Perfection Vs. Excellence In A Home-Based Business

In North America today, jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate for many reasons which include downsizing, outsourcing and companies going bankrupt. Job security is a thing of the past. Fifty years ago the American dream for many was to get a good education and work their way up the ladder of financial success in corporate America. It was not uncommon to remain with the same company for 25 to 30 years. Today, most people change jobs every 3 to 5 years.

Those individuals who manage to keep their jobs long term are usually overworked and underpaid. People are beginning to realize they will never fulfill their dreams in corporate America and are looking at other ways to reach their money making goals. Starting a home based business is appealing to many today because they usually require no major investment to start and build. The number of home based businesses that have begun in recent decades has caused a major shift in how money is made in North America.

Unfortunately, many people who start home-based businesses quit shortly after they begin. When asked why they quit, people always have a quick answer and a compelling reason why they could not continue. Some of the common responses are: I wasn’t making any money, the products cost too much, I am not good at sales, I didn't have enough time, nobody was interested in the type of product I offered or I felt like I was using my family and friends.

These are some of the excuses offered but not the underlying reason. The real reason people quit is because they do not understand how to move forward. People are often paralyzed by fear in business and can't move forward because of a belief that they must be perfect before they do so. In other words, they have a fear or failure because they do not yet believe in themselves or their presentation.

In his book, Success Happens, Dr. Tom Barrett says that " The pursuit of excellence is a goal. The pursuit of perfection is a curse." People confuse excellence with perfection and only allow themselves a pass or fail grade in all their business activities. This approach to life is usually learned at an early age from parents who complain about "what they did wrong instead of what they did well."

He uses an example of shaming or scolding a child for not folding towels correctly. Being treated this way day after day teaches a child to pursue perfection rather than excellence " in order to avoid feeling like a failure." Having to do everything perfectly leads to worry, constantly trying to improve before engaging in money making activities and fear that something is going to go wrong.

The only effective way to become successful in a home-based business or any business is to "fail forward," as John Maxwell discusses in his book Failing Forward. "Failing forward" teaches the business owner to allow himself to make mistakes and learn from them as he or she grows into excellence. The goal of excellence allows the business owner to realize there are steps that must be taken in order to achieve excellence.

First the business must begin by engaging in income producing activities. Next, promoting the business will be done poorly because of lack of experience and knowledge. This is where most people get stuck. In order to achieve excellence the business owner must be willing to go through inevidable rejection and humiliation that goes with conducting the business poorly and ineffectively. Why? Because there is no other way to achieve excellence.

The most valuable lessons learned that lead towards excellence are learned from what is done wrong rather than what is done right. "Experience is the best teacher." Any business entrepreneur who has achieved great success in business will acknowledge that their many failures is what led to great success. In fact, every success story I have ever heard includes the many failures experienced along the way.

The pursuit of perfection is truly a curse because it either leads to long term frustration because of unattainable dreams or quitting the business. The pursuit of excellence may be challenging but it is one anyone can achieve and it will take the business owner to levels of success in their home-based business that few ever achieve.