By Bruce Hoag
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6710450
When you start a new business, you'll quickly discover that your progress often amounts to two steps forward and one step back, though there are many days when the opposite is true. This experience can be particularly frustrating, especially when the problem you're trying to solve seems as though it should be easy to overcome.
Attempting to do it all yourself, usually for financial reasons, is an attractive and, to a certain extent, noble endeavor; but highly impractical. We'd all like to be experts in everything from product creation to marketing to accounting to web design; but all of these areas and many others have become so sophisticated that even if you could do all of them, you wouldn't have the time to do them well. In other words, it's better to do what you do better than anyone else, and to obtain the expertise you need on a job by job basis.
Whenever I need expertise of this nature, I tap my various business networks to see if there's anyone in them who can meet my needs. You're welcome to "look over my shoulder" as I describe how I do this.
1. Depending on the type of assistance I need, I usually start with my business coach. After all, he has already faced these challenges and has a method in place that works. Why should I reinvent the wheel?
2. The next place I look is in my LinkedIn network. With more than 3,000 people to choose from, the odds are that I'll find someone here. But, that's not always the case. Sometimes, I have to move onto a third source.
3. Sometimes I use Ecademy. In fact, it was through one of their groups that I found someone who would code my web sites the way I wanted them for very reasonable money. I've been using him off and on for a couple of years at least.
4. Very occasionally, I'll use Twitter. For me, this is an untapped source, only because I usually have identified someone by the time I get this far. I belong to other networks, too; but most often their members consist largely of those who are already in the more established business networks.
When you need someone to solve a problem for you, however small, I encourage you to tap into your business networks before you do anything else. Why? Because you already have a relationship with those people. Why would you want to start from scratch?
Attempting to do it all yourself, usually for financial reasons, is an attractive and, to a certain extent, noble endeavor; but highly impractical. We'd all like to be experts in everything from product creation to marketing to accounting to web design; but all of these areas and many others have become so sophisticated that even if you could do all of them, you wouldn't have the time to do them well. In other words, it's better to do what you do better than anyone else, and to obtain the expertise you need on a job by job basis.
Whenever I need expertise of this nature, I tap my various business networks to see if there's anyone in them who can meet my needs. You're welcome to "look over my shoulder" as I describe how I do this.
1. Depending on the type of assistance I need, I usually start with my business coach. After all, he has already faced these challenges and has a method in place that works. Why should I reinvent the wheel?
2. The next place I look is in my LinkedIn network. With more than 3,000 people to choose from, the odds are that I'll find someone here. But, that's not always the case. Sometimes, I have to move onto a third source.
3. Sometimes I use Ecademy. In fact, it was through one of their groups that I found someone who would code my web sites the way I wanted them for very reasonable money. I've been using him off and on for a couple of years at least.
4. Very occasionally, I'll use Twitter. For me, this is an untapped source, only because I usually have identified someone by the time I get this far. I belong to other networks, too; but most often their members consist largely of those who are already in the more established business networks.
When you need someone to solve a problem for you, however small, I encourage you to tap into your business networks before you do anything else. Why? Because you already have a relationship with those people. Why would you want to start from scratch?
By the way, if you're thinking of starting a business of your own, then you might be interested in http://www.terrydeaninterview.com.
Or, if you'd like to learn more about staying employed, then download my new FREE ebook. You can get it at http://www.p-advantage.com/freeEBook.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bruce_HoagOr, if you'd like to learn more about staying employed, then download my new FREE ebook. You can get it at http://www.p-advantage.com/freeEBook.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6710450
