There’s an expression “Building the plane while flying it.” It’s usually used in a positive context — we’re agile, we can turn on a dime. And in the worst sense “We don’ need no stinkin’ planning!” I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Sometimes there is a pressing need to launch a product fast — maybe you just found out that you’ve been invited to some big convention and it’s the perfect venue to promote that new training program or new product you’ve been contemplating. So you leap off the cliff and go for it. But you better at least have a propeller and a steering wheel.
Think about it. If you’re going to launch yourself, or a product, into the air, don’t you think a few essentials would be nice? Like maybe a business plan, or a project plan. You may not have time to put everything in fancy documents, but you will be less likely to drop like a rock if you have a general idea of the process. That’s where some basic training comes into play. Gary Vee talks about paying your dues, and being patient and consistent. That means that even if you have the means to hire other people to do the back end work for you, you need to understand the process. Do you start telling people about your new product before you’ve built a website? Do you take orders before you even know what the components are of your new training program? Depends on how good a pilot you are. And that usually translates into training and experience.
For newbies I highly recommend learning the basics. Relax, you don’t have to do it yourself if you don’t want to. But you do need to know that Piece A comes before Piece B and that Piece C is optional (sometimes). If you don’t know those things, you may stumble through it and be alright, but you may crash and burn and lose money as well as motivation. On the other hand, if you’ve been through the product launch process a few times and you know what you’re doing, then go for it. I still think that a map is a great tool, but some people like flying by the seat of their pants. If you can pull that off, more power to ya! But us mortals like to at least scratch a few notes on the back of a napkin.
And yes, I’m going to tie this back to experience. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to fly with a pilot who knows what she’s doing. I like pleasant flying experiences and I love pleasant business experiences. And so do our customers. We all want to get on a plane that is capable of getting us to wherever we want to go. So find someone to mimic, or to study with. But no matter what, understand the business process that works for your type of business, and understand where the landing strips are before you take off.
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