3 ways to recognise you need help and support in your business

Are you too busy ‘doing the doing’ to recognise you need help and support in your business?
We can all identify with being busy ‘doing the doing’ in our business, after all that’s why we started our own business, we love what we do. But are you too busy to recognise the signs that you need help? With the best will in the world, as much as we’d like to, we CAN’T do it all. Sometimes you just have to take a step back before you can move your business forward.
Here are 3 ways to recognise you need help and support in your business.

You’re not meeting your deadlines.

Do you set yourself unrealistic deadlines? Are you always up against the clock? If so, it might be a sign that you’re not coping with the workload or you need be more organised.
Whilst running my previous business I was literally up to my armpits in cake batter and icing! My hands were full, all my time was taken up doing the practical tasks that were needed. I had very strict deadlines – if it was someone’s birthday then the cake had to be done. Saying “oh sorry, I’ll finish it next week” just wasn’t an option. Setting more realistic goals, in my case not taking on so much work would have helped. Similarly not underestimating the time taken to do a task, Using some sort organising tool like Asana or Clockify to log time taken to do a task would also have helped.

You’re being a ‘busy fool’.

As I said before, we love doing what we do, this might be one of the main reasons you started your business. If you’re working all hours and not turning a profit after a reasonable amount of time, then you’ve just created yourself a job. And not a very well paid one at that!
I thought I was coping well, and business was good because I was busy. With hindsight it could have been a whole lot better. Had I focused on the higher end, larger cakes that paid more then, I could have earned more for working less. My problem was, I didn’t know how to market the correct way to my target audience. But you don’t know everything when you start a business.

Have no one to bounce ideas off.

We all think we know best, especially where our ‘babies’ are concerned. Often, we just carry on our own sweet way and end up somewhere we least expect. If we’d had a chance along the way to check out our ideas with someone, we might have approached things differently.
Help and support comes in many forms, such as friends or relatives, they are great for cheering you on. But if they haven’t run a business it can be hard for them to give advice. The best form of support can come from other like-minded business owners. Especially one’s who are experiencing similar issues or triumphs as you. Joining a business community and reaching out to them is one of the best ways to develop your business as well as a group of advocates.
I didn’t take a step back to think things through. I just kept ploughing on not recognising the need for help or support. It was a long slow learning curve. I got there in the end, but my journey could have been quicker and easier if I’d taken the time to look for support, check out my previous blog on 4 things I didn’t learn in business.
Does this sound like you and your business? If you would like to find out more about being part of a supportive business community please feel free to reach out, my email is hello@weareinbusiness.co.uk