Good Enough for Femmeprenistas: Beat Overwhelm & Thrive

Good Enough: The Busy Femmeprenista's Secret Weapon Against Overwhelm

Juggling biz & family? "Good enough" is your superpower! Learn how to ditch perfection & thrive. #femmeprenista #busymoms

Ever feel like you're juggling flaming torches while balancing on a tightrope, all while trying to look effortlessly chic? You know that feeling, right? Welcome to the beautiful, often chaotic, world of the Femmeprenista – especially if you’re also navigating the joys and demands of motherhood. In this world, the pursuit of "perfect" can be a fast track to burnout city. But what if I told you there's a powerful secret weapon hidden in plain sight? It’s the art of "good enough."

Now, before you clutch your pearls & assume I’m advocating for mediocrity, let me explain. "Good enough" isn't about settling. It's a strategic mindset shift & a practical survival tactic, especially when you're running a business, raising a family, & trying to keep all the balls in the air (without losing your sanity). I get it! Between trying to craft a killer marketing plan in between bedtime stories & potty breaks or running an errand with my toddler daughter, when she decides that the supermarket is a race track & not a place for food, it's like “Girl, I feel you." Because sometimes just getting through the day with both eyes open is a victory in itself. And honestly, there have been days, weeks even, where I've questioned if II was even "good enough," juggling my PhD, four kids, and this business – the pressure can be immense. It's in those moments I remind myself that progress, not perfection, is the true measure of success. As you juggle everything & are building your business, especially as a Foundation Builder, I think sometimes we overcomplicate, where we want it to be, so, so perfect. Honestly, when was the last time 'perfect' was actually achievable anyway? 😉

So, how do we embrace "good enough" without sacrificing quality or our ambitious goals? Let's dive in.

Reframing "Good Enough": From Settling to Strategic

The first step is reframing what "good enough" actually means. It's not about lowering your standards; it’s about raising your awareness of where your energy is best spent. As I'm always saying, I don't just dig the hole I'm told to; I actually question is this the best way of doing things? My PhD research into Black female entrepreneurship has shown me that many successful women operate from a framework of strategic prioritizing—knowing what truly needs to be stellar, where 80% effort yields 95% of the results, & what can be delegated, outsourced, or even ditched altogether. For example, when I was building Cocoista Ltd., one of my biggest lessons was learning to prioritize tasks that directly impacted sales and customer satisfaction, rather than getting bogged down in perfecting every tiny detail. Good enough allows you to focus on what truly matters - working smartersmarter to get to those ‘good enough’ goals more quickly & efficiently. It really comes down to combining your intuition, experience, & learned knowledge to filter out the fluff from the foundations, so you’re only focused on the good stuff – the stuff that will actually get you results. The Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule as it is more commonly known) is a great example of how we can use this concept of good enough to our advantage. In a nutshell, it shows us that 20% of our effort often gets us 80% of our results. So why not flip that on its head & use that 20% as the foundation for what we do? This means focusing on high-value content creation, strategic marketing campaigns, building robust systems that leverage the power of AI, & setting clear goals that actually mean something – what use are goals if they don't actually motivate or inspire you? Then, when you have those core foundations in place, you’ll find that the rest tends to flow more easily – like a river finding its natural course & avoiding those unnecessary, time-wasting detours.

Think of it like this: Imagine you're launching a new website. Yes, the design & copy need to be excellent, showcasing your brand brilliantly (that's where you bring the Flair). But does every single image need to be professionally shot by a top photographer? Probably not. Perhaps some high-quality stock images will do the trick for the initial launch, allowing you to focus your resources on the core message & functionality. You can always upgrade later!

The "Good Enough" Mindset in Action: Practical Tips for the Busy Femmeprenista

Here's how to apply this principle across different areas of your business, saving you time, energy, & possibly your sanity – something I am acutely aware of as I run my own business, conduct research for my PhD, & still try & enjoy some time with my amazing family. Just recently, my six-year-old decided it would be a great idea to experiment with mixing all the colours from her paint set to create "the perfect brown" – unfortunately, the canvas for this artistic endeavor turned out to be the living room carpet. It wasn’t perfect timing, to say the least, but it did give me a fresh anecdote for this blog post, reminding me that while the theory of entrepreneurship is fairly easy, it's not actually easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it – especially with little ones around!

•Content Creation (Flair): Aim for consistent, valuable content, not necessarily daily masterpieces. A quick tip? Repurpose! That insightful Instagram post? Turn it into a blog snippet. That engaging Facebook Live? Transcribe it for a quick email to your list. That awesome blog post? Cut it up & share on social media. That’s one post, doing the work of 4 – now that is smart working! Try using a tool like Repurpose.io to streamline this process.
•Social Media (Flair): Engage authentically, but don't get sucked into the comparison trap. It's okay to miss a day! Be strategic. Choose 1-2 platforms where your ideal clients hang out, & focus your energy there. Schedule your posts in advance using a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite.
•Client Work (Flow): Deliver exceptional service, but don't let perfectionism paralyze you. Set clear boundaries & deadlines, communicate proactively with clients, & learn to say no to requests that don't align with your core offerings. Remember, done is often better than perfect! Implement a client management system like Dubsado or HoneyBook to keep everything organized.
•Email Marketing (Flair & Flow): Keep your list engaged, but don't feel pressured to send daily emails. A weekly or bi-weekly newsletter with genuinely valuable content is more than enough! Use a service like Flodesk or Mailchimp to automate your email sequences.
•Systems & Automation (Flow & Fusion): The ultimate timesaver! This is where "Flow" truly comes in. Explore tools that streamline your processes, from scheduling social media posts to automating email sequences to managing client onboarding. The goal is efficiency & reclaiming your time. Perhaps even think about hiring a virtual assistant or using a Ready-to-Launch Kit if you’re at the early stages & need help building those foundations. A great starting point is to map out your current processes & identify bottlenecks. This is where AI can be a game-changer, helping automate those repetitive tasks and free up your precious time and energy for the things that truly matter – like strategy, creativity, and connecting with your clients. Thinking of AI as your "intelligent assistant" can really shift your perspective and make those tech hurdles feel more manageable.
•Personal Life (Fuel): This is where prioritizing well-being & setting firm boundaries are your non-negotiables. We all want work-life integration, but what that means is different for everyone. But if you're constantly giving your business 100% & then giving yourself & your family what’s left, both are losing! That’s not the kind of legacy you want to be building. Schedule dedicated family time in your calendar, just like you would a client meeting.

Handling the "But I Have to Do It All Perfectly!" Objection

I know what you might be thinking: "But Carlene, I havehave to do it all perfectly! What if my clients think I'm not professional? What if I miss out on opportunities?" I understand. I've been there. My first venture, Nisbett & George, taught me so much about the pressures of wanting to do everything "right." And then there’s the constant juggle of motherhood where I never know how much time I’ll get until another kid emergency happens. Remember that time I had to present at a conference, & five minutes before I was due to go live, my infant son decided to demonstrate his newfound artistic talent by redecorating his outfit (and mine!) with a generous helping of mashed banana? Talk about a "good enough" moment! It wasn’t ideal, but I took a deep breath, cleaned up as best I could, & reminded myself that connecting authentically with the audience was more important than looking perfectly polished. If I hadn’t embraced the "good enough" principle in that moment, I probably would've had a full-blown meltdown!

So take it from someone who gets the beautiful chaos & the fierce ambition of the Femmeprenista! It's a windy path, & there will be bumps. But here's what I learned from my time scaling businesses like Cocoista Ltd.: it's about working smarter, not harder. It’s about being strategic in how you use your limited time & resources. It’s about getting things done efficiently & effectively. It’s about getting the right support & knowing how to use it.

Here's a quick 3-step checklist to challenge that perfectionist voice & move forward with imperfect action:

Identify Your Fears (Focus): Write down three specific fears holding you back from embracing "good enough." (e.g., "My clients will think I'm unprofessional," "I'll miss out on opportunities," "My work won't be perfect.")
Challenge with Evidence (Focus): For each fear, find evidence that contradicts it. (e.g., "Have I ever lost a client due to a minor imperfection?," "Has striving for perfection actually led to more opportunities or just more stress?," "Does 'perfect' even exist in a constantly evolving world?")
Replace Fear with Action (Focus & Flow): For each fear, replace it with a small, imperfect action you can take today. (e.g., "Send that email even if it's not perfectly worded," "Delegate one task I've been holding onto," "Set a timer for 30 minutes and focus on one core task without striving for perfection.")

Your Smallest Viable Step: Embracing Imperfect Action

What’s one area of your business where you can apply the "good enough" principle today? Share it below! Let's create a supportive space where we celebrate progress over perfection & empower each other to thrive, not just survive. Join our free global community, Femme:Connect, where we discuss all things business, motherhood, & the beautiful juggle of it all. You can connect with like-minded women, get support navigating school holidays, access free masterclasses on client attraction, find accountability partners, & so much more!