Hey team,
We just wrapped up our second Small Creator office hours. It was fun answering your questions about putting together a YouTube starter kit, how to not overthink an essay, and if it’s important to have more than one writing buddy.
We’ll be coming back with office hours on Friday 9th Jan at 8AM GMT. It’s completely free and we’re planning on hosting fortnightly. You can sign up here 🚀
Speaking of creating ...
Ever felt like “raising your standards” was the very thing that stalled your project?
That’s what happened to Bhav Sharma with her podcast. She had nine episodes recorded for season two - ready to go - but decided she wanted to add a polished, narrated intro to each one. That small “quality upgrade” added just enough friction to stall the whole thing. The episodes never went out.
Becky Isjwara had been there too. Early in her writing journey, every newsletter issue went through five rounds of edits, with feedback from other writer friends. But when she started a much busier new job, she knew that process wasn’t sustainable.
💡 Why Quantity Wins Early On
When we start something new, it’s tempting to raise the bar immediately. We want every post, video, or episode to be “worth it.”
But for us small creators, raising the quality bar too soon slows output, kills momentum, and sometimes stops the project altogether.
Quantity isn’t “sloppy work.” It’s deliberately giving yourself enough reps to improve without burning out.
Reps matter more than results because:
You get better, faster - skills compound when you publish often.
You dodge perfectionism - if there’s another piece next week, you can’t overthink this one.
You give luck more chances - the more you post, the higher the odds something lands.
🛠️ How to Keep the Bar Low (and Still Improve)
Here’s the process we’ve been using and what’s worked for us when the temptation to over-polish creeps in.
In fact, we’re going to use our own podcast as an example (very original, we know).
1. Picked Our Own Cadence
Weekly, fortnightly, monthly - the “right” frequency is the one we can sustain without resentment. Given timezones, work, and just general life chaos, we chose to put episodes out monthly.
2. Accept the First 10 Will Suck
Our episodes don’t sound like the polished shows we love. They’re too rambly, the thumbnails aren’t great, and we’ve missed deadlines. That’s fine. We treat it as the tutorial level before the real game begins.
3. Simplify Your Workflow
Every extra step is a chance to procrastinate. Templates, batching, and stripped-back processes help. If making a fancy thumbnail takes too long, we opt for a simpler one.
4. Lower the Bar, Then Add Quality Later
Once the habit’s locked in, add one upgrade at a time.
Example: Becky’s recording setup was nowhere near Bhav’s at first. Instead of overhauling everything at once, we took it step by step:
USB-C cable → HDMI cable → cooling fan for the dying ZV-E10 → dummy battery. We could’ve pre-ordered everything in one go, but taking it slowly kept us moving.
🌟 What We’ve Noticed So Far
Five episodes in, we’ve noticed:
Momentum builds faster when the bar is low.
Progress is easier when we focus on one improvement at a time.
More people now know we have a podcast - which matters more than one “perfect” episode.
Do we still hear our inner critics? Every episode, yes. We worry it’s too rambly, too long, not valuable enough.
But then we remember: with just a handful of listeners (hi, all five of you 👋), we have more freedom to experiment than if we had 100.
🧭 A Final Thought
Lowering the bar isn’t about ditching quality. It’s about sequencing.
Start with quantity to build the muscle. Layer in quality to level up.
Place the bar on the ground. Step over it. Raise it later.
💬 Your Turn
What’s one way you could lower the bar on your next creative project so it actually ships?
Hit reply - we’d love to hear it.
Bhav & Becky 🌎
🎙️ Last week on the Small Creator Big World pod
In our first solo pod, Becky dives into how the attention economy has creeped into journalism, and why the most future-proof reporters will be the ones that think like content creators. Check it out here 👇
Proud to be 1 of 5 very loyal listeners 😎 but also this standards thing is so true, can’t let overthinking and perfectionism get in the way of my writing — not in 2026!