When you become an entrepreneur, there is suddenly a lot of pressure to perform. You need to be at the top of your game all the time and have the answers to every question thrown in your vague direction. But this doesn’t mean that you are the only person you can rely on.
If you understand that business is more like a web than a hierarchy, you will find it a lot easier to ask for and receive the help you need to make your business work. It might be difficult at first but if you are not an expert, you should seek someone who can make smarter choices.
Outsource to a Specialist
One of the easiest ways to find an expert is to outsource for expertise. This is really commonplace in manufacturing industries. Businesses tend to specialize in a particular form of manufacturing, say custom metal stamping, and pass a product along to another manufacturing business for further work. So, if you imagine a car being constructed in a single factory, imagine another factory for each of the components and the web will start to come clear.
Working this way has huge benefits. For a start, you can rely on an expert to deliver their product perfectly because they have spent all their time and energy on crafting that one skill. Another good reason to do this is because it can be a lot cheaper to outsource each task or component than try to create everything under one roof.
If you do choose to outsource, make sure that you take the time to communicate your needs. Failure to communicate is one of the biggest mistakes people make when talking to experts or outsourcing.
Hire Talented People
Of course, if you really want experts to work with your business, it wouldn’t hurt to hire them. The key to hiring in any business is to create a diverse team of people whose skills complement each other. This means that while not everyone could do anyone else’s job, they do add clear value to the business.
If you are hiring an expert for a job you don’t really understand and have never done before, it can be quite daunting. But don’t let this put you off! You can bring in another interviewer with more experience to help you select the right candidate and you should ask lots of questions to test their knowledge and ability to explain it to you. If you want, you can always hire an expert for a particular project or short-term period so that you can see what they bring to the business and have a better idea of what you are looking for.
Understanding that you cannot be an expert in everything is a humbling thing for an entrepreneur. However, if you are going to make it in business, you need the right help. Put your ego aside for a moment and search for the person who is going to bring your idea to life and make it shine. That’s what business is really about.
