Analysis ParalysisThe last job I had was analyzing and managing investments in the financial services industry.

Now, to do this work effectively it was really important to analyze company financial statements and stock market information to make decisions.

Luckily, I do have a naturally analytical mindset so I was able to perform my duties effectively and enjoy the process too.

However, whilst this was an advantage in my last job it became a real disadvantage when I started my online business.

I found that I was over-thinking virtually all aspects of what I was doing with the result that progress took much longer than it should have done.

I recently heard an interview with a very successful web entrepreneur who said that the people who were most successful tended to be ones used to following orders. Ex-military people or manual workers in particular seemed to do very well online.

I’ve now seen hundreds of people suffer from over-thinking exactly as I did. It’s incredibly easy to think yourself into a situation of indecision or “analysis-paralysis”.

Has this happened to you? If so, here are some things NOT to worry about when you’re starting out:

  • Getting the “perfect” domain name for your website
  • Which WordPress theme looks best for your site
  • People hacking into your download pages and getting your products for free (just leave them unsecure for now – hardly anyone will hack them and the ones that do won’t buy anything from you anyway)
  • Fancy graphics for your site (leave it until later or spend 15 minutes submitting a job to fiverr or oDesk)
  • Long term business planning and how you’re going to build out your product portfolio (things change so quickly that this planning is almost always pointless)
  • Unrelated “Biz op” distractions that can send you completely off course with what you are doing
  • Which bank you should choose for a Merchant Account (just use PayPal or Clickbank as I did – both can be set up in a matter of hours)
  • Creating a “War and Peace” free gift to build your list (instead start with a 4-5 page eBook which will take you less than a week to compile, working 1 hour per day)

All of these examples can be fixed and improved later on. But ONLY once you have set up the basic foundations of your business and got it off the ground.

Remember the Golden Formula: Find a profitable niche that you’re interested in > Build an email list of prospects > Create trust and market high-value products to that list.

The real truth is that 99% of the time quick and dirty solutions really do work and the vast majority of successful people are also the ones who just get on and implement them rather than allowing themselves to get bogged down in the detail.

Have you suffered from over-thinking as I have? Drop a comment below and let me know. All comments, questions, good or bad are most welcome… 🙂