The other day, I listened to a radio program while driving to work. The announcer told a story about a conversation Piglet and Winnie the Pooh were having.
In this conversation, Piglet asks Pooh a question. “Pooh, what is the hardest “word” for you to say?” Pooh responds, “The word help. It’s hard for me to ask for help!”
The announcer of this Christian radio program went on to mention how it’s probably like that for many of us.
We may desire to be independent, not want to come across as weak, or not want to burden others, but the fact remains that many people struggle to ask for help.
I wholeheartedly agree.
As small business owners, we tend to wear many hats. We create our own websites, run our own payroll, transcribe our podcasts, create our social media posts, format our own newsletters, etc.
It’s difficult to give the control of those areas to someone else, or maybe we just don’t want to invest quite yet in getting the help we need.
Unfortunately, trying to do everything ourselves can be overwhelming, and can lead us to burnout and depression.
Asking for help as a Christian is important because it teaches us humility and gives us community, it helps us trust God and grow spiritually as we rely on God’s wisdom rather than on our own understanding.
In business, there are also good reasons to ask for help. Here are three:
- Skilled Professional: No one knows how to do it all. Asking a skilled professional for help gives you access to someone who can do the task you hate doing. And they will do it better than you.
- Time Management: Handing off tasks gives you more time to concentrate on growing your business.
- Self-Care: Getting help keeps you from taking on too much, which is vital for keeping your health and well-being in check.
As a Virtual Assistant, my goal is to help small business owners who can’t do everything on their own so they can be free to do the things they really want to do for their businesses.
I’ve also had to learn to ask for help.
A few months ago, I reached out to a wonderful friend for help with my bookkeeping. I asked her to teach me how to manage it and help me get started. She gladly helped me and offered to assist whenever I needed it. But since she was working full-time, I didn’t want to add to her workload.
So, I found and hired an amazing bookkeeper to take care of my business finances.
I’m so glad I did.
Initially, I was afraid to hand over control of my finances to someone else and worried about not understanding my finances, which could lead to problems.
But I was so overwhelmed that waiting longer to ask for help was only making things worse.
Now, I have peace of mind knowing that an expert is handling this crucial part of my business. I still review my accounts and statements and I’m taking a class on Udemy to learn how to understand my financial reports better.
It was a big step for me, but overcoming the fear of asking for help was absolutely worth it!
So, remember the story of Piglet and Pooh the next time you’re afraid to ask for help: The hardest word for Pooh to say was ‘help.’ But in the end, he realized that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s an intentional strategy for better results.
Give it a try!