Online Business: How To Finish Projects (Even When You Don’t Want To) [LNIM137]

You started your project with excitement. You had a clear vision, a burst of energy, and real momentum. Then somewhere along the way, the enthusiasm faded, obstacles piled up, and now you are stuck in what Mark calls “the messy middle.” Sound familiar? In this episode, Mark shares three practical strategies for pushing through and actually finishing the projects that matter to your online business.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• What “the messy middle” is and why almost every project hits this phase
• Why saying no to new opportunities is essential once you have committed to a project
• How to reconnect with your original motivation when enthusiasm fades
• When and how to change your plan without abandoning your goal
• The difference between quitting for the right reasons and giving up too early
• How Google Chrome security warnings are affecting website owners (news segment)

Episode Summary

Mark opens with an observation that hits home for most side hustlers: we are really good at starting projects and really bad at finishing them. The pattern is predictable. You set a goal, you imagine the outcome, and there is a flurry of excited activity at the beginning. You make visible progress and it feels great. But then the initial excitement wears off. You hit unexpected obstacles. Things take longer than you planned. The work becomes harder and less fun. Welcome to the messy middle.

The messy middle is where most projects go to die. Mark has seen it in his own work, including courses he has been developing for over two years that still are not finished. He is honest about the fact that this is a universal struggle, not just something that happens to beginners.

Mark offers three strategies for surviving the messy middle. The first is to stay focused and say no. Once you have committed to a project, resist the temptation to chase the next shiny opportunity. Inspiration gets you started, but perspiration is what gets you across the finish line. Every new idea you pursue pulls energy and attention away from the project you already committed to. Drive your projects from start to profit before moving on.

The second strategy is to recommit to the project. Go back to the beginning and reconnect with why you started. What was the original motivation? What outcome were you excited about? When you lose sight of your why, you lose your fuel. Sometimes all it takes to push through the messy middle is reminding yourself why this project matters and making a conscious decision to see it through.

The third strategy is to change the plan. Mark references the quote, “No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.” Your enemy is life and all its surprises. The plan you started with may no longer be valid, and that is perfectly fine. The objective has not changed, just the path to get there. Revise the plan, adjust the timeline, break things into smaller pieces if needed, and keep moving forward.

Mark closes with an important distinction: it is okay to quit something, but only for the right reasons. If a project genuinely no longer makes sense, shutting it down is a valid decision. But if you are quitting because the messy middle is uncomfortable, that is not a reason. That is the moment to dig in.

Key Takeaways

• The “messy middle” is the phase between initial excitement and completion where most projects fail
• Say no to new opportunities until your current project is done. Focus is a discipline, not a feeling.
• Reconnect with your original motivation by revisiting why you started the project in the first place
• When your plan stops working, change the plan but keep the goal
• It is okay to quit for the right reasons, but discomfort in the messy middle is not the right reason
• Finishing imperfectly is always better than not finishing at all

What's Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this episode in May 2017, and while the core advice about finishing projects is timeless, the tools and support systems available to part-time entrepreneurs have improved enormously.

Project management tools have become far more accessible. In 2017, most side hustlers used basic spreadsheets or Trello boards to track their projects. Today, Notion offers a free personal plan with databases, kanban boards, and templates specifically designed for content creators and entrepreneurs. ClickUp provides a generous free tier with task management, goal tracking, and time estimates. Todoist remains one of the simplest and most effective task managers available, also with a free plan. These tools make it much easier to break projects into manageable pieces and track your progress through the messy middle.

AI assistants have changed the game for solo entrepreneurs. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help you break a large project into specific tasks, create realistic timelines, draft content, troubleshoot technical problems, and work through decisions that used to require hiring a consultant or asking in a Facebook group. When you are stuck at 2 a.m. trying to figure out the next step, having an AI assistant available changes the equation. It does not do the work for you, but it removes many of the friction points that cause people to stall out.

The “building in public” trend has created new accountability structures. Entrepreneurs now share their progress on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and dedicated communities on Discord and Circle. This creates natural accountability that did not exist at scale in 2017. When you tell an audience you are working on something, the social pressure to follow through is real and effective. Newsletter platforms like Beehiiv and Substack have also made it easy to document your journey and build an audience simultaneously.

The messy middle has not gone away. It never will. But the support systems around it, from better tools to AI assistance to built-in accountability, mean that a determined side hustler in 2026 has more help finishing projects than at any point in history. The bottleneck is still the same one Mark identified: making the decision to push through.

Resources Mentioned

• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Don Miller
• Lynn Terry at ClickNewz.com
• LNIM136 — Procrastination Tips: Overcoming Fear
• LNIM114 — Switching to HTTPS

Related Episodes

If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:

• LNIM163 — Keys To Creating Consistent Content
• LNIM136 — Procrastination Tips: Overcoming Fear

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.