Progress, Not Perfection: Tips for Entrepreneurs by Cassy Martinez, Founder of LadyLab

LadyLab is a community engagement app created by Cassy Martinez, winner of the 2018 Be Rare Foundation grant. The app focuses on bringing together entrepreneurial women to work together and make their dreams a reality.

“Cater to the audience you know well and have a passion for.”

Cassy spent a halfyear backpacking journey and working at hostels before she applied for the grant. Since then, she created an app to help women connect with other boss ladies to take their businesses to the next level. Here, she shares with us what she learned during her journey taking LadyLab from an idea to reality.

1. If you have an idea and you don’t do it, someone else will. 

Ideas come and go. They come to people and if you’re not the one to take action on it and dedicate yourself to the work, the idea will leave you and go to someone else who will carry it out. Think of all the times when something new comes out and you think “I had that idea years ago.” or “I can make something better than that.” If you have those ideas, go for it. Do it. Because if you don’t, someone else will.

 

2. Find a way to hold yourself accountable for completing tasks. 

For Cassy, it was applying for The Be Rare Foundation grant. Because her friends kept suggesting she apply, she sent in her application on a bus as she was traveling. If she wanted to win the grant, she needed to get LadyLab ready to present. Doing that and telling as many people as possible about the project given her the motivation and accountability she needed to really get things done.

 

3. Progress, not perfection.

This was the name of the panel event hosted by LadyLab in 2019. The fear of it not being “just right” will oftentimes hold us back. But having something out there for people to use, try out, and gain traction is better than not having anything out there at all.

“We will hold off from letting things come to fruition because of perfectionism.”

Part of the reason we also wait until we feel things are perfect is because of fear. We’re afraid of being vulnerable and having an idea we worked so hard on being shot down. But going back to the first point, if we don’t do it now, someone else will.

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We are still swimming in the energy from LadyLab’s first event ever! ✨🥰 There were manicures, mezcal and cute little gift bags, but nothing compares to women coming together on a mission to collectively vibe on a higher frequency 🙌 The evening carried the impact of your best friend in your ear cheering you on thanks to our lovely panelists, @ashleyrachel, @iam.rachelg, and @dimplez – your honesty and passion left us inspired to leave perfectionism in the past 🙏 Girl, you better chase those dreams! 👏 Keep the party going by downloading LadyLab to start growing your network and net worth 💡 LadyLab was built for boss ladies just like you. We’re here to provide you with the tools to go forth and conquer your hopes and dreams. When you jump in, you’ll get free access to tools like our inclusive community, our projects board and your own customizable creative portfolio. …And if you’re like us, AKA still buzzing off the night, share your favorite moments with us by tagging @weareLadyLab, @OVLosAngeles, @WORD.Agency and #weareLadyLab to spread the love 💕 We cannot wait for the next hang. Let’s keep the energy IRL. Cheers to us all getting it done! 👯‍♀️✨💅 #ProgressNotPerfectionPanel

A post shared by LadyLab 💡 Boss Lady Networking (@weareladylab) on Mar 2, 2019 at 1:58pm PST

4. Accept constructive feedback, but trust your gut.

Always remember what your mission is. It is good to get outside opinions but it can become overwhelming. It may also not align with what you are doing.

“Know which advice to lean into and which to disregard.”

 

5. You don’t have to take it full on right away. 

You can do it part-time until you or the project is ready. The challenge of doing it part-time is that you have to find the time between your everyday life to work on it. There is a different level of satisfaction with that. You made the choice to work on your project instead of something else after a long day. If you do take it on full-time, know that you don’t have to wake up living in wonderland loving it every day. It’s hard work. You are allowed to get frustrated and tired.

 

6. It can be a lonely experience.

People don’t understand until they can see something. Even then, they may still not understand. Find a solid, trusted group of people you can lean on. The ones who understand and the ones who may not understand but still supports you. LadyLab has tons of creativity-driven users who are looking for like-minded women to join their girl gang. Just look for the “My GirlGang” selection on a profile.

All of these steps are what made it possible for Cassy to kick off LadyLab. The app is a place for women to present their portfolio, find other like-minded women who are looking for skills to grow their business or looking to share their skills and knowledge. After setting up your own portfolio, scroll through the many portfolios of women all over the world. If someone’s work catches your eye, send them a pitch on how you can collaborate and exchange skills.