Putting off something that should be done now until a later time is what we have come to think of as procrastination. You might associate procrastination with someone who doesn't take the garbage out right away, or someone who puts off cleaning the storm drains until there is a real clog. However, procrastination is present in business situations as well. Some of the most brilliant, work oriented people are guilty of procrastination in business. Here's a bit of a story about a man named John.



John was a very clever, resourceful and smart entrepreneur. Upon deciding to open his own company in a niche that he wasn't very familiar with, but that was really hot at the time, John began researching. Of course, in the beginning John was only interested in finding the best ways to operate his company but his research turned into a means of putting off the business venture.

He researched target markets, different companies that were similar to the one he wanted to start, common prices for services and products in this niche, etc. The more he researched, it seemed like the more he found that needed to be researched. In fact, in a short period of time, John became quite the expert in this niche.

As he continued to research, he began research on using the best available products for his business that he could find. He looked at the statistics on business endeavors and employees. While most people think that research is a great thing, John ended up researching to the point that he was procrastinating. Whether he was nervous to fail at the business or he just had a compulsion to know each and every detail that had to do anything with his niche is unknown.

The point is that this kind of cycle is very easy to get into with entrepreneurs and others. Some of the most successful business men and women are the ones that jumped right in and learned as they went. Of course, this is not the best method to take either. A beneficial middle between these two is the most desirable way to go.

Business is full of risks. This is one reason that people are so drawn to business and in fact, some people were simply born for the rush and the adrenaline of starting a new business venture or taking a new risk. In order to be truly successful, we have to escape the trap of procrastination and jump headlong into the risk.

Of course, some education is needed in order to understand the workings of what we are diving into, but too much can paralyze us. And, too much education that really is not on purpose can be too much of nothing.