Your Business to the Next Level
of the beliefs that many of us women grow up with is: “I have to do everything myself.” We’re trained to think there’s something wrong with needing, asking for, paying for support in managing our lives and businesses. It’s as if hiring a VA or working with a coach were an admission that we’re not smart or good enough to handle whatever’s going on ourselves.
I’ve often seen this belief system keep women in the isolation of solopreneurship for way too long. Most of us do start out as solopreneurs, and many of us can get pretty far without ever hiring a soul or collaborating with anyone. (We are after all, driven and dedicated multi-taskers.)
But even when you’re pulling in six-figures a year as a solopreneur, it can be a rough life. I know what it’s like to be sitting at your kitchen table, staring at your computer for ten hours a day, wondering if anyone’s listening to your posts, and hoping and praying for that next high-end client. At the end of the day, no matter how great our talents, at some point we all reach a level we just can’t surpass alone.
It took me way too long to realize that the wealthy entrepreneurs I looked up to definitely did not do everything themselves. Being really good at a lot of things and never relying on anyone was not the key to their success. Rather, it was that they invested in themselves fully, sought expert support, hired A-players to work for them and strategically partnered with others to grow even bigger.
No matter what business you’re in, if you want to be successful in this world, you have to leverage the power of the people around you. You have everything to gain from sharing the wealth in
your business. So if you’re ready to join me in making connection, support and collaboration top priorities in 2017, here are three ways that working with people can help us achieve our goals and enrich our lives.
When it comes to working with mentors, coaches and experts in any area of our lives and businesses, we often have to get over a “Oh, I can totally figure this out for myself” mentality. For example, before I hired my stylist (now also DLM’s Editor-in-Chief!) Sam Saboura, I thought, “Of course I can dress myself.” Now, I can’t imagine how I’d do it without him! He’s been a total game changer for my business and it’s helped me realize the power of hiring all kinds of experts when it comes to up-leveling a particular area of my life—from health and wellness to social media presence.
On the coaching side of things, I’ve always invested in the highest quality mentorship I could find. So often the thinking with women comes from hearing this: “You don’t need a coach, you’re smart, you can figure this out on your own. Why would you pay her? Keep the money”—either from within themselves or from the men they’re dating. We’re so afraid to spend on these relationships, when the truth is bringing in someone else’s energy, support, structure and guidance can make all the difference in growing your business faster.
Though I made my first hire many years ago, there are still areas where I’m learning to let go of the burden of doing it myself. There have been plenty of times when I thought, oh I really don’t need a full time person for that, or, I can just take care of that position. And in the aftermath I’ve seen how failing to invest in the right roles has been to the detriment of my business, my mission, my financial success, my health and my happiness.
As we build our self-worth, we start to let go of the DIY burden. We begin to confidently say, “No. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to delegate and be wise with my time and money.” Bringing in the support of people who can do something better than we can (they are out there!) strengthens our power and our reach. It frees up our own time and energy so we can focus on our zone of genius, and that magnetizes our attraction factor.
I also have to stress how important it is to find and invest in high level people. It’s exactly what successful entrepreneurs do. I’m not saying you should just throw your money around—you can’t throw money at problems and spending a lot on the wrong people of course won’t help. So be intentional with your hires and diligent in your hiring process. You should know exactly what responsibilities and tasks your new hire will be responsible for before drafting up a job post, and vet them thoroughly to make sure they are a good fit personally.
Lately I’ve been going beyond just hiring experts and team members. What really excites me right now is that you can hire people on a collaborative level. I’ve recently entered into a particular partnership that’s new for me. It’s not a salaried position or a monthly retainer, but a profit share split. It’s a great way to both have stake in what we’re creating and equal excitement about making it fabulous.
Partnership is a powerful factor not only when it comes to collaborating, but also investment. I used to think that keeping 100% of your company meant you were doing really well. And I started to realize that in most cases, sharing ownership can be a win-win for everyone involved. I mean, would you rather own 100% of a $100K a year company, or 50% of a company turning over a million annually?
So another idea I left behind in 2016 was that I needed to keep sole ownership of my company, or that any creative ventures needed to be solely and directly under the Divine Living umbrella. The possibilities for the ways you can create and expand what you do today are so limitless and most people are eager to join forces and try something totally new and exciting. For entrepreneurs, the world is our playground and it’s so much fun to be there together.
