It is okay to ask for help. In fact, in my humble opinion not only is it okay but asking for help actively shows maturity and confidence. if this one hits a little “close to home” rest assured, I wasn’t thinking of you as I wrote it …… honest!
For some reason, I’m still meeting so many business owners that seem to think the best way forward is to do it all yourself. With a myriad of reasons as to why it makes sense for other business to ask for help but not me. Oh no, I’m just fine over here doing it all myself. (Only they weren’t fine, not fine at all!)
Before we continue on, if this one hits a little “close to home” rest assured, I wasn’t thinking of you as I wrote it …… honest!
I’m not ready yet. If you have already thought about getting help for your business then great, you are already ready! Ask somebody who you admire in business if they think you are ready to hire help. The answer may be a pleasant surprise.
My business isn’t ready yet. If you are finding yourself trying to fill your day then your business may not be ready. However, if you are not great at something and it is holding your business back then it doesn’t matter if you are ready or not. You need to ask for help.
Also, you want to ask for help “before” you get to crunch time and before you are in a panic about it. If you’re already in a panic ….. your business is ready.
I don’t have time to train a new person. If you don’t have time on your hands you need to ask for help. There is only so much you can do alone and you have hit it already. That’s actually great news. Now you just need to ask for help to grow past the plateau.
I can’t afford to hire anyone. Financial planners and statisticians around the globe agree. Asking for help and hiring staff/contractors makes you more money.
I can do it better myself. I want to say get over yourself …… but I won’t because that’s kinda judgy. Ask for help and let them do the work. If you truly believe the work they are doing is a hindrance to your business and they won’t get better with a little training then okay you have the wrong person doing the task. This just means you need to find and ask the right person for the task.
I did hire someone and it was a disaster. Yes, this sucks. Once bitten, twice shy kind of thing. However, nothing we do is perfect first time out. You learnt from that first disaster and going forward will be better. If I’m being honest with you all, when I look back at my prior hires who didn’t work out well, I have to shoulder some of that responsibility myself. Not being clear on my ask or knowingly hiring the wrong person (and yes, probably because they were the “cheaper” option or because it was an emotional hiring decision rather than a fact-based one) contributed to said disaster.
Now then, if you have already worked through all of the above “issues” you can see why I say it shows maturity. Most business owners have had to work through these thoughts at one point or another. Have the confidence to do what is right for you and what is right for your business. Ask for help.
We have an amazing group of members here at CNBN. If we have an actual member who is the right person to help you with your ask, I’m pretty sure the network can track down the right person. Go boldly, go confidently …… and ask for help.
