You Don't Have to Do Everything on Your Own to Be a Successful Business Owner
When you first start your own business, you pretty much accept that you're going to be wearing a lot of different hats. One minute you're doing the work you actually started the business to do, the next you're sorting invoices, replying to emails, trying to understand something on your website or wondering when you're supposed to find time to post on social media.
And for a while, you just get on with it because that's what running your own business looks like, doesn't it?
But somewhere along the way, it's quite easy to fall into the trap of believing that because it's your business, everything has to be your responsibility.
And that's where things can start getting a little bit messy.
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to
One of the things I see quite often when speaking to business owners is how much pressure they put on themselves to have all the answers. They feel they should know what they're doing, be able to make every decision and somehow find enough hours in the day to keep everything moving forward.
And when they can't, they start questioning themselves.
The reality is that nobody starts a business knowing absolutely everything. You might be brilliant at what you do, but that doesn't automatically mean you're going to be brilliant at marketing, managing your finances, building a network or figuring out what direction your business should take next.
And why should it?
You started your business because you had something to offer, not because you fancied becoming an expert in seventeen different professions overnight!
There's a difference between being independent and doing everything alone
I completely understand why business owners want to maintain control. After all, you've probably put a huge amount of time, energy and money into building something that's yours. But being independent doesn't mean you can't ask for help, bounce ideas around or lean on other people when you need to.
In fact, I'd argue that recognising when you need another perspective is one of the most valuable things you can do for yourself and your business.
Sometimes that support might come from an accountant, somebody who understands marketing or another business owner who's been through something similar.
Other times, you might simply need somebody to sit down with you, listen to what's going on in your head and help you untangle everything.
Because when you're constantly working in your business, finding the time and headspace to work on it can be surprisingly difficult. And sometimes, it's worth asking yourself whether your business has actually outgrown the way you've been working.
You don't always need somebody to give you the answers
This is something I feel quite strongly about when it comes to mentoring.
I don't believe my role is to tell somebody how to run their business. It's their business, their decisions and ultimately their journey. But what I can do is ask the questions they might not have considered, challenge their thinking when they're getting in their own way and help them recognise what's actually important rather than trying to tackle everything at once.
And sometimes, just having somebody outside of your business to talk things through with can make a huge difference.
Somebody who isn't emotionally involved in every decision, who can offer a different perspective and who isn't afraid to give you a gentle nudge when you've been putting something off for the third week running!
So, what are you carrying that you don't need to?
If you're reading this and recognising yourself in any of it, perhaps it's worth asking whether there are things you're holding onto simply because you've always done them yourself.
Are there tasks somebody else could help with? Decisions you've been going round in circles over? Or things you've been meaning to do for months but never quite seem to get around to? You don't necessarily need to go out and hire a whole team or completely change the way you work.
Sometimes it starts with a conversation, asking for advice or simply admitting that you could do with another pair of eyes on something.
Running your own business will always come with its challenges, but you don't get extra points for making it harder than it needs to be.
And you certainly don't have to prove how capable you are by doing absolutely everything on your own.
If you feel like you've got a hundred things going round in your head and could do with somebody helping you make sense of them, you're always welcome to get in touch. Sometimes a good conversation is exactly where things start to become clearer.
