Updated 4/14/21
Ugh! I’m ready to pull my hair out, except it’s too short to grab. And I’m not the only one, because my assistant is just about ready to grab my hair and pull it out, too. That’s why I keep it short.
Normally Kate [Note: Kate worked for us for a few years back around 2010 and moved on some time ago] and I don’t get into knock-down drag-outs, but this was early in her time of coming to work for Heart of Business. I had asked her to handle something, I can’t remember what exactly, and it doesn’t matter. Probably something to do with our autoresponder that sends emails out, or our shopping cart, or the website.
Anyway, she was asking me this question, and it was the fifth time (or maybe only the second) she came asking, and Ugh! I’ve got other things to do. Can’t she just handle it?
Not a very enlightened or heart-centered response. I calmed my voice, but there was still an edge of impatience.
“Mark, I hate this. I’m not stupid, I just need help with this. Stop treating me like I’m incompetent.”
If you’ve spent any time working with Kate, you know she’s not incompetent. The provost of the naturopathic college she’d formerly worked for said she was the best person he ever had working with him and that we were lucky to have her. And we are, because Kate rocks the house.
The dust-up we were having was because of one little thing no one ever tells you when you start to pay other people to help you in your business, whether employees, contractors, or a service provider.
Before I tell you that secret, let me explain something about us business owners.
You Like To Get Things Done
If you’re running your own business, I’m going to guess you just like to get things done.
It may not always be what you think you should get done. And I’m not saying you or I don’t procrastinate, lose focus, or do whatever other human thing we do. But the truth is, it feels good to get something done—for a client, for the website, for whatever.
I’m also going to guess that you have FAR TOO MUCH to get done, and that weighs on you. At times that might feel panic-inducing. If you don’t get it all done, and done like, already, you might just blow a valve.
I’m just guessing, but if you’re like many of the thousands of people we’ve worked with, this is your situation. Did I guess right?
The Two Hiring-Help Freak Outs
It seems that everyone extols the virtue of hiring help and outsourcing what you’re not good at. Except here’s what actually happens.
First Freak Out
You’ve gone and hired someone and asked them to do something for you. And then they come back with questions. And more questions. And more questions.
Holy Albuquerque! Can’t they just get it done? No, they can’t. Not in a way that will make you happy.
When you first hire, you will be less efficient than if you just did it yourself, assuming it’s something that you have some skill at. Web design doesn’t count, because of the hundreds of hours of training and experience to make a good website.
For normal tasks transferring the information, your style, and the overall “feel” of the project will take far more time than if you just did it yourself. It’s just the way it is, folks.
A very experienced admin person can make that time more efficient by knowing what questions to ask. But still.
You are going to feel as if you’re wasting time. You just are. But that’s kinda sorta okay because you’re getting them up to speed, right? Then along comes Number Two.
Freak Out Number Two
Even after someone is up to speed, which could be a month or more, it will still take time to transfer information and perspective to them. They’ll still come back with questions.
Bottom line: just because someone else is handling a project for you it doesn’t mean that you get to go to lala land. You will still be spending at least some time on that project, which is where the second freak out comes from.
When you’re a do-it-yourselfer, the time feels different. Spending ten hours working on an issue with your email feels totally productive and engaged for you because, by God, you’re getting it done.
Spending thirty minutes fully explaining the problem to your support person, and then spending an additional hour or two helping them test it and work through additional questions feels like wasting time because you’re not actually doing the work.
Never mind that you gained about eight hours, a full day, of productive time. It’s a funny thing, but that’s often how it feels until you get the larger perspective.
What To Do With the Freak Outs
It’s been quite awhile since that conversation Kate and I had where we wanted to pull my hair out, and in that time, there have been a few insights that have helped me tremendously.
• Own Your Project
When handing off a project there can be a tendency to “dump and run.” Meaning that mentally you’ve swept the project under the rug, and are hoping that magically it will get taken care of.
Instead, own the project. Someone may be handling the majority of the work for you, but it’s still yours. Give the project space in your heart, don’t abandon it.
• Open Your Heart to Your Helpers
Similarly, find the space in your heart for your helpers. Everyone has a deep need to contribute, and if someone is willing to help out, even if they are being paid, they still care about it being done well.
Honor their heart, their caring, and their contribution by having whoever is helping you in your heart. This may help you remember, when they come to you with questions, that they aren’t bothering you, they are trying to help you in a way that works for you.
• Helpers Need Attention
When you put someone on a project, immediately schedule time not just to transfer the details of the project to them, but also make sure you have some space in your schedule to answer questions.
You might need to schedule a 15-45 minute initial meeting, and then reserve one to two hours in the next week or two for this project and your helper.
If they don’t need the time, hallelujah, go to your favorite cafe and people watch. But if they do, you won’t be blindsided and need to steal that time from other commitments.
• Project Transfer Checklist
When you transfer a project to someone, here are a few details to always remember to tell them:
- How urgent is this? What’s the deadline?
- What information do you have that they need?
- What’s your picture of how it looks when it’s done?
- What systems, information, or accounts do they need access to in order to get the work done. Give them a list of URLs, usernames and passwords.
If there are any costs involved, things they need to purchase, how do you want to handle the money? Reimbursements? Company credit card?
In the end, I very much recommend that you get help when you need it. Even very small solo businesses often have more things to do than you can easily get done yourself. Even if you’re handling it kinda sorta okay right now, you may recognize that it’s not going to be sustainable for the long term.
P.S. Having trouble getting clear in your heart?
Whether it’s hiring an assistant, or the right business model, or your marketing approach… there’s a lot of contradictory advice, not to mention the voices of doubt.
April 30th. Go deep. Clear your heart. Find your guidance.
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6 Responses
Beautiful article! Even though I’m a fledgling biz owner just starting out, I found myself relating as a former corporate IT employee where “dump and run” prevails and asking for (let alone getting) help is seen as sissified. I only wish the folks in many a large company could read this — and take it to Heart!
Great article… again! I don’t want to lean on the analogy too hard, but I found myself thinking about parenting as I read this. When you give your children a new chore/task/responsibility around the house you can’t expect to SAVE time initially (and that’s not the primary purpose here anyway.) In fact you can expect the task to take MUCH longer than if you simply did it yourself. But if you **invest** the time to show your kids how to do a task, do it well, and then follow up, you’ll not only get capable, responsible kids, you will eventually have more time to devote to other more “strategic” parenting responsibilities. Project transfer checklist was very helpful!
Just had a head slapping moment, of “Why didn’t I think of that?”
I’m an office manager, currently. The Project Transfer Checklist is just as helpful for those of us that are helpers. Often what I need “to get things done” is information that only the business owner has, or didn’t realize I need, or thought they sent it to me but sent it to outer Mongolia instead. If I turn around the project transfer list for business owners as a list of deliverables needed from the business owner/boss/client, I’m thinking that I would be looking pretty efficient and put together. Thanks for the secret ingredient Mark.
Excellent article! I enjoyed reading it because of your personal story sharing. It engaged me to read the entire piece, which I greatly appreciate.
I feel I’ve experienced a mindset shift as a result of the entire section “What To Do With The Hiring Help Freakouts”. It made me aware to own my projects more, and to appreciate my helpers because I agree that they too want to do their best and excel. If they ask questions, it’s only because they care.
And your tip about ‘Setting Time Aside for Helpers’ is genius! Part of the impatience I felt stemmed from feeling ‘time is being stolen from my other commitments’! Thanks again for your useful tips. ^_^
.-= Rachel Mattin’s lastest post: how to survive an affair program creator bio =-.
This is great advice and something I’ll have to keep in mind when I *finally* get around to hiring someone to help with all the work around here! I once got the opportunity to interview Nell Merlino of “Count Me In.” She said that the one thing keeping women from building their businesses past the million-dollar mark was whether or not they hired outside help. Made sense to me.
.-= Kelly Watson’s lastest post: Hello and Welcome- Men With Pens Readers =-.
Hey folks- thanks for having patience- we posted this while I was on vacation, and in retrospect I should’ve mentioned it in the blog post. Doh!
@Cathy- thank you! I’ve heard that’s an issue in corporate environments.
@Craig- So true- definitely parenting-business analogies abound, and this is one of them. it’s a good one to remember as our boys approach two years old.
@Joanne- ditto what I said to Craig. And yes, there is a different intention when raising kids from hiring employees… but there can be some shared advantages down the road. 🙂
@Rachel- It’s so true- that’s the biggest mindshift in this particular issue, I found for myself. To own the project and not let go of it. Almost everything else follows organically from that one mindset shift.
@Kelly- Absolutely! And I hope you hire, soon! Remember- once other people are involved, a million dollar business is actually kinda small. It’s a huge personal income, but for a business, it’s teensy.