's that signature offer you've been planning. Maybe it's that blog post you've been drafting. Maybe it's that email sequence you keep tweaking. Now I want you to commit to taking one small step on that thing today.    

21:19  Not tomorrow, Not when you feel ready, Not when everything is perfect today. Because here's what I know for sure. The perfect time to start is now, and the perfect way to start is imperfectly. Remember, this imperfect action is still action, and action is what builds success. Your voice matters, your perspective matters, and someone out there needs exactly what you have to offer, even if it's not perfect yet. Think about it this way. Every successful business owner that you admire started somewhere. They all had a first post, a first product, a first launch. And I guarantee that none of those firsts were perfect, but they were necessary steps on the path to where they are now.    

22:16  Before you leave today, I want you to do three things. One, write down that project, task, or idea that you've been putting off. Be specific. What's one thing you could launch or share in the next week? Not next month, not next quarter, next week. Write down exactly what it is and what your first step will be. Two, set your timer for 15 minutes when you get back to your workspace and take the first step, it doesn't matter how small that step is.    

22:50  Write the first paragraph, create the outline, record the first video. Remember, we're not aiming for perfection, we're aiming for progress. And three, share your commitment with someone. Message your business bestie, tell your spouse, or share it on social media. Tag me on Instagram, my handles at Tanya Kendrick if you want some extra accountability. Sometimes just saying I'm doing this thing out loud is enough to push you into action. Remember, done is better than perfect because done lets you move forward. Before you leave today, I want to make sure that you have the tools to put everything we've discussed into action in your swag bag you'll find my Break Out of Your Comfort Zone workbook, and it's the perfect companion to today's presentation.    

23:46  You see, taking imperfect action often means stepping outside your comfort zone, and that's what this workbook is all about. It includes 15 worksheets to help you figure out where you're at right now. Identify limiting beliefs and develop in our confidence to move forward. You'll learn specific strategies for stepping outside your comfort zone. You'll understand the real cost of playing it safe. And most importantly, you'll develop a practical road map for taking those imperfect actions that we've been talking about. So don't let this workbook sit in your swag bag gathering dust. Instead, commit to opening it this weekend and working through just one worksheet. Remember what we said about taking small steps? This is a small step.    

24:40  Thank you so much for joining me today. Remember, every successful business owner started exactly where you are right now, with an idea, a dream, and probably a healthy dose of perfectionism to overcome. Your next step doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be a step forward. So set that 15 minute timer and start that project that you've been putting off because someone out there needs what only you can offer and they need it now, not when it's perfect.    

25:14  I'd love to hear about your imperfect actions. Connect with me on social media, tag me in your progress posts, or shoot me an email to let me know how you're doing. Now go out there and do the thing. Whatever you're stuck on, whatever's been holding you back, just do it.