Is your business struggling? Are you giving people jobs they aren’t qualified for? Stop it! I know you like to help but a new or transitioning business is not the place or time to be the nice guy.
I met with a new client yesterday. She’s a great lady with a great product. She’s got a good looking website, beautifully produced instructional DVDs and no sales.
To figure out why her products aren’t selling, I asked her a series of questions about what she’s been doing and what she thinks she needs to do. Part of the problem is that she’s overwhelmed by everything she needs to do. She’s trying to get sponsorship deals with some of the products she promotes in her DVD’s. She’s trying to get distribution deals in stores. She’s trying to write articles for print and online publications. And she knows there’s a lot more she needs to do to promote her business online.
But that’s only part of the problem. She knows she can’t do everything so she’s trying to delegate some of the work but her last two assistants have quit in the first week. This was intriguing to me. She seems easy to get along with and fun to work for so why are assistants quitting on her? As she told me about the people she’s hired, the reason became clear.
She, like many of us, likes to help people. Both of her assistants were acquaintances who were down on their luck and she saw that they needed some help. If someone would just give them a break (and some money), they could get back on their feet. They weren’t bringing many skills to the job but she was willing to train them so that she would have an assistant and they would have a new skill set.
Ahhh! The problem crystalizes.
She was making a mistake many small business owners make and can be fatal to the success of their business. I told her “I know this is going to sound harsh but you have to stop doing favors for people.” Her eyes got big and she slowly said “I have to stop doing favors for people?” I could tell it was a radically new concept to her so I explained.
Many of us – especially people with a background in service professions – get a boost from helping people. We like helping people. It makes us feel good. Many times that’s why we got into the business we did. The problem is that we forget to help our business first. When your business is new or at a growing stage, it needs all the help and support you can give it from people who are bringing the right skill set and mindset to the job. At this point your business is fragile and vulnerable. You wouldn’t let someone with the flu kiss your new born baby! So don’t give people without the right skills and attitude an important job in your business!
It’s great to want to help people. Personally, a strong motivator for me to be successful is so that I can donate time, money and expertise to the causes I care about. However, I won’t be able to do that if my business just bumps along. My business has to be strong before I can help other people improve their lives.
So think about it. Is there someone (or “someones”) you’re giving an important job that isn’t qualified or committed to doing the work? Are you spending time teaching someone how to do their job instead of doing yours? Are you trying to figure out how to motivate them so they will have the right work ethic?
Now is not the time to take risks with your business. When your business has exceeded your revenue goals, you can give them a chance with a job that is not going to seriously impact your bottom line. But until then, you need to quit being “the nice guy” and invite them to be successful elsewhere.
Learn more about the author, Elge Premeau.
Elge, I've missed you. Thanks for another great article.
Second only to "Setting a Measurable Objective" (so you know when you've succeeded), "Focus" is the most important element needed to build a sound strategy.
Focusing on the few things that really move the needle is hard. But it's worth it.
Joe
Ahhh... Maasta! Grass hopper has been listening!
Hey folks. Do yourself a favor and click on Joe's signature line.
Elge
Very good article. I enjoyed it. Selecting the right employees with the right skills is so important.
I know of a guy who has a business in the same building as I. He hired is cousins to market his goods...none of them had the requisite experience...and well, his business is down in the dumps. Unfortunately, he is clever and believes in himself so much that he is closed to ideas and suggestions from others. I pointed this out to him when he came to see me after a nosebleed: his blood pressure was way high, and he was under great stress, but refused to acknowledge it. Lucky for him, he did not have a stroke, his nosebleed acted as a check. (Hooray for nature.)
I use MyBlogLog. Of course you can use Google Analytics on your blog too but I like the way MyBlogLog displays results.
I kind of think of blog posts in at least two categories: 1) blog posts that inlcude my targeted key phrases and are designed to appeal to potential clients and 2) blog posts I'm inspired to write and I don't care what they rank for. This was a #2 blog post.
This article really hit home with me, at a time when I needed to read these words. When I first started my business, I immediately began using my time and the leverage of my business to help people and causes that I felt were important. I thought I could do all of that AND nurture a new business, but I was wrong. I've had to really re-focus my efforts back to the business, which means stepping down from other obligations and saying "no". Very hard lesson for people like us!
Good article, Elge --- it reminds me of the adage: If you want something right, do it yourself. It's true for start-ups: There are certain things we must learn to do ourselves, so that we know what the job looks like when done right -- and THEN we can hire someone to do it for us.
Delegation, or a new hire, works best when we can outline our expectations, and know what skillset we're looking for. Then we'll make wise decisions that advance our business and do a "favor" to ourselves, and our new employee.
An example: I am horrible at math...darn good thing I'm a writer. Bookkeeping scares me, but I realize I have to learn HOW to do it so that I understand my revenue stream, taxes, etc.
As soon as I learn this, my goal is to hire someone to do my bookkeeping for me -- and I'll know 1) how it's done 2) what the skills are (yes of course a degree to start) 3) reasonable expectations to ensure the jobs is done "the way I want it done" (or better)....
Thanks for writing --
What you have said here is so powerful, Elge. For those of us who have a deep need to help others, there's a lesson.
It might be compared to the flight attendant who says, "Put your own oxygen mask on first and then help your child." It seems like a no-brainer but sometimes our vision gets blurred. If your business is successful, then you are in a much better position to help the next person.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us.
Good analogy Judy! That's exactly the point I'm trying to make.
This article is excellent. I just fired someone who I was "helping out" because they took advantage of the situation. At first, they were helping me out, staying organized, etc. But as my business grows, I need people with the skills to help me out, not dead weight.
Two years later, firing this person, although uncomfortable is a big relief emotionally and financially.
This article hits the nail right on the head. Thanks for contributing this piece of wisdom to our community.
I see this too often. I am going to start a second cabinet manufacturing business with a gentleman who likes to give away too many things as a way of completing jobs that have gone slightly awry.
The problem as I see it comes from from a poorly written contract that does not identify the total scope of what materials and services that are being sold. He then gives all these extras away in order to collect final payments.
It's not working. I've also identified some waste in the manufacturing process that will cut material costs and labor by at least 25%.
Thanks for the article.
Rikki
Hi Elge,
I had to nod knowingly as I read this article, thinking of the time that I hired an old college pal with "so much potential" and such a dismal employment history as an associate with a healthy monthly draw. Naturally, when the draw ended in 6 months, as planned, she quit.
Thankfully my business was doing well enough to take the hit, but still, it was disappointing.
Hope others take your article to heart, so they don't have to learn this lesson the hard way.
Thanks for writing such a great article! Janet
Hi Elge and all,
This is such an important point that it should be a major 'Don't' on all of the business lists. I've been guilty of another business-killing aspect of it.
When I started my business, I was told to do some 'favors' with my services as a way to gain visibility. I did some work for almost nothing in exchange for referrals. What a huge mistake that is! People refer people who are like themselves. Pretty soon, my business was overwhelmed by 'referrals' who all wanted the massive price cut I had given the first person.
Than just to further shoot myself in the foot, I had gotten into the loop of doing 'trades' for other new businesses. This is the favor routine in disguise. "you create my website for me and I'll do some PR for you." Even in writing, these types of arrangements can be problems. Of course, years later we're still waiting on the PR while their website is pulling in clients for them.
I think sometimes we suffer from the disease to please and forget that we're in business. I've had to fire all of my deadwood clients and get really mean about doing trades too.
Thanks for your article to kick that back up to the top of the business 'Do' list. Our services have value - that's why we're in business. We need to remember to treat our business like it has value too.
Thanks Elge.
Terrific article. And your advice is right on! I too suffer from sure-I-can-help-you-itis. It's led me to overcommit to pro bono projects and give away advice I should've charged for. Fortunately, I can now say it in the past tense. A few weeks ago, I answered a request (from someone I really like a lot) with "sorry, wish I could but I can't". It felt really good! Some of us learn harder than others.
"Sure-I-can-help-you-itis" I love it! That's exactly what it is. If I every use that phrase again - and I probably will - I'll be sure to give you credit Rickey.
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