Knowing it all

As a business owner, people are waiting on us to set a course of action, make decisions, and lead full steam ahead.

So, no matter if we are ready or not, there are days when we have to act like we know it all, just to keep things moving.

It can feel a bit hilarious, a bit surreal, a bit scary when much of our time growing the business, building a successful career and getting to the top ends up being an elevated form of making it up as we go along.

Secretly, we all wish there was some sort of a playbook that would let us leap over the trial-and-error phase and launch into doing it “right” from the start.

The truth is… life is not like that.

There is no playbook.

Not for your business, not for your relationships, not for your parenting.

Even when we find a formula that works, we have to continuously adjust — adjust for a new level of success, rejig the team, shift to the demands of a changing market, update, overhaul, create…. So there we are, once again, making it up as we go along.

No matter how many books you read and conferences you attend, you can’t know it all.

But you can find the people who know what you don’t.

The most successful among us look to those who have blazed the trail before.

I see over and over again that reaching out for help — whether it’s bringing on a bookkeeper, building out a sales team, hiring a coach — pays off quickly. Once those people are in place, there’s a very fast return on the investment.

And sometimes, handing over the job entirely to a qualified person eliminates unnecessary worries and distractions, and then, there is nothing that stops you from being unstoppable.

Whether you add experts (like accountants), or team members (like assistants), or specialists (like coaches or trainers), the sooner you strengthen your business strength and fill in knowledge gaps, the faster your business takes off.

It’s a huge relief to realize you don’t have to Know it All.

Know where you’re brilliant and know where you struggle. Then ask for help when you need it.
You’re not alone. And the smartest, quickest, most effective thing to do when you’re stuck or unsure is to reach out for help.