Why I'm terrified (and why that's a good thing)
I'm nervous as hell right now.
Not the casual butterflies kind of nervous. The full-blown, sweaty-palms, second-guessing-everything kind of nervous.
Why? Because we're about to launch our newest Pip Deck in a way we've never done before: a live webinar. And I'm going to be front and centre.
Whilst I've done the odd event here and there, nothing compares to the meticulous planning and orchestration required for a product launch webinar. It's a different beast entirely.
Something's been nagging at me lately. Our product launches used to be a big deal. People would get excited. We would send an email, people buy (or don't), life goes on. It works, but barely. The spark is gone.
We've gotten lazy and complacent. The wrong kind of comfortable.
And the wrong kind of comfort is a slow business killer.
Remember how Amazon's Jeff Bezos talks about maintaining "Day One" thinking? It's the idea that the moment you think you've made it, and get comfortable, is precisely when you start dying. You just don't know it yet.
I've written before about how being "lazy and passive" in the right ways can keep your business alive, about knowing when to conserve energy rather than frantically exerting yourself at all times. But there's a crucial difference between strategic laziness and dangerous complacency.
When was the last time you did something in your business that genuinely made you uncomfortable? Not the mild discomfort of a tough decision, but the genuine fear of attempting something completely outside your wheelhouse?
For me, it's been too long. And I can't ignore the warning signs:
- We keep expecting each product launch to be bigger than the last, without putting in the extra effort
- The old reliable formula (email list → sales page → checkout) isn't hitting like it used to
- What worked brilliantly in 2021 simply isn't cutting it in 2025
So we're going all in on this webinar launch. And bloody hell, the work involved is staggering. It's like preparing for a West End show: scripts, slides, timing, tech rehearsals, contingency plans. There are the awkward practice runs where I sound robotic. The constant revisions to make every minute count. The sleepless nights wondering if anyone will actually show up.
But somewhere in this nerve-wracking process I realised the discomfort is the point. It means you're stretching rather than stagnating.
The process has forced us to articulate our value proposition more clearly than ever, and to create value beyond just "here's a thing you can buy".
And perhaps most importantly, it's reminded me that a critical part of building a business is being willing to step into the spotlight and be judged, rather than hiding behind landing pages and automated email sequences.
Sue Williams (the hostage negotiator I wrote about a while back) would probably say I'm building trust through authentic connection. And isn't that what we all want from the brands we love? Not just their products, but the sense that real humans with real passion are behind them?
Will this webinar approach work better than our old launch formula? I honestly don't know. It might flop spectacularly. I might freeze on camera. The tech might fail.
But the alternative, doing the same comfortable thing we've always done and expecting different results, is business suicide.
So I'm choosing deliberate discomfort: the pebbles instead of the boulder, as I wrote about before.
Like in Jiu Jitsu, the skill is knowing when to conserve energy and when to be explosive. The webinar launch is my moment to be explosive. Afterwards I'll return to the strategic relaxation that keeps the business sustainable.
So, what comfortable pattern in your business needs breaking? Maybe it's finally raising your prices, or firing that client who pays well but drains your soul. Whatever it is, I bet the mere thought of it makes your stomach clench a bit. That's how you know it matters.
Maybe this was useful, maybe not.
Charles Burdett