PP 161: Two Years and a Dozen Flopped Launches…

This morning, I was reflecting on all the changes that there have been in my business since I launched my podcast. The podcast was launched in October of 2016, And in the two years prior, I launched no fewer than a dozen different programs and services.

The other day, I was looking through my Dropbox account trying to find an image I’d uploaded there. And while I was searching for that image, I saw all the graphics I had created for a number of these different launches. All I could do was shake my head and laugh at myself looking from one product to the next. I couldn’t believe how out of line with me and my brand those products actually were.

Two Years and a Dozen Flopped Launches…

The sad truth is that those products were even out of line with the brand I had at that time. I was simply chasing the successes of others and chasing income. If I’m gonna be totally honest with you though, we were also broke and I was panicking.

I was working out of scarcity mode, saying yes to every client, and doing whatever I felt was necessary at that time to make $1. Unfortunately, that meant creating programs and services that I held no passion for, and in the end would announce once, usually on Facebook, and then drop when nobody purchased.

Two Years and a Dozen Flopped Launches…

If this sounds like something that you’re doing right now, I want you to think about it. I want you to think about what you actually want to be doing in your business to make an income.

I want you to think about what you could actually put together if you gave yourself a week, a month or 90 days. And trust me, I know that if you’re struggling for money right now, then waiting to launch a product in 90 days could sound very painful and very scary. Again, I know because I’ve been there. However, please, I’m begging you, don’t put out a product today just because you need $1 to pay your electric bill or rent or your mortgage payment.

Spend even 24 hours connecting with yourself and putting together a product or service that really resonates with you. If you can afford it, give it even a week or two to warm your audience up, connect with people on social media, and share a little bit more about you and the value you can bring to your customers or clients. Don’t launch something today out of desperation.

Two Years and a Dozen Flopped Launches…

Looking back, I’m realizing that that is probably how I looked. Every time I launched one of these silly products or services, I never connected with anybody. I would pop into a Facebook group just to announce this new product, and then I would disappear again. If it had truly meant something to me, like the Positive Productivity brand does, than I would have been in there on a regular basis, connecting with people, sharing insight with people trying to help them improve their lives, and eventually try to sell my product.

But if you’re like me, and you’re popping into groups today just to share your latest product, and you know, you’re going to disappear again tomorrow.

Push pause before you push send.

Since I launched the Positive Productivity podcast year ago, I have launched two products, the Positive Productivity Book Club, which is actually being rolled into a new products that I’ll be offering soon, and the positive productivity planner, which will be released soon, and it’s full hardcover version. I know that these are both products I am passionate about. I’ve been talking about them with my team for well over a year, and I haven’t gotten bored with them, nor have I given up on them.

In the past, when something really wasn’t in line with me and my passion, the project would stop practically as soon as it got started. Maybe you’ve heard me discuss hundreds of shallow holes and in an earlier episode, but that’s really what I had. I had hundreds of shallow holes. This year is going to be the first year that I’ve dug deep holes.

In going back to our childhood days, it almost feels like I’m digging a hole to the other side of the planet. It feels great. I’ve put my shovel in, and I’m continuing the work that I am passionate about.

I’m not gonna lie and say that this journey hasn’t been scary. It really has been. But I think it’s been more exciting than scary knowing that I’m finally fully vested into what I’m working on. And, knowing that regardless of how good or bad the launch does, I’m going to be proud of myself, because I stuck with it.

For the first time in my entrepreneurial life, I have no abandoned projects. For the first time in my entrepreneurial life, I have not created programs or products that I am not passionate about. And I want you to be able to experience the same feeling that I am feeling.

So, look at what you’re working on today. Give yourself some time to reflect on the project and decide if it’s really in line with you and the impact that you want to make on the world. And, if that project doesn’t make you smile, then please listen to me and think about letting it go. Wait until a project or service that really makes you feel excited comes up and then fly with it.

Now with that said, go forth and make it a positive and productive day.