When to Ask for Help and Working ON Your Business Instead of Working IN it
On today’s show we talk about when it’s time to ask for help.
Then discuss the difference between working ON your business instead of just IN it.
We wrap things up visiting at the water cooler for a fun filled, free range random take on our recent adventures.
Thanks for listening!
Click below to listen to Episode 4 of Season 7.
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Asking for help is not always easy to do, especially as a business owner.
But it can be crucial to your success.
REASONS
Let’s talk about a few “reasons” you might not ask for help and what you might want to consider instead.
I SHOULD be able to do this myself
Whose expectations are you trying to live up to?
I can’t TRUST anyone else to do it
Are you just not used to things being done differently?
It’s just QUICKER for me to do it
Could you just take a little time NOW to save time LATER?
WHEN IT’S TIME TO ASK FOR HELP
When you think about “asking for help” the way you might handle this is very similar to the way you and your business partner/spouse decided on roles. We discuss roles and our Three T process in this blog post. But here is a brief overview.
TIME
Do you have the time to do these tasks or is this the BEST use of your time?
You are the leader of your organization.
If your time could be better spent elsewhere, then it’s time to ask for help.
TALENT
Are you the best person to do this?
Would an outside professional be better suited or a skilled employee?
Sometimes it’s better to rely on someone with a very particular set of skills (not the kinds that Liam Neeson has in Taken, but you get the point.)
TAKE JOY IN
Do you even like doing this task? Maybe you even dread it.
In some cases, it’s not about time or talent. It’s just not something you want to do.
When you don’t like something you are likely to put that task off or avoid all together. So, asking someone else to handle a task is the better business choice.
WHO TO ASK
Asking for help doesn’t always mean you will need to pay for professional services or hire a consultant (although those are great resources). It could be looking to the people already in your circle and finding the best fit between task and person.
You could ask:
Your Spouse/Partner
Employees
Your Mentor
Even Chat GPT (but be sure to double check, and don't ask it to draw hands)
We just discussed when it might be time to ask for help and delegate. Now, let’s hone in on one thing in particular: Being the Business Owner
This means working ON the business instead of IN it.
There is a comfort in doing the work that you enjoy or inspired you to open your business in the first place. And, by all means, keep doing the things that bring you joy. But there are times when you need to focus on the big picture.
This could mean asking for help (see above) on those tasks that you don’t need to do or relying on technology.
For example, say you own a bakery and make amazing wedding cakes.
Being the Business Owner doesn’t mean you stop making cakes BUT it could mean you:
Delegate tasks that don’t need your expertise
Streamline your process so it is easily repeatable (i.e. online ordering, internal systems, etc.)
Train staff to grow into larger roles as you scale; you can’t do it all yourself if you want to grow
Block out time to handle admin, staffing, new business and marketing tasks each week if these are not already handled by a staff member or vendor (and even then, make sure you are plugged in to these)
If you are a micro-business, like us, you might not want to scale or hire, etc. But you should still think about where your talent is best used in your business and frequently review the things you do to make sure they help you towards your overall goals.
We’ve got lots more insight about all kinds of couplepreneur stuff on our blog, so check it out!
