I love you entrepreneurs who subscribe to my posts. I love your heart. I love your work. I love that you are doing what you love to do and making your dreams come true! Small business owners make the world go round!!!!
I get many, many emails from my small business followers with the same question and most of them are from my “creative” fans. They all tell me “I need help, but am afraid to hire people”.
Once upon a time…..13-14 years ago, I was there too. But I quickly, quickly got over that roadblock and I want to help YOU do the same.
When I began my business 14 years ago, it was just me. And I got very, very busy with several interior designers very quickly. Then, within the first year of business, I got pregnant. And I got busier and busier with painting jobs. But soon my belly was the size of a small Volkswagen and it was no longer feasible for me to be going up and down ladders. So, I asked my sister-in-law to come to work with me. She had a love for faux finishing also so it worked out perfectly. I loved the people and the process and the business side of things. And she loved to paint and she was amazing at it. So while I baked babies over the next 6 years, she painted and painted and I did all the background work.
Since then, I’ve hired many other people to work for me and now that my business has expanded so much in the past few years, I’ve had to hire even MORE people. I know what your objections are to getting help and I want to get you over the hump. Your future GROWTH as a business owner DEPENDS on it.
Concern #1: “I’m scared they won’t do as good of a job as I do”.
Truth: If you hire the right people, they will. In fact in my case, since I am a hot mess (remember this blog post), my girls are way better at painting all day than I would be. My sister-in-law took GREAT PRIDE in her work…..she is amazingly talented and wanted to be sure that both myself and my clients LOVED what she was doing. If you find people who work like THAT…..you’ll have no worries. Pick people pleasers! Pick people who LOVE what they are doing. Pick people who take a great sense of pride in their work. In addition, you can PICK and CHOOSE what you have them do for you. Maybe it’s just basecoating walls. Maybe it’s prepping furniture. Maybe its cleaning your workspace. You can specify what you want them to do. And, if people don’t do a good job, it’s not permanent. You can find other people. But trust your instincts to find good people. Good people will do a good job. I’ve always been so blessed in this area.
Concern #2: “I’m scared if I have people work for me that they will learn all my trade secrets and go off on their own”.
Truth: That very likely can and even may happen. Your alternative is continuing to do it all yourself and barely staying above water. Your alternative is staying a one man band. Your alternative is not growing. Look, I’ve had 3 girls I can think of right off the top of my head who have worked for me and started their own faux finishing businesses and they each do very well. I’m not upset, I’m not freaked out. Great leaders develop other great leaders! Of course if you have proprietary information and industry secrets, that is one thing…..but that is usually not the case. Being terrified of people leaving you will only hold you back. If it happens, you deal. But I’ve found that if you are GOOD to work for, generally people will stay! And if they don’t, wish them the best. Some people are meant to learn from you and then learn to fly on their own. Don’t curse your own business by hoping they fail. Hope they SUCCEED! That will say a lot about YOU as someone they learned from!
Concern #3: “I can’t afford to pay someone to help me”.
Truth: That is a poverty mentality that will never help you to expand. Some of you can’t afford to NOT hire help. You are about to crash and burn and if you don’t get some support…. you will regret it. I have hired people for 13 of the 14 years I have been in business. And normally when I hire more help….even more business comes!!! Plus, when you hire help, you feel the need to provide work for them….therefore you hustle. And hustle generally means more work. It will work out. Trust me. At this point I have 4-6 girls painting for me every day. I have an administrative assistant, a web developer, an accountant, a house cleaner and someone to take care of my lawn. I am not telling you that to boast. I’m telling you that to free you. And I am not lazy. Rather, I am creating time to do what I am good at by paying people to do the things that I am not good at or I don’t want to do. When I am able to focus on the things I am good at, marketing, Facebook, blogging, etc….then I can generate more income to pay the other people I am hiring. It’s a beautiful thing.
Concern #4: “I have a hard time giving up control of my emails/paperwork/phone calls/etc.
Truth: I was so hesitant to hire an administrative assistant. I thought people needed to talk to ME (that’s arrogance) and I was so nervous about the amount of time it would take for me to train her (that’s laziness). Plus, I was nervous I would miss valuable calls, emails ect. Let me tell you something people…..it took me about a week to get over all that nonsense. Hiring an administrative assistant last year is the.best.business.move.i.have.ever.made. When you all see my assistant Vicki, I want you to give her a hug for me, ok? She is the best and has saved my sanity so I can write posts like this that will help you keep your sanity. It’s time to get off the crazy train people!!!!! I have committed to being transparent in front of my followers. So, when I overcome hurdles, I want you to also! Assistants ROCK! GET ONE!!!!
Concern #5: “What if I don’t have enough work to keep them busy?”
Truth: Some people don’t want a committed full-time gig. I know many, many people, stay at home moms especially…..who would love to have a few hours of work here and there. Remember….you OWN the business, you get help on the things YOU need help on for the number of hours YOU decide on. It’s amazing how even getting help for 5-10 hours a week will FREE you up to do other things! Often, things like marketing which will bring you more business.
So I am going to give you one more tip. And I say this with lots and lots of love in my heart. Control freaks do not do well with hiring. And control freaks usually have a problem with thinking THEIR way is the ONLY way. If you are a control freak, you need to get over that. There is more than one way to skin a cat! And if you can’t learn to hire, then you will stay stuck where you are. It’s as simple as that. Trust yourself to find good help. And trust that good help you hire to do a good job.
I have a short video on You Tube about delegating that I filmed last year on delegation that may help you also:
That’s a great recap to this post!
So, I want you to THRIVE. I want to see your businesses GROW. I want you to get some FREEDOM back in your life. For some of you, it’s time to put your concerns to the side and get some needed assistance. I want you to write me when you do. And I want to cheer you on.
I am rooting for you.
Your favorite cheerleader,
Jennifer
2 comments
Needed to hear that!!!
Great post, Jennifer. And you’re right — lots of women (especially) would love to find a part-time gig where they could excel. Thanks for sharing. xo