Listen to the ‘experts.’

Okay, I’m going to be perfectly upfront here and state I unequivocally dislike the term ‘expert’.

I also loathe ‘guru’ although, in some circumstances, I will accept ‘authority in’, but not often.

They are, for me, words that have lost their true meaning and are over utilised by the myriad self-proclaimed experts, gurus and authorities, who faff about on social media in excessive amounts and figure they may as well try to make some money out of it, so use these terms as titles to try to make a sale.

That said, I shall put my cynicism aside and discuss why it is important to listen to the experts.

Putting cynicism aside…

 

I am regularly left, incredulous and shaking my head at the number of business owners who employ the services of another, often referred to as outsourcing, to do those bits they don’t like/can’t/don’t want to do themselves.

Whether it be something as simple as data entry or posting orders to customers, hiring a VA, web designer or IT person, your bookkeeping, social media set up and maintenance or … whatever … they’re employed, and more often than not, promptly ignored.

One of the reasons you’re employing this person is, yes, because you just don’t have the time or inclination to do the work. That’s perfectly okay, and anyone in business can relate.

The reason that particular person has been employed, however, is because you consider them more knowledgeable, experienced or clued in than you are in that particular are.

Witnessing businesses flounder and fail as they constantly ignore or dispute the suggestions and information provided to them by the person they have employed or contracted is somewhat frustrating.

It is, to use a lifesaving analogy, like watching them drown as all manner of lifesaving equipment, from life vests through to fully equipped life rafts that will see them survive as they float about the middle of the ocean for months on end, and then witnessing the ‘victim’ push all life saving devices away.nesses flounder and fail as they constantly ignore or dispute the suggestions and information provided to them by the person they have employed or contracted is somewhat frustrating.

Letting Go

 

I get it; your business is your baby and no one is going to love it, care for it and nurture it like you are. Or, so you tell yourself.

Sometimes, you just need help – like when your real baby is struggling to breathe, you call for medical assistance, and you let them do their thing because you trust them and they know what they’re doing.

It’s not dissimilar with a business; you get help so you can keep your business-baby alive and thriving.

Hard as it is to let go of those particular reins, particularly if you’ve been hanging onto them so long and it’s now time to let go, it is necessary to trust someone else to do the right thing.

Not everyone will be right for you and you may go through a little bit of trial and error, some horrible relationships and sacking small businesses until you find the right person.

If only life were so easy; my first web designer took approximately 11 months to do nothing up set up my hosting and a holding page, then ran off with the husband of one of her best friends, dropped everything and I had to find myself another designer (who I stuck with for the next five years).

An initial experience with a Virtual Assistant saw her, without fail, sleep through our scheduled appointment every single week, and when we got in touch later that afternoon, I was afforded a humble apology and a “I knew you’d understand”. The annoying thing is, I did understand.

It just didn’t get anything I needed done, done. It also, for many years, caused me to shudder and bite my tongue when I overheard someone being recommended a VA.

The thing is though, when you do find the right person for you; you need to trust that they do actually know quite a bit about what they’re talking about, and even if things are not how you visualise them, or they don’t seem a priority to you, at that time, or you don’t quite understand, they do know what they’re talking about.

And they are very much worth listening to.

Listen to them.

 

Amanda Cox is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, wife, mother and founder of Australia’s online parent support, information and resources website, Real Mums, which she has been operating and managing for nearly 10 years. She’s ‘not an expert’ when it comes to business stuff, but she’s seen and experience enough to want to share what others don’t or won’t. www.amandacox.com.au