Building an Audience is Hard: Respect the Process

Originally posted on EverydayMarketers.com

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

There. I’ve said it. The most common and overused platitude in the world. Literally. But in this case I think it is appropriate. Let me tell you a brief story and then explain what that has to do with you and your work.

My cousin just bought a house. You will hear a lot about this house in future blog posts because it really left an impression on me. So prior to last weekend I had never seen “The House.” I’ve heard about it. My dad told a little bit about it. My other cousins have mentioned it. It always came with a sort of reverential deference. The House. I didn’t understand; until I saw it. And then, just like the Great White Buffalo in Hot Tub Time Machine, my cousin’s house became The House.

It is a very unique, fantastic house. It has HUGE potential to be amazing. The kind of house that people love to go just because it is so interesting. But not today. Today it is a project. No, not a project. A project has the connotation of building a volcano for a science fair. Or putting together a crib. Or painting a few walls. This house is not a project; it is a massive, Herculean undertaking. It is a story that will never be truly finished but will continue to evolve year after year. And I equal parts love and hate it. It is awe-inspiring and terrifying.

The House

But it made me think about process. About big picture shit. About vision and dreams and aspirations and hope and faith.

I would never buy this house. I am afraid of it and its potential to destroy me. Yet, I see the potential. I admire my cousin, his wife, and their family beyond belief for taking this thing on.

But here’s the thing. And this is the moral of the story. It won’t be done tomorrow. It won’t be done in a month. Or a year. And that’s ok. When I went to help, I mowed the lawn and helped patch the sheetrock in the ceiling (which is terrifyingly tall. We were on scaffolding stacked like 20 feet high.). My cousin will continue to remove the asbestos on the ceilings. Then we will tear down a wall. And put up a new wall. One day we (I keep saying “we” cause I totally want to help and watch this thing happen) will paint a wall, then another wall. The point?

It takes time.

Baby steps.

Just like your blog. You compare your blog to one that has been around for years. Like I mentioned in a previous post, blogging takes time. It is easy to get frustrated with your slow process. It is also easy to compare the progress other people make and how fast they seem to go while you are stuck in place. Believe me, I totally get it.

So what can you do today? Paint a wall. Write a post. Then tomorrow figure out how to add pictures. Maybe work on that for a few weeks and then move on to the next thing. It won’t happen today. Or tomorrow. And probably won’t happen this year. But that’s ok. Likewise, your company will take time to grow. We expect overnight success because that’s what we see. We don’t see behind the curtain at the hours that went into making a sale or recruiting a big client. We don’t see the failures, stacked up like old newspapers, constant reminders of what didn’t work. We don’t see the many iterations of an idea. All we see is the shiny, polished end product and then expect ours to look the same.

It won’t. At least not today. But if you are persistent, you will see results. The House is one day closer to being amazing.

Respect the process. If what you are building is worthwhile and deserving of attention, it will get there.

Shit takes time.