I’ve been running HI Communications for 5 years now but before this I had a job doing PR for a housing association.
When I was planning to leave and deciding if it would be the right decision I remember hearing in a podcast ‘You’ll always wish you did it sooner’
Even back then I listened to hours of podcasts every week, on my commute to and from work.
They were always about marketing or minimalism and they helped to motivate me and realise what it was that I wanted my future career to look like.
So with the words ‘you’ll always wish you did it sooner’ ringing in my ears, I decided to hand in my notice at work.
I actually ended up taking on my work as one of my first clients and the podcast was right, I did wish I had done it sooner.
But I also knew I’d done it at exactly the time I was ready to go.
Sometimes we have decisions we need to just go for, and sometimes it’s about waiting until the time is right - although deciding whether it even will be is another matter!
I’ve just finished reading Crushing It by Gary Vee and while I don’t agree with all of his views and tactics, I do agree with his view of just getting started.
When a new platform comes out or we have an idea, it’s easy to get stuck in procrastination or fear and not make the time to try it out.
But by just getting started we quickly learn how to get better, how to connect with our audience and improve.
Like in last week’s podcast, sometimes we just need to do the thing for 10 minutes and try it so we can’t talk ourselves out of it again.
A lot of the time we compare ourselves to others who seem to be doing more than us. Maybe they have a bigger following on social media, they look like they are sending out hundreds of orders each day or working with our dream clients.
But sometimes it’s just that they have been around longer and they got started sooner.
Gary says in his book ‘You have to put something out to know if you’ve got the goods. I didn’t mull over whether I was good enough to start the Wine Library or debate whether I was good enough to deserve a Youtube audience.’
‘That first episode looks and sounds totally different from the ones I created even four months later because I figured out that I could be me.’
He’s right, the point is the first thing you do is going to look different from the 10th, the 20th or the millionth try.
My newsletter has been a game changer for my business and I only started it last year. But imagine if i’d started it at the beginning of my business?
5 years worth of contacts could have been on that list!
My fear of getting it wrong or it being complicated and difficult stopped me from getting started, when actually it didn’t take long to set up at all.
I’ll always wish I started that sooner, but now I make the most of it and appreciate every single person on that list.
I've now recorded 13 episodes of the podcast and it isn’t reaching millions of people just yet. But I know that in a few years when I look back, I’ll be glad I started, and wish I had started last summer when I actually had the idea.
Those first episodes I recorded didn’t feel like me and I think that’s why it took me so long to get to the point of putting them out.
I actually re-recorded them all again and made them feel much more like my business.
While there was a delay until I FINALLY put them out…. Imagine if I had started years before! I wish I had started the podcast sooner, but now I want to keep consistently putting out useful and value content.
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I also think the same goes for when we need to STOP doing something. You might have a bad habit that you want to break, a job you want to leave or something you need to say no to but you keep saying yes.
You need to start saying no and stop doing the things that are standing in your way.
We all have a thing that we know we’ll look back and wish we’d done sooner. At the moment mine is having guests on my podcast.
I KNOW that it will be brilliant for both me and the guest. But something is getting in the way (probably the tech!) and there is a reason I’m not just going for it.
Sometimes the reason that we aren’t starting is because we don’t know how and we need someone to guide the way.
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Some other things I wish I’d started sooner are…
Sea swimming
Talking to the camera on my Instagram stories
And launching a group course!
I’d love to hear the things that you wish you’d started sooner.
I asked on my Instagram stories and here are some of the answers.
Yoga
Photography
Workout classes
Newsletters
Not overthinking everything
Getting a website and not relying on Etsy
Putting myself out there on Instagram and believing in my work
Learning Welsh
But I also had a message from a friend that said there isn’t anything, because they are a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Timing is everything and they seem to know when to make moves or change something.
When it comes to your business, there are times you need to step out of your own way and get started.
And there are times when you need to sit back and trust your instincts. Only you can decide.
But it’s always a good time to start a newsletter!