In my last blog, I encouraged all of you, business owners, to reach out of your comfort zone for a hand from someone who’s offering it. Go get yourself a mentor or 3! Read books and articles that give you ideas, suggestions and knowledge that will help you grow your business. You need that breath of fresh air and outside perspective. This month, I want to encourage you to let professionals do what they are great at so you can focus more attention on growing your business.

Do you have an accountant that keeps your books straight? A tax professional? A marketing team? A website and SEO resource? An Insurance partner? A trusted assistant?

These professionals serve in what’s known as the “Business Services” industry. They specialize in one aspect of business support so that we, entrepreneurs, don’t have to know or DO everything ourselves. If you read the book I suggested last month, “The e Myth” by Michael Gerber, you’ll remember that any business owner that spends too much time and attention on one part of their business is likely doomed to failure. And the way to avoid over committing in one of the 3 personalities is to hire people! This gets tricky and I always hear people (including myself) say “I just can’t afford that”.  But honestly, you have to understand that every minute you’re focused on moving expenses to the right bucket or picking up lunch for the crew, you’re NOT growing your business. It’s called opportunity lost. It’s really hard to measure it or quantify it and that’s why so many of us avoid hiring out many business services. It requires entrepreneurial thinking instead of practical business management. “If I’m taking pictures and naming them properly and posting them on my social media channels, I’m saving money right?” Well perhaps… but if you weren’t doing that you could be attending a Chamber event and meeting people or playing golf in a tournament and growing your network! You know - really hard stuff like that. An entrepreneur is constantly thinking and looking around every corner for the next opportunity to make a connection.

As a business owner, your presence out in the community is worth more than you realize. Building relationships with people grows your business exponentially. If your business is local, you will grow faster if you get out of the shop and away from your desk.  Join clubs, a non-profit, attend events, get involved and HIRE people so that you can. And on that note, I’m closing this laptop and running to an After Hours event to have a drink and who knows who I’ll meet!