May 6, 2025 • 25 mins
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Ever feel like perfectionism is paralyzing your progress? We've all been there, and in this episode, I’m sharing how overcoming perfectionism is the key to finally hitting publish. We’ll dig into the sneaky mindset traps that disguise themselves as productivity but are really just fear in disguise—fear of judgment, failure, and even success.
I’ll introduce you to The Version 1.0 Mindset, a powerful shift that helps you release your first version without obsessing over every tiny detail. If you’re stuck in a loop of overthinking and constant tweaking, this conversation will give you the clarity (and permission!) to move forward and share your brilliance with the world.
01:59 - Two major reasons why you’re not hitting publish on your new product
08:12 - Your secret to overcoming perfectionism: The Version 1.0 Mindset
10:45 - Setting minimum requirements for deciding a product is ready to publish
13:08 - Why embracing The Version 1.0 Mindset is a good business decision
14:19 - Practical steps that will push you towards overcoming perfectionism and get more digital products out into the world
Links & Resources:
- Episode 144, Streamline Your Product Creation Workflow
- Follow me on Instagram @kristendoyle.co
- Check out my Everything Page: a one-stop shop for savvy selling!
- The Savvy Seller Collective
- Join my private Facebook community: Savvy Teacher Sellers
- More resources for growing your TPT business
- Rate & review The Savvy Teacher Seller on Apple Podcasts
Show Notes: https://kristendoyle.co/episode146
Feeling overwhelmed by all the things you think you need to do to grow your digital product business? Take the Savvy Seller Quiz and find out exactly what to focus on right now to actually move your business forward.
➡️ Take the quiz at savvyquiz.com
Check out my Everything Page at https://kristendoyle.co/everything
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kristen Doyle (00:00):
Hey there. If you are a digital product creator of
any kind, whether you selldownloadable PDFs, PowerPoints,
templates, planners, courses oranything else, I would be
willing to bet that you havesome amazing, nearly finished
(00:23):
products sitting in folders onyour computer that never quite
made it to the finish line.
Sound familiar? If it does knowthat you're not alone. I will be
the first to admit that Iprobably still have a dozen of
half done resources in my ownfiles that never saw the light
(00:43):
of day. But here's the truth,those unfinished products cannot
help anyone. They cannotgenerate income, and they are
keeping your genius hidden fromthe people out there who need it
the most.
So today, we are talking abouthow to move from perfection
(01:04):
paralysis to publishing yourproduct so that you can finally
get those creations out into theworld where they belong, so that
they can start helping yourtarget audience and making you
money in the process.
Are you a digital product orcourse creator, selling on
platforms like teachers payteachers, Etsy or your own
(01:26):
website? Ready to grow yourbusiness, but not into the kind
of constant hustle that leadsstraight to burnout? Then you're
in the right place.
Welcome to The Savvy Seller. I'mKristen Doyle, and I'm here to
give you no fluff, tools andstrategies that move the needle
for your business withoutburning you out in the process.
(01:46):
Things like SEO, no stressmarketing, email list building,
automation, and so much more.
Let's get started y'all.
So what's really going on whenwe cannot seem to hit that
publish button? In a dozen yearsor more of creating digital
(02:07):
products and working with otherentrepreneurs, what I have found
is that there are two majorreasons that keep showing up
over and over again. They're thereasons that I hesitate to
publish, and they're the reasonsthat you probably do too. And
interestingly enough, they seemlike opposite problems on the
surface, but they are almostalways rooted in the exact same
(02:31):
underlying fears. So let's talkabout them.
The first reason that you're notpublishing is shiny object
syndrome. It's that constantpull that we feel toward new,
exciting ideas before we finishthe one we're currently working
on. I know I struggle with thissometimes. I get part way into a
(02:51):
product and I start to losesteam, and it's not exciting and
fun anymore, and starting thatnew product gives me a dopamine
hit that completing the existingone just doesn't. And I would be
willing to bet that that happenssometimes for you too.
See, sometimes it can feel awhole lot safer to stay in that
(03:12):
constant creation phase than toface the potential of criticism
of your product or that productnot selling well. But the truth
is, all those incompleteproducts that you're building up
while you work on the new,exciting, fun product, those are
all draining your mental energy,even when you're not actually
working on them.
(03:33):
Like I said, it happens to meall the time. I am forever
getting distracted by a new ideabefore I finish an existing
product. And one thing that Ihave learned to do, and this is
really just a discipline thatyou have to have, is when I get
excited about a new idea, I usethat as the motivation to finish
(03:53):
the thing I'm working on. Yes,this new idea is fun and
exciting and I want to exploreit. I can do that as soon as I
finish the existing thing I amworking on right now.
In fact, I have an entire listin my notion dashboard of ideas
that I want to tackle that Ican't touch until I finish
(04:13):
something I'm currently workingon right now because I have
gotten past the fun, excitingpart of creation, and I'm in the
hard work part. And for me, thathard work part is not fun and
it's not exciting, and I don'twant to do that part, so it is
really easy for me to getdistracted by the shiny object
instead of finishing.
(04:34):
Now, the second problem thatstops a lot of us from
publishing is perfectionism. Itis that endless tweaking and
adjusting and adding one morething because our product just
never feels quite done enough.
And a lot of the time thatperfectionism is masking a fear
of judgment or of criticism orfailure. See, we have this false
(04:58):
belief that if we make ourproduct perfect enough, we won't
get that negative feedback.
People won't give us bad reviewsbecause we've made it perfect
enough, and if we just keeptweaking and adding things and
making it better and better andbetter, we will eventually get
to the point that our product isperfect for everyone, and that's
(05:20):
just not true.
Whatever product we're creating,no matter what it is, no matter
who our audience is, it is notgoing to be perfect for
everyone, and we often set muchhigher standards for ourselves
than our customers actually evenexpect. We keep moving the
finish line, adding one morething before we say it's ready
(05:40):
to launch, or going back overand revising it one more time,
proofreading the 43rd timebefore we're ready to launch it.
And a lot of times, what we endup doing is staying stuck in
this cycle of perfectionismwhere we never actually launch
the product. A lot of times,when it comes to perfectionism,
(06:01):
we sort of use that as an excuseto never publish, because we're
hiding behind this idea thatperfectionism is good. We're
just trying to make it perfectso that we're putting the best
product possible out there forour buyers. But if we keep going
back over and over and over, andwe never, ever get the product
(06:24):
done, we can't help our buyersat all, and that's even worse
than helping them with a productthat's just a little less than
perfect.
Like I said, both of theseproblems, the shiny object
syndrome, and the perfectionism,have a common root. They both
quite frequently stem from fear.
We are afraid that people willcriticize our work, that people
(06:45):
won't like it, that people willjudge us for it, or even just
afraid that we might not make asmuch money off of it as we
thought we should. So we're alittle afraid of failure.
See both the shiny objectsyndrome, jumping to something
(07:05):
new instead of finishing whatyou're working on and
continually editing and revisingand trying to make your product
perfect, give us a reallyconvenient excuse to avoid the
vulnerability that comes withputting your work out there for
the world.
See, when we put our work outthere for the world, there is
the potential of that rejectionand that criticism and that can
(07:27):
feel paralyzing sometimes. Butgetting stuck in a cycle of
perfectionism or moving on tothe next shiny object without
publishing the thing that you'vebeen working on at the end of
the day, those are going to justprevent the solution you've
created from reaching the peoplewho are out there having that
problem, looking for yoursolution.
(07:49):
They can protect us frompotential failure, but at the
end of the day, they hurt ourideal customers. And if you
really think about it, the mostironic thing of all is that in
trying to protect ourselves fromthat criticism and that
possibility of failure, what weare really doing is actually
increasing the likelihood offailure because we never
(08:11):
complete the product.
See, you can't sell any of aproduct that is sitting on your
desktop in a folder. No one isgoing to give you a good review
on a product that you never hitpublish on you are not going to
help anyone overcome the problemwith the solution you've created
if you never put it out there.
See, once I recognize thatperfectionism and shiny object
(08:32):
syndrome were really bothdifferent ways of just avoiding
the vulnerability and the workthat comes with publishing, I
shifted my mindset in a way thathas really transformed how I
approach almost everything in mybusiness, to be honest.
I am calling it the version 1.0mindset when it comes to
(08:52):
products, and it has really beena game changer for me and for
other people that I've workedwith. So the version 1.0 mindset
really is a way to redefine theword "done". I'm gonna say
something that you might notlove, but it's true, and if you
look back over your ownbusiness, you'll notice that
you've seen it in action ineverything you've created. See
(09:16):
the truth is, everything thatyou create and publish is always
version 1.0. There's no finalversion that you'll never have
to go back and edit again.
Technology changes. Things thatwe are doing with the type of
product you create, change. Theworld changes. You get new and
better ideas. You notice anerror that needs to be fixed.
(09:41):
See, there is no such thing asthat final, perfect version that
will never change again. If itdoes, if you create a final
version that you never changeagain, chances are your product
will eventually dwindle in salesand eventually stop selling
altogether, because it's nolonger relevant. See, we always
have to revise our products andupdate them and keep them fresh
(10:03):
and new. And when you shift yourmindset away from I need to get
this perfect before I canpublish it and onto I'm going to
publish version 1.0, and thenmake revisions, that immediately
takes off the pressure to get itperfect.
See, there is a big differencebetween a product that is good
(10:23):
enough to help someone and thatproduct that is perfect. And as
long as your product is goodenough to help someone, then it
is worthy of being published andbeing put out there for the
world. You can think of yourversion 1.0 of your product as
being that one that solves themain problem, not the version
that has every possible featurethat you could add.
(10:45):
One thing that helps with thatis setting some clear minimum
requirements for you that definewhen something is ready to
publish. Now, one thing that Iwould always say is a non
negotiable for that minimumviable product is to have it
proofread. We don't want to putthings out there that have lots
of typos and editing mistakes,but we can put something out
(11:08):
there that's not quite ascomplete as we want it to be,
because it is still completeenough to help people.
In fact, there are some maybehidden benefits of publishing
the product before you thinkit's completely finished and
perfect. See, you might haveloads of ideas that would take
you down a road of creatingthings that your actual
(11:30):
customers don't even want orneed, and when you can get real
customer feedback that is worthso much more than just your
ideas and that endless prelaunch of your product, tweaking
and adding and revising. Thebest real solutions come from
those people who are actuallyusing your product, not from
(11:52):
theories and ideas that youmight have in your head.
This is true of digital downloadproducts, but it is especially
true of things like courses ortemplates. So you'll start
getting questions from peoplewho have purchased and every one
of those questions can help youto know how to make your product
better. In fact, I just did apodcast episode a few weeks ago
(12:14):
on how customer feedback canreally help improve your
products.
And one thing that you can dowith this version 1.0 is take
that customer feedback to createversion 1.1 and version 1.2 and
so on. See, when you almost cocreate your product with your
audience, every version is somuch better than the last, and
(12:37):
it's targeted directly to whatthe people who purchased it
actually want and need, andthat's going to help you reach
more of those same types ofpeople, not to mention when a
customer has asked you aquestion and you put out there
that you've updated the productthey bought and added something
to answer their question, tohelp them solve that problem
(12:59):
that they had, they are going toappreciate that so very much,
and that really can help youcreate those customers who keep
coming back over and over andover.
So we've talked about redefiningdone. We've talked about some
ways it's good for you topublish that imperfect product,
some ways that there areactually some hidden benefits,
but there are actually also somebusiness reasons that that
(13:24):
version 1.0 mindset is actuallybetter.
See, the faster you can get yourproduct on the market, the
sooner you can start generatingrevenue. If your product sits in
a file folder somewhere, andnever goes out into your website
store or into that sales funnelor a marketplace shop, then
you'll never make any income offof it. The more of these
(13:46):
products that you put out, themore momentum and the more
confidence you build around thefact that it is okay to put
products out that are a littleless than perfect.
The more products you have, themore credibility you build, even
while you're improving thoseproducts, so there's almost this
compound effect of havingmultiple good enough products
(14:07):
versus that one perfect productthat you can put out there. And
once you embrace that version1.0 mindset, publishing the
product gets a whole lot lessscary and more exciting.
But I do know from personalexperience that actually
implementing this mindset canfeel pretty challenging at
first. It's a big shift to putsomething out there that you
(14:29):
maybe are thinking isn't thebest reflection of you. So let's
talk about some practical waysto push through those final
steps to get your productpublished. The first one is
really setting very clear donecriteria. Now this is where you
make sure that what you'reputting out as a version 1.0
while it might not be ascomprehensive as it could be, it
(14:52):
might not be as perfect as itcould be, that it is still a
good quality product. It isstill providing value for your
customers, and it is stillpresenting you in the positive
and professional light that youwant to be presented.
This comes down todistinguishing between the must
haves and the nice to haves.
What are your must haves? Youhave to proofread your product.
(15:16):
Absolutely have to. You can'tput out their products with
loads of typos and expect peopleto think that you're
professional. So you have toproofread your product. You have
to create a solution that solvesthe problem your ideal customer
is coming to. But what are thosenice to haves? Well, that's all
the extra ideas that you have asyou're working on your product,
(15:38):
and I know you've experienced itjust like I have, that idea you
had that you thought was goingto be a 20 page PDF download has
suddenly ballooned itself intoan entire zip folder full of
PDFs and some videos to go alongwith it, and maybe there's going
to be a private podcast feedtoo.
All of those extra featuresprobably are great and add to
(16:01):
the value of the originalproduct. But if getting them
done is keeping you frompublishing, then those are the
nice to haves. Get your originalversion out there with the must
haves set some firm boundariesaround the idea of just adding
one more thing. Set up timewhere you're going to cut that
off and then ask a friend,someone that you trust, someone
(16:25):
else who is an entrepreneur likeyou, to look at your product and
make sure that they think it isgood enough.
When you know you've crossedthat good enough to help
somebody and good enough to notmake me look bad threshold,
that's the time to go ahead andstart publishing your product,
so that you can then come backin and make those revisions to
(16:45):
make it better and better overtime. Now, when it comes to
getting going with this, youneed to build some publishing
momentum.
So I would recommend you startwith whatever the easiest
unfinished product is in yourinventory; that thing that is so
close to done. In fact, I knowin my own business, there have
(17:07):
been times where I looked at myfolder of unfinished products
and I realized the only thing Iwas missing was the packaging.
The whole product was done.
Maybe I haven't proofread ityet, so I need to send it off to
my proofreader, and I need tocreate the packaging. I need to
make cover images, I need towrite some emails, I need to
write a product description andcome up with a price. Those
(17:28):
things don't take very long, butthey are so easy for us to put
off.
So start with those easiestunfinished products. Break those
last tasks that you have outinto some manageable chunks and
put some time on your calendar.
Block it out, dedicated time, anhour or two, whatever you think
it should take to finish thisproduct, block that time out to
(17:50):
get this product done. When youdo that, when you've set that
publish date, and you've blockedout your time to finish the
product, tell someone about it.
This creates a littleaccountability, and it helps you
to cross that finish line. Infact, one of the best ways to
(18:10):
tell someone about it is notjust to tell a friend who you
know is going to say, Oh, don'tworry. It's okay if you don't
meet that deadline. One of thebest ways to tell someone about
it is to send an email out toyour list that says, next
Thursday, I'm publishing a brandnew product on this because that
way you have a whole list ofpeople who are waiting for that
product. It might even help yougenerate some early sales.
(18:34):
Once you've published thatproduct, come up with a little
celebration that you can have tomake hitting that publish button
feel rewarding. This doesn'thave to be anything huge, but
focusing on the work and thecourage and the vulnerability it
takes to hit that publishbutton, and not focusing on the
(18:55):
potential sales and whether ornot you met some goals can
really help you to buildmomentum and to learn to enjoy
the publishing process, to learnto celebrate getting that
published product out there,completed, shared with the
world.
When you do this, it can be assimple as going out for a cup of
(19:17):
coffee or some ice cream at yourfavorite local coffee shop or
having a special dinner thatnight. If it's a bigger product,
maybe you treat yourself to amani pedi, or whatever else it
takes for you to feel like youhave celebrated the work that
you just did. When you do, shareyour launch publicly and tell
(19:40):
people how you're celebrating.
Take that little picture of yourcoffee at the coffee shop and
say, celebrating my new productlaunch with a cup of whatever
your favorite coffee is.
When you do this kind ofreframing your mind that launch
day as the version 1.0 day. It'sthe start of something new, not
(20:01):
the end of the old productprocess. It's the start of this
new product getting better andbetter and better over time.
When you shift your mindset tothis version 1.0 you need to
start planning for version 1.1right from the beginning.
So come up with a space that youcan collect those ideas for
improving it. Maybe this issomething like a Notion
(20:23):
dashboard where you keep all ofyour product improvement ideas
and come back in tiny days, ormaybe before the next launch. If
this is a product that you'relive launching over time, come
back and make those first setsof updates to make it better.
See that version 1.0 mindsetisn't just about getting
products finished. It really isabout changing your relationship
(20:47):
with your creative work. Whenyou embrace the idea that
everything that you're puttingout there is a work in progress,
you are freeing yourself toshare your ideas, your
creations, your products withthe world, without that
paralysis we often fall intowhen we're trying to make
everything perfect.
(21:09):
Let's talk about action steps. Iwant to challenge you to choose
one unfinished product thisweek, because I know you have
one, and set a firm publishdate. Tell someone else about it
to create accountability, andput some time in your calendar
to work on those last stepsbefore you can hit that publish
(21:29):
button. As you're going throughit, create that version 1.0
checklist, those things that youhave to get done in order for
your product to provide value,to make a difference for your
buyers and to look professional.
And then all those other ideasthat you have rolling around in
your brain can come in version1.1 or version two or version
7.3. Schedule yourself a littlecelebration for after you've hit
(21:55):
publish, so that the very act ofcompleting this product is now
rewarding for you, not just thesales that are going to come
later.
All right, this week, like Isaid, I am challenging you to
pick that one product and committo releasing it into the world.
When you do publish it, send mea DM on Instagram
(22:15):
@kristendoyle.co so I cancelebrate with you, but also so
I can share your product or youroffer with my audience. If you
need a sign to quit stalling andshare that product with the
people who need it, this is it.
Remember, the goal is not tocreate perfect products that we
never edit again. It's to helppeople solve the real problems
(22:38):
that they're facing, and youcannot do that with products
that never see the light of day.
Somebody out there is waitingfor exactly what you have
created, and even your version1.0 will give them the help or
the boost that they need rightnow. So get out there and
publish the product already.
(22:59):
I'll talk to you soon!
Hey there. If you are a digital product creator of
any kind, whether you selldownloadable PDFs, PowerPoints,
templates, planners, courses oranything else, I would be
willing to bet that you havesome amazing, nearly finished
(00:23):
products sitting in folders onyour computer that never quite
made it to the finish line.
Sound familiar? If it does knowthat you're not alone. I will be
the first to admit that Iprobably still have a dozen of
half done resources in my ownfiles that never saw the light
(00:43):
of day. But here's the truth,those unfinished products cannot
help anyone. They cannotgenerate income, and they are
keeping your genius hidden fromthe people out there who need it
the most.
So today, we are talking abouthow to move from perfection
(01:04):
paralysis to publishing yourproduct so that you can finally
get those creations out into theworld where they belong, so that
they can start helping yourtarget audience and making you
money in the process.
Are you a digital product orcourse creator, selling on
platforms like teachers payteachers, Etsy or your own
(01:26):
website? Ready to grow yourbusiness, but not into the kind
of constant hustle that leadsstraight to burnout? Then you're
in the right place.
Welcome to The Savvy Seller. I'mKristen Doyle, and I'm here to
give you no fluff, tools andstrategies that move the needle
for your business withoutburning you out in the process.
(01:46):
Things like SEO, no stressmarketing, email list building,
automation, and so much more.
Let's get started y'all.
So what's really going on whenwe cannot seem to hit that
publish button? In a dozen yearsor more of creating digital
(02:07):
products and working with otherentrepreneurs, what I have found
is that there are two majorreasons that keep showing up
over and over again. They're thereasons that I hesitate to
publish, and they're the reasonsthat you probably do too. And
interestingly enough, they seemlike opposite problems on the
surface, but they are almostalways rooted in the exact same
(02:31):
underlying fears. So let's talkabout them.
The first reason that you're notpublishing is shiny object
syndrome. It's that constantpull that we feel toward new,
exciting ideas before we finishthe one we're currently working
on. I know I struggle with thissometimes. I get part way into a
(02:51):
product and I start to losesteam, and it's not exciting and
fun anymore, and starting thatnew product gives me a dopamine
hit that completing the existingone just doesn't. And I would be
willing to bet that that happenssometimes for you too.
See, sometimes it can feel awhole lot safer to stay in that
(03:12):
constant creation phase than toface the potential of criticism
of your product or that productnot selling well. But the truth
is, all those incompleteproducts that you're building up
while you work on the new,exciting, fun product, those are
all draining your mental energy,even when you're not actually
working on them.
(03:33):
Like I said, it happens to meall the time. I am forever
getting distracted by a new ideabefore I finish an existing
product. And one thing that Ihave learned to do, and this is
really just a discipline thatyou have to have, is when I get
excited about a new idea, I usethat as the motivation to finish
(03:53):
the thing I'm working on. Yes,this new idea is fun and
exciting and I want to exploreit. I can do that as soon as I
finish the existing thing I amworking on right now.
In fact, I have an entire listin my notion dashboard of ideas
that I want to tackle that Ican't touch until I finish
(04:13):
something I'm currently workingon right now because I have
gotten past the fun, excitingpart of creation, and I'm in the
hard work part. And for me, thathard work part is not fun and
it's not exciting, and I don'twant to do that part, so it is
really easy for me to getdistracted by the shiny object
instead of finishing.
(04:34):
Now, the second problem thatstops a lot of us from
publishing is perfectionism. Itis that endless tweaking and
adjusting and adding one morething because our product just
never feels quite done enough.
And a lot of the time thatperfectionism is masking a fear
of judgment or of criticism orfailure. See, we have this false
(04:58):
belief that if we make ourproduct perfect enough, we won't
get that negative feedback.
People won't give us bad reviewsbecause we've made it perfect
enough, and if we just keeptweaking and adding things and
making it better and better andbetter, we will eventually get
to the point that our product isperfect for everyone, and that's
(05:20):
just not true.
Whatever product we're creating,no matter what it is, no matter
who our audience is, it is notgoing to be perfect for
everyone, and we often set muchhigher standards for ourselves
than our customers actually evenexpect. We keep moving the
finish line, adding one morething before we say it's ready
(05:40):
to launch, or going back overand revising it one more time,
proofreading the 43rd timebefore we're ready to launch it.
And a lot of times, what we endup doing is staying stuck in
this cycle of perfectionismwhere we never actually launch
the product. A lot of times,when it comes to perfectionism,
(06:01):
we sort of use that as an excuseto never publish, because we're
hiding behind this idea thatperfectionism is good. We're
just trying to make it perfectso that we're putting the best
product possible out there forour buyers. But if we keep going
back over and over and over, andwe never, ever get the product
(06:24):
done, we can't help our buyersat all, and that's even worse
than helping them with a productthat's just a little less than
perfect.
Like I said, both of theseproblems, the shiny object
syndrome, and the perfectionism,have a common root. They both
quite frequently stem from fear.
We are afraid that people willcriticize our work, that people
(06:45):
won't like it, that people willjudge us for it, or even just
afraid that we might not make asmuch money off of it as we
thought we should. So we're alittle afraid of failure.
See both the shiny objectsyndrome, jumping to something
(07:05):
new instead of finishing whatyou're working on and
continually editing and revisingand trying to make your product
perfect, give us a reallyconvenient excuse to avoid the
vulnerability that comes withputting your work out there for
the world.
See, when we put our work outthere for the world, there is
the potential of that rejectionand that criticism and that can
(07:27):
feel paralyzing sometimes. Butgetting stuck in a cycle of
perfectionism or moving on tothe next shiny object without
publishing the thing that you'vebeen working on at the end of
the day, those are going to justprevent the solution you've
created from reaching the peoplewho are out there having that
problem, looking for yoursolution.
(07:49):
They can protect us frompotential failure, but at the
end of the day, they hurt ourideal customers. And if you
really think about it, the mostironic thing of all is that in
trying to protect ourselves fromthat criticism and that
possibility of failure, what weare really doing is actually
increasing the likelihood offailure because we never
(08:11):
complete the product.
See, you can't sell any of aproduct that is sitting on your
desktop in a folder. No one isgoing to give you a good review
on a product that you never hitpublish on you are not going to
help anyone overcome the problemwith the solution you've created
if you never put it out there.
See, once I recognize thatperfectionism and shiny object
(08:32):
syndrome were really bothdifferent ways of just avoiding
the vulnerability and the workthat comes with publishing, I
shifted my mindset in a way thathas really transformed how I
approach almost everything in mybusiness, to be honest.
I am calling it the version 1.0mindset when it comes to
(08:52):
products, and it has really beena game changer for me and for
other people that I've workedwith. So the version 1.0 mindset
really is a way to redefine theword "done". I'm gonna say
something that you might notlove, but it's true, and if you
look back over your ownbusiness, you'll notice that
you've seen it in action ineverything you've created. See
(09:16):
the truth is, everything thatyou create and publish is always
version 1.0. There's no finalversion that you'll never have
to go back and edit again.
Technology changes. Things thatwe are doing with the type of
product you create, change. Theworld changes. You get new and
better ideas. You notice anerror that needs to be fixed.
(09:41):
See, there is no such thing asthat final, perfect version that
will never change again. If itdoes, if you create a final
version that you never changeagain, chances are your product
will eventually dwindle in salesand eventually stop selling
altogether, because it's nolonger relevant. See, we always
have to revise our products andupdate them and keep them fresh
(10:03):
and new. And when you shift yourmindset away from I need to get
this perfect before I canpublish it and onto I'm going to
publish version 1.0, and thenmake revisions, that immediately
takes off the pressure to get itperfect.
See, there is a big differencebetween a product that is good
(10:23):
enough to help someone and thatproduct that is perfect. And as
long as your product is goodenough to help someone, then it
is worthy of being published andbeing put out there for the
world. You can think of yourversion 1.0 of your product as
being that one that solves themain problem, not the version
that has every possible featurethat you could add.
(10:45):
One thing that helps with thatis setting some clear minimum
requirements for you that definewhen something is ready to
publish. Now, one thing that Iwould always say is a non
negotiable for that minimumviable product is to have it
proofread. We don't want to putthings out there that have lots
of typos and editing mistakes,but we can put something out
(11:08):
there that's not quite ascomplete as we want it to be,
because it is still completeenough to help people.
In fact, there are some maybehidden benefits of publishing
the product before you thinkit's completely finished and
perfect. See, you might haveloads of ideas that would take
you down a road of creatingthings that your actual
(11:30):
customers don't even want orneed, and when you can get real
customer feedback that is worthso much more than just your
ideas and that endless prelaunch of your product, tweaking
and adding and revising. Thebest real solutions come from
those people who are actuallyusing your product, not from
(11:52):
theories and ideas that youmight have in your head.
This is true of digital downloadproducts, but it is especially
true of things like courses ortemplates. So you'll start
getting questions from peoplewho have purchased and every one
of those questions can help youto know how to make your product
better. In fact, I just did apodcast episode a few weeks ago
(12:14):
on how customer feedback canreally help improve your
products.
And one thing that you can dowith this version 1.0 is take
that customer feedback to createversion 1.1 and version 1.2 and
so on. See, when you almost cocreate your product with your
audience, every version is somuch better than the last, and
(12:37):
it's targeted directly to whatthe people who purchased it
actually want and need, andthat's going to help you reach
more of those same types ofpeople, not to mention when a
customer has asked you aquestion and you put out there
that you've updated the productthey bought and added something
to answer their question, tohelp them solve that problem
(12:59):
that they had, they are going toappreciate that so very much,
and that really can help youcreate those customers who keep
coming back over and over andover.
So we've talked about redefiningdone. We've talked about some
ways it's good for you topublish that imperfect product,
some ways that there areactually some hidden benefits,
but there are actually also somebusiness reasons that that
(13:24):
version 1.0 mindset is actuallybetter.
See, the faster you can get yourproduct on the market, the
sooner you can start generatingrevenue. If your product sits in
a file folder somewhere, andnever goes out into your website
store or into that sales funnelor a marketplace shop, then
you'll never make any income offof it. The more of these
(13:46):
products that you put out, themore momentum and the more
confidence you build around thefact that it is okay to put
products out that are a littleless than perfect.
The more products you have, themore credibility you build, even
while you're improving thoseproducts, so there's almost this
compound effect of havingmultiple good enough products
(14:07):
versus that one perfect productthat you can put out there. And
once you embrace that version1.0 mindset, publishing the
product gets a whole lot lessscary and more exciting.
But I do know from personalexperience that actually
implementing this mindset canfeel pretty challenging at
first. It's a big shift to putsomething out there that you
(14:29):
maybe are thinking isn't thebest reflection of you. So let's
talk about some practical waysto push through those final
steps to get your productpublished. The first one is
really setting very clear donecriteria. Now this is where you
make sure that what you'reputting out as a version 1.0
while it might not be ascomprehensive as it could be, it
(14:52):
might not be as perfect as itcould be, that it is still a
good quality product. It isstill providing value for your
customers, and it is stillpresenting you in the positive
and professional light that youwant to be presented.
This comes down todistinguishing between the must
haves and the nice to haves.
What are your must haves? Youhave to proofread your product.
(15:16):
Absolutely have to. You can'tput out their products with
loads of typos and expect peopleto think that you're
professional. So you have toproofread your product. You have
to create a solution that solvesthe problem your ideal customer
is coming to. But what are thosenice to haves? Well, that's all
the extra ideas that you have asyou're working on your product,
(15:38):
and I know you've experienced itjust like I have, that idea you
had that you thought was goingto be a 20 page PDF download has
suddenly ballooned itself intoan entire zip folder full of
PDFs and some videos to go alongwith it, and maybe there's going
to be a private podcast feedtoo.
All of those extra featuresprobably are great and add to
(16:01):
the value of the originalproduct. But if getting them
done is keeping you frompublishing, then those are the
nice to haves. Get your originalversion out there with the must
haves set some firm boundariesaround the idea of just adding
one more thing. Set up timewhere you're going to cut that
off and then ask a friend,someone that you trust, someone
(16:25):
else who is an entrepreneur likeyou, to look at your product and
make sure that they think it isgood enough.
When you know you've crossedthat good enough to help
somebody and good enough to notmake me look bad threshold,
that's the time to go ahead andstart publishing your product,
so that you can then come backin and make those revisions to
(16:45):
make it better and better overtime. Now, when it comes to
getting going with this, youneed to build some publishing
momentum.
So I would recommend you startwith whatever the easiest
unfinished product is in yourinventory; that thing that is so
close to done. In fact, I knowin my own business, there have
(17:07):
been times where I looked at myfolder of unfinished products
and I realized the only thing Iwas missing was the packaging.
The whole product was done.
Maybe I haven't proofread ityet, so I need to send it off to
my proofreader, and I need tocreate the packaging. I need to
make cover images, I need towrite some emails, I need to
write a product description andcome up with a price. Those
(17:28):
things don't take very long, butthey are so easy for us to put
off.
So start with those easiestunfinished products. Break those
last tasks that you have outinto some manageable chunks and
put some time on your calendar.
Block it out, dedicated time, anhour or two, whatever you think
it should take to finish thisproduct, block that time out to
(17:50):
get this product done. When youdo that, when you've set that
publish date, and you've blockedout your time to finish the
product, tell someone about it.
This creates a littleaccountability, and it helps you
to cross that finish line. Infact, one of the best ways to
(18:10):
tell someone about it is notjust to tell a friend who you
know is going to say, Oh, don'tworry. It's okay if you don't
meet that deadline. One of thebest ways to tell someone about
it is to send an email out toyour list that says, next
Thursday, I'm publishing a brandnew product on this because that
way you have a whole list ofpeople who are waiting for that
product. It might even help yougenerate some early sales.
(18:34):
Once you've published thatproduct, come up with a little
celebration that you can have tomake hitting that publish button
feel rewarding. This doesn'thave to be anything huge, but
focusing on the work and thecourage and the vulnerability it
takes to hit that publishbutton, and not focusing on the
(18:55):
potential sales and whether ornot you met some goals can
really help you to buildmomentum and to learn to enjoy
the publishing process, to learnto celebrate getting that
published product out there,completed, shared with the
world.
When you do this, it can be assimple as going out for a cup of
(19:17):
coffee or some ice cream at yourfavorite local coffee shop or
having a special dinner thatnight. If it's a bigger product,
maybe you treat yourself to amani pedi, or whatever else it
takes for you to feel like youhave celebrated the work that
you just did. When you do, shareyour launch publicly and tell
(19:40):
people how you're celebrating.
Take that little picture of yourcoffee at the coffee shop and
say, celebrating my new productlaunch with a cup of whatever
your favorite coffee is.
When you do this kind ofreframing your mind that launch
day as the version 1.0 day. It'sthe start of something new, not
(20:01):
the end of the old productprocess. It's the start of this
new product getting better andbetter and better over time.
When you shift your mindset tothis version 1.0 you need to
start planning for version 1.1right from the beginning.
So come up with a space that youcan collect those ideas for
improving it. Maybe this issomething like a Notion
(20:23):
dashboard where you keep all ofyour product improvement ideas
and come back in tiny days, ormaybe before the next launch. If
this is a product that you'relive launching over time, come
back and make those first setsof updates to make it better.
See that version 1.0 mindsetisn't just about getting
products finished. It really isabout changing your relationship
(20:47):
with your creative work. Whenyou embrace the idea that
everything that you're puttingout there is a work in progress,
you are freeing yourself toshare your ideas, your
creations, your products withthe world, without that
paralysis we often fall intowhen we're trying to make
everything perfect.
(21:09):
Let's talk about action steps. Iwant to challenge you to choose
one unfinished product thisweek, because I know you have
one, and set a firm publishdate. Tell someone else about it
to create accountability, andput some time in your calendar
to work on those last stepsbefore you can hit that publish
(21:29):
button. As you're going throughit, create that version 1.0
checklist, those things that youhave to get done in order for
your product to provide value,to make a difference for your
buyers and to look professional.
And then all those other ideasthat you have rolling around in
your brain can come in version1.1 or version two or version
7.3. Schedule yourself a littlecelebration for after you've hit
(21:55):
publish, so that the very act ofcompleting this product is now
rewarding for you, not just thesales that are going to come
later.
All right, this week, like Isaid, I am challenging you to
pick that one product and committo releasing it into the world.
When you do publish it, send mea DM on Instagram
(22:15):
@kristendoyle.co so I cancelebrate with you, but also so
I can share your product or youroffer with my audience. If you
need a sign to quit stalling andshare that product with the
people who need it, this is it.
Remember, the goal is not tocreate perfect products that we
never edit again. It's to helppeople solve the real problems
(22:38):
that they're facing, and youcannot do that with products
that never see the light of day.
Somebody out there is waitingfor exactly what you have
created, and even your version1.0 will give them the help or
the boost that they need rightnow. So get out there and
publish the product already.
(22:59):
I'll talk to you soon!
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