Soul Proprietor - Do you really NEED that?

If you are an entrepreneur, at some point you’re going to hear one of these statements:

You need a VA (virtual assistant).
Your business can’t grow if you don’t have a team.
You must have a coach if you want to succeed.
Get a cleaning lady because big time successes shouldn’t clean their own toilets.
Never answer your own email. Be less approachable.
Invest in this, that, blah, blah, blah.

Suddenly, a big chunk of your hard-earned cash is disappearing fast and moving to someone else’s pocket. That six figure income can quickly become less than forty grand if you are paying a bunch of other people’s salaries.

You might be saying “But Theresa….I was told I needed this stuff.”

Told by whom? A coach?

Before you start throwing your money at a business entourage, let’s step back a bit and check in. Use my “Breathe, Question, Inventory” method before you hire anyone.

BREATHE: Take a deep breath the next time you feel pressured to hire someone. Always make decisions from a centered perspective.

QUESTION: Then, begin to ask yourself these questions:

What is your motive for hiring a coach, virtual assistant, cleaning person, etc? Be clear that you are hiring for the right reasons. You should only be hiring people that you really need, period. Hiring because you’re told you “must if you want to be – or appear – successful” is not a valid reason.

Do you have enough money coming in so that this is not impacting your lifestyle or forcing you to go into debt? If you are pulling in six figures but living like a refugee, something is not right here.

For coaching, ask yourself this: do I need someone to keep me motivated? Can I get that support elsewhere? Can I kick my own self in the ass? A good coach can give your business a big push forward and hold you accountable, but, if you’re über-disciplined, that service may not be essential.

INVENTORY: Next, start doing an inventory of what services would actually make your business (and life) easier. Make a list of everything you need help with and then let that determine where you might want to hire someone. For example, I don’t have a whole lot of time to figure out tech stuff. Hiring a whip-smart tech gal is money well spent. But cleaning my house? I don’t need a cleaning person when I’m perfectly capable of scrubbing my own floors. (Plus I like the exercise).

Another thing to consider is whether or not you enjoy doing certain tasks. A virtual assistant can be a godsend for time starved entrepreneurs who don’t like loading up blog posts or tweets. (I refuse to hire a VA because I dig doing that stuff.)

Be discerning and deliberate.

HIRE: Once you are centered and clear, proceed and hire the very best you can afford.

Let’s be real: a team is expensive. It’s fine if you have the bread to throw around and it may look impressive. But if you don’t really need those services, you’re throwing money out the window.

Take your time and build your team as you grow. Or, if you prefer, give yourself permission to forgo those expenses and stay lean.

Remember, it’s your business how you run your business and an army of one can function just as well as a whole squad.

Blessings!

Theresa

Who is currently on my team?

A super smart tech whiz: Tiny Blue Orange

A WordPress expert to protect my site: Nathan Briggs

A brilliant copywriter: Alexandra Franzen

A talented graphic artist: Sara Sommerfeld

A trusty accountant: Sam Micale