Good Advice - Help Needed!

A friend once blogged that you sometimes need to pull your head out of the sand and listen to the advice of those around you. Sometimes, as a small business owner, we get so focused on one idea that we can't see the forest for the trees. Then there's also the ego factor. We don't like to be wrong and admit defeat. To be successful in business, you have to be able to step outside of the situation and look at things with an objective eye. Sometimes we need a little (or a big) push or even a knock in the head to make us take another look.

We just marked our 5th year in business recently, which is quite an accomplishment considering many businesses don't make it past their 2nd or 3rd year. But that's not to say that we haven't made many mistakes along the way! Boy have we made some doozies! We've also had many successes too. Fortunately it's been a happy balance, otherwise we probably would be one of those statistics.

I had to pull my head out of the sand recently and realize that in order to grow my business, I had to grow my staff too. Which is not an easy task for a control freak. I've been wearing all the hats for the past five years. Well, maybe not all of them, but creatively speaking. I have been told many times over the past couple of years that I needed to hire someone. So.......I not only made the decision, finally, but I also committed to it by posting a job offer on craiglist.com. I was pleasantly surprised to have immediate interest AND to see that they all were creatively qualified!

So in the coming weeks, I will be tucking my tail between my legs and thanking all those caring folks that were persistent in getting my head out of the sand. I will also be conducting interviews, hiring someone and training them. Once that is done, I can begin to pick up all that business that I've been turning away for the past year. Something that makes me cringe to even admit! What successful business person turns down business? Answer: This stubborn one!