Note: This article was originally published in the Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. newsletter, a free monthly publication featuring business-building strategies for professional coaches.

I was recently speaking with a veteran coach, let’s call him Dave, who has been dragging his feet for a LONG TIME around launching a website for his business.

Dave felt he was stuck because he didn’t know what to do and was worried about making a bad decision and wasting his time and money.

Reasonable concerns.

So we coached around it. Within 15 minutes, “not knowing what to do,” was no longer an issue. Dave decided what domain name to register (his name) and learned where and how to register it (godaddy.com).

We clarified his objectives and desires around website development and support. I recommended he check out Web Power Tools and Indra Successful Coach Marketing, two reputable and affordable companies to contact. We even created an outline of the main pages and core content for the site.

We then addressed his fear of buyer’s remorse, which was pretty easy to do. The action plan we outlined was within his budget. The time and energy required to fine-tune his message and write the copy are investments he needs and is ready to make.

Next I got permission and asked, “So Dave, when are you going to take action on this?”

After the initial, “I hoped you weren’t going to ask me that,” I got a whole lot of excuses.

Dave did need more information and guidance on “the how’s” of launching a website, but that’s not what has been keeping him stuck.

Sound familiar?

(I love this picture of Mud Maid at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It’s such a great depiction of stuckness, don’t you think? I found it on freedigitalphotos.net)

Instead, Dave’s need for things to be perfect and the underlying fear of really “putting himself out there” were the real reasons he was not moving forward.

If you find yourself in this situation, what should you do?

1. Do a Quick Cost/Benefit Analysis. Connect with your objective. Identify the benefits of achieving it and the costs of remaining stagnant. Dave was very clear that the big benefit would be a lot more business credibility. The costs were missed opportunities and an overall dragging down of his business.
2. Do Some Easy Things. Build momentum by getting into action around the simple, easy, obvious next steps. For Dave that was registering his domain name and researching/contacting the web development companies.
3. Be Okay with “Starter” Mode. For example, if you envision having a custom, fancy, interactive, fully e-commerce capable website but haven’t done anything to make that happen yet, it’s okay to start with a basic, 5 page “brochure” site.
4. Create External Accountability. It’s easy to put things off until tomorrow. That’s why you want to create external reasons to get things done. For example, Dave could set up a lunch meeting with some prospects that have been referred to him and use the meeting date as a deadline to get his new site launched.

While it is normal to feel stuck on occasion, the key is not staying there very long! The most successful people in business are really good at making decisions, taking action and getting things done.

As one of my favorite mentors, T. Harv Eker says,

“Indecision is the leading cause of roadkill.”