I recently wrote this email to a client who was getting stuck in decision paralysis & needed a kick in the pants, care of what I call a “tough love letter.”

I’ve removed all the details of her particular situation, but wanted to share the sentiment with you in case you need a similar loving kick in the pants.

The fear of making the wrong choice is preventing you from making any choices at all. And you've entered the realm of total decision paralysis. Now you’re looking to me for answers. I’m happy to give my professional advice, if that will help the process. But the answers have got to come from you. So here’s my advice: You need to just start.

The fear of making the wrong choice is preventing you from making any choices at all. And you've entered the realm of total decision paralysis. Now you’re looking to me for answers. I’m happy to give my professional advice, if that will help the process. But the answers have got to come from you. So here’s my advice: You need to just start.

Dear beloved client,

I heard your question, about whether you should re-think a decision that you’ve already made. And instead of responding to that directly, I’m going to write some things that I think you need to hear. I might end up sounding like a bitch, but I’ve been where you are and I think you need some tough love. (You’re a strong woman, I know you can handle it.)

You’re stuck in your head. You have a vision of where you want to be in five years, and you’re letting that cloud the decisions that you need to make now to get there.
So, for too long you’ve been stuck making small choices. And you want to get those decisions right.  You’re a planner — it’s what you do, it’s who you are — so you don’t want to mess this up.
But.

The fear of making the wrong choice is preventing you from making any choices at all. And you’ve entered the realm of total decision paralysis.

Now you’re looking to me for answers. I’m happy to share exercises that I’ve used, and share inspirational websites that might help you get an idea of how to move forward. I’ll even give you homework, if that will help the process.
But the answers have got to come from you. 
So here’s my advice:

You need to just start.

Get your name out there. Attract an audience.  Collect testimonials. Press the publish button even when it’s not perfect. See what resonates and what falls flat.
Because the best and worst thing about your website is that it’s never finished.  As your business grows, it will change. As you learn more, it will evolve.
There are no wrong decisions; there are just hypotheses that you are testing. And once you have more information, you can change your approach.

So make a decision, and let’s go.

We can always change it later. The only mistake that we can make here is to wait until the perfect name comes along and miss a great opportunity to start now.
Love,
Meg