06 Sep Perfectionism vs. Done: When Should You Launch?
If you’ve ever started something in your business but never finished it, if you’ve held back from launching your new idea, offer, or service because it wasn’t perfect yet, or if you’ve convinced yourself you need just one more draft before you share your work with the world, this episode is for you.
Lisa breaks down the difference between putting out a first version to test and learn versus producing something polished that you’re genuinely proud of.
She gets honest about the first book she wrote, the parts that make her cringe, and why she can’t go back and edit it now without betraying the entire point of the book. She also shares what she’s doing differently with her second book, why this one matters more, and how she’s using deadlines, accountability, and structure to make sure it actually gets finished.
This isn’t about perfectionism or procrastination. It’s about knowing when to ship something scrappy and when to invest in production as an entrepreneur or creative. It’s about understanding the difference between building community and building a customer base. And it’s about making work that only you can make in a world where everything feels like it’s already been done.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
• The four principles you need to agree on before you decide whether to release something or keep working on it
• Why you have to put your work out in the world if you actually want to build a business
• The difference between creating for customers versus creating for community and why one will make you money and the other won’t
• Why being real and making something only you can make is more important now than ever
• How to know if you’re procrastinating, self-sabotaging, or genuinely working on something worth producing
• What “produced” actually means and how to know when something is ready for that level of polish
• Why you need feedback from the market before you invest in making something perfect
• Whether a bad first version can actually damage your brand and what to do if you’re worried about that
• Why you should stop using public deadlines to motivate yourself and what to do instead
• How Lisa finally wrote her first book after 10 years of starting and stopping
• What Lisa hates about her first book and why she can’t change it now
• Why Lisa chose self-publishing and what that process actually looked like
• How she’s writing her second book differently and why this one matters so much more
• A preview of Lisa’s new book, Am I Healing, and why it’s about what happens between the projects, not the projects themselves
• The plan to finish 100,000 words and how she’s using a membership, accountability partners, and a holiday deadline to make it happen
• Why creativity needs structure and how to build that structure without killing the magic
• Why entrepreneurs get stuck looping around ideas instead of moving forward in a straight line
• How to choose what you’re going to be known for and commit to producing it well
• Chris’s confession about the bestselling book he wrote in two days and what it taught him about just getting things done
This episode is for you if:
• You’ve been working on something for months or years and you’re still not sure if it’s ready
• You’re wondering whether to invest in production quality or just get it out there
• You’re stuck between wanting to be perfect and knowing you need to take action
• You’re trying to figure out when to iterate in public and when to polish behind the scenes
• You want to understand the difference between being a creator and being a business owner who creates
This is Produced.
More from Lisa:
Lisa Bean – coaching, speaking, books + latest work: https://lisa-bean.com/
Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisabeanuk/
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisambean/
Straight Line Through – Lisa’s two-year business growth programme: https://www.straightlinethrough.com/
First Sh!t Version – Lisa’s first book: https://lisa-bean.com/books/first-shit-version/
Am I Healing? – join the waiting list + be the first to read the first chapter when it’s released: https://lisa-bean.com/books/am-i-healing/