KNOWING
WHEN ITS TIME TO ASK FOR HELP
CARA'S
CORNER
I'm
more than halfway through Andy Wibbels Podcasting Boot Camp and
I have a new blog that I thought was going to be my podcast blog
but just learned I have to create a new one for podcasts only
since I want to do both text and podcasts. Oh dear, my learning
curve... My new site is www.thesuccessmagnets.com.
That will be the blog part. I will create www.thesuccessmagnetspodcast.com
in the next few days. Don't forget to start with "the"
or you'll end up someplace else!
Blogging
and podcasting have their own set of directories that I get to
submit to and other things to learn about optimizing them. But
a blog is easy, you can post new things as often as you like and
people can subscribe to your "feed" which means they'll
get an e-mail notice when a new post is made. I don't subscribe
to many but I enjoy the ones I do.
I'd
also like to remind you that now is a great time to analyze where
you are in your business and where you want to be. It's a perfect
time to make new marketing plans and set up new systems. If you're
ready to fly higher and would like some coaching support, I'm
ready when you're ready! 707.538.2148
May
your holiday season be filled with love and laugher.
Warmly,
KNOWING
WHEN ITS TIME TO ASK FOR HELP
Most
entrepreneurs are creative, independent sorts. We go exploring,
we make our unique versions of things, we dive in and learn whatever
it takes to move our business forward. So how do we know when
it's time to ask for help?
Life
is supposed to be fun. Business is supposed to be fun, especially
when you are in business for yourself because you want to express
your passion. So the first sign that you may need to ask for help
is when you begin to have a few grouchy moments, find yourself
feeling slightly overwhelmed, and recognize your need for more
time for yourself.
Another
sign of needing to ask for help is when you don't have time to
create anything new, when you can't form a new joint venture,
or create a new product, or even contemplate adding anything more
to your marketing plan.
We
need to stay close to the Creative Core of our business. Anything
that pulls us away from that Creative Core needs to be farmed
out to others, if at all possible.
Yes,
we should all schedule whole days of creative time into our weekly
schedule. We need those days to contemplate our vision and our
goals, to allow new ideas to surface, to create new products.
And, because we get excited about what we are doing, we also need
to prioritize and make viable choices.
So
what would you ask others to do for you?
Get
help with the bookkeeping
One
friend dislikes the invoicing part of her business so much that
she lets it go as long as possible. She found that her granddaughter
was willing to take over that aspect of her business and free
her up to do the graphic design work she loves to do.
Hire
a Virtual Assistant
There
are many talented people offering their services as virtual assistants.
You
might want to hire someone to do nothing but post your articles
to the Internet. That's not hard to do, It's just time consuming.
You
might want to hire another virtual assistant who is technically
savvy to help you in that arena. How many times have you been
on with Technical Support to set something up that someone else
might be able to do for you? How many technical support documents
have you spent hours reading when a virtual assistant who already
knew how to do that could complete the task in minutes?
You
might want to hire someone to update your web site with your latest
schedule of events. Again, that doesn't take long, but add that
to a lot of small maintenance tasks and your schedule starts to
fill. Identify those time-consuming tasks that someone else might
do for you and take them off of your "To Do" list.
Locate
a Consultant
Collect
the names of people you can contact for consulting on special
areas. I know people who I can ask questions about podcasting,
audio, publishing, video, site optimization and blogging, I know
people who can edit my copy, edit the sound on my recordings and
I know the graphic designer I prefer to use. These may simply
be people you know that can give you an answer or they may be
people you need to hire. Keep track of who knows what among your
friends as well as who is recommended for a specific service.
Upgrade
Your Equipment
Will
a new headset free you up? Do you have the right recording equipment?
Do you need to upgrade a software program or purchase an additional
one? What businesses are out there that can do this for you (like
host your blog, or record your audio)? Take an inventory and invest
in the speed and efficiency of your equipment.
Hire
A Coach
Having
a coach to call on will up level your ability to move forward.
This person knows where you are in your process, what you intend
to accomplish and you have chosen that coach for the knowledge
he or she possesses. Knowing who to call when it's time to make
a new decision can help you get unstuck with amazing ease and
rapidity.
You
don't have to do it all yourself
Remember,
your job is to free yourself up to stay close to the Creative
Core of your business, which resides only within you.
Hire
people who love to play at things you have to work at.
Then
free yourself up to play at what you love to do!
©
Cara Lumen 2006
www.caralumen.com
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