Do You Fight This Tendency Like I Do?

Yup.

And what is more amazing, the "simpler" product - the one that kinda "flowed" out of you, would probably sell better.

Add too much garbage on it and it will make it more difficult to get the idea across and thus, sell.

Plus, you end up never acting on it anyway! lol (if you make it too complicated, that is)

Rob

Hi Rob. Yeah, that's so true. The most successful WSO I've ever put out in terms of volume of sales was about something that literally popped into my head one night. I had the ebook written and the videos shot and the WSO ready to go less than 48 hours later. Didn't even feel like work. It's just so strange to me that the experience didn't really teach me anything. I mean, I know it did intellectually... I'm posting about it here, after all. But it didn't even put a dent in my behavior on this score. So frustrating.

John

Very good post, and an important point you;re making...

I get a idea that's simple and would be easy to execute.

But, I can;t leave it alone, I have to play with it, expand it, etc.

Now, the much bigger idea sounds awesome, but is also intimidating.

I don't think I can do it well, it will take too long, its too expensive etc.

So, I shelve the idea. I think some of my best ideas end up in this scrap heap.

I haven't got a clue how to stop doing this, would love suggestions as well.
_____
Bruce

I'm terrible for it and even though I've learned many lessons, it's still like a disease that I can't control. Although I have improved.

My worst trait is I have an idea with an end goal, that is... I might visualise a product being exactly how I want it to be. After intense work, leading to a lack of enthusiasm, when / if the idea finally comes to frooition, it turns out my idea of perfect doesn't tally up to what the customer is looking for becuase you never really know the answer to this until you start getting feedback.

I then go about the long process of cutting everything down to being as simple as possible (back to my first idea) which makes it closer to what the customer really wants, allowing me to then refine and make it better! Basically, I take months to do what could have been done in a few weeks maximum with better results. And I still do it!

Lee

An early mentor taught me that this problem really
boils down to how you think about yourself and the
value you believe your ideas have to others.

The need to expand and tinker is an indication that
you don't have enough confidence in the basic idea to
let it stand on its own merits when, in fact, its much
better in its basic form.

I approach projects the same way I write copy....

I write the first draft then read through it several times
to see if there are extraneous words and phrases that can
be eliminated without changing the message or reducing
the impact of the final product.

The end result is far more powerful than if I started with
the initial draft and expanded from there.

Genius is always found in simplicity... the grandest problems
almost always have simple solutions.

Tsnyder

I think people that have big products started small, they sicked with their niches produced quality products, build trust and made it big (as far as info products). So maybe good idea would be to pick that niche and work with it to create a buzz around your name so you gain trust and than start creating great products that will sell big.
I know something about that. I have been spending time on this forum every day. I outsource things a lot I know you can make it by working hard and there is no magic pill but I still want to find it that our nature. We get excited about something and than discouraged. Good luck

I am guilty.

John, now I know why you are bald...because grass doesn't grow on a busy street

I get those late night ideas as I'm drifting off too, but once I write it down I don't jump on it until I get finished with what is cooking on the front burner.

This also helps to motivate me to finish my projects so that I can go to work on that exciting new idea.

It's like thinking of it as the dessert that is waiting for me after I finish my dinner.

The drawback with my technique is that at some point halfway through dessert, it becomes more like a meal with the broccoli and I have another dessert on the table that I'm looking at.

Wow. I need to get out more

Something that you personally can do with your products to avoid the dreaded expanding addons, is to solve one or two problems with your product but have free upgrades for customers.

Once you create the perfect addition to the product, you can contact your buyers and give them the added elements.

It's a good way to stay in touch too.

It is very VERY easy to become the bottleneck in your own business. I have done this several times and it is easily one of my biggest faults in relation to internet marketing. I think it comes down to a lack of trust in others, or trusting that I can do the job better. That is a good attitude to have for some things but in order for your business to grow you have to put trust in others that they can build certain aspects of it without your interference. I'm still a work in progress for this but I'm slowly giving my workers more responsibilities that I previously wouldn't have.

Had this same problem when I first started, kept thinking project wasn't good enough and kept tweaking until I had wasted so much time and prob lost money in the process that I could have been making in mean time.

Concentrate on doing what you were going to do in the first place, get it out there and then tweak IF NECESSARY.

Just like any new business or idea, it will grow over time, don't worry about making it perfect right away.

PS - I wonder why so many good ideas come to us when we are in bed and about to doze of. Maybe it's because our mind is clearer and we are not thinking so much and that allows new ideas to pop into our head. Whatever the reason, I always keep that pen and paper next to my bed ready to record my next millionaire idea, lol.

this is quite normal...it's all about being a perfectionist, always trying to improve, expand, escalate and eventually complicate an idea; so many people fit in your description, yet those that break this cycle are those people that are too lazy to do what you are doing, and they settle for the primary and basic idea; the prime idea is probably the best one, so get lazy on it

Any successful business started with a basic idea (facebook, amazon, ebay anyone?) and now once the basic idea had been portrayed were they able to then slowly make it more fuller, through user feedback and funding...

How about when you write an idea in its simplest form, you print that idea out and sticky it infront of you. Should you then go and edit it digitally on your computer, and find your idea has become something it shouldn't have. Look up, grab the sticky, and use it.

I use a whiteboard in my office to keep myself focused. I find that even 20 minutes on WF will spur alot of new ideas or twists on current projects. In order to keep my life simplified I keep a prioritized list on my board and each day I endeavor to finish at least the top 1 or 2 items.

There's always a temptation to change them or add to them but just remember nothing is permanent, you can always add to or adjust them later! Like a big ship, adjust the course as you go... but get outta the harbor first!

I have all of my good ideas in the shower BEFORE I go to bed and after having this self same problem for ages I found it was easier to say "good night" to my hubby and hit the computer. If I leave the idea until the next day then I want to add stuff, that makes the final product unwieldy and in some cases just plain useless. For example when I did my first WSO I included steps on just about everything except how to turn on a computer, lol - by using the "stay up and get it done while I think of it" method I at least get a full draft done by morning and then I am less inclined to muck about with it.

Lacking sleep
Lisa

So relate John. I have 3 products right now sitting in word files because I got so intense on them... perhaps because of Tsnyders response above, that by the time I was done I couldnt even recognize the original idea anymore. Needless to say they probably wont get put out... too difficult now to re-connect with that original vibe.

This problem is so common in the software industry (and made even worse by how much longer it takes to turn an idea into working code) that software developers have come on with some pretty creative solutions. You can read more about "agile methodology" but let me share the most useful bit with you.

Agile planning and release...

Human beings are terrible at only coming up with what they need. It seems once you set your brain into "ideas mode" it's going to keep giving them to you whether you want it to or not.

Traditional planning says to just think up what you need then do it. But as you've described in your post, this never happens. You keep adding stuff and creating a mess out of what used to be a simple (and probably pretty awesome idea).

So in agile planning you don't try to stop your brain coming up with more and more ideas.

Instead you get a bunch of index cards and write each feature on a card.

Then you put them in order. NO CHEATING ALLOWED.

Two features can never be as important as each other. Ask yourself, if I had a gun to my head and had to choose RIGHT NOW to only have feature A or feature B, which would I pick. And put them in that order.

Once you've got a bunch of ideas and ordered them take another index card and write "RELEASE: v1.0" on it.

Now start at the top and ask yourself if you absolutely HAVE to have that feature to release v1.0. Remember, you're not saying you won't have it ever, just that you won't have it to release v1.0.

When you get to the first feature you don't absolutely HAVE to have, place the RELEASE card above it in the list. Since everything below the 1 feature you can do without has a lower priority, you can just forget about them for now.

Now start at the top and work your way down. When you hit the RELEASE card, release it.

If you come up with more ideas, put them in the priority list. Only in extreme cases should you allow subsequent ideas to be put in above the RELEASE card. If they weren't important enough to think of to start with, you probably don't need them for v1.0.

This way you never say "no" to a feature. You just say "not yet".