Some people in business see asking for help as a sign of weakness. But in reality, the exact opposite is true. Asking for help is a way of asserting control over your business. It says to the observer, “I know what my business needs, and I am taking the necessary steps to meet those needs so my business can thrive.” You aren’t always going to have what you need in your business and sometimes, the best and easiest way to get it is to ask for help. You shouldn’t be afraid to do so when necessary. Take a look at some of the reasons why asking for help can be good for your business.
Asking for Help Increases Your Network
If you’re the smartest and most accomplished person that you know, you have a problem. You should be surrounding yourself with people who are smarter and more accomplished than you. People you can look up to. People who challenge you. People who you will learn from. If you’re the best person you know at all the parts of what you do, you’re not learning and growing; you’re stagnating.
Reaching out and asking for help is admitting that someone else out there has information or resources that you need as well. It means acknowledging that you don’t always know best. And it means connecting with someone who can give you not just temporary help but ongoing mentorship as well, which will help enrich and challenge you to become better at what you do.
The more you reach out, the more people you make connections with.
Mentors aside, most businesses don’t survive on their own. You need referrals. You need word-of-mouth recommendations. You need affiliations. You need a network.
Networking is more than a buzzword because businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. Your business, and you personally, need a network of contacts. Over time, those contacts will help you, and you’ll help them as well. The more robust your network, the more resources you’ll have when you need help and the more likely it is that others will reach out to you. Building a network builds your business and helps to ensure your success.
Asking for Help Inspires Creativity
When you first start a business, everything is new. You’ve never done this before, so you’re forced to think out of the box and find what works for your specific niche. You’re aware that your business and the people involved in it are unique, and you have to find solutions that work for all of you.
Over time, however, you build a routine. You find something that works and you stick with it – maybe even after it stops working as well as it did before. You shouldn’t try to fix something that isn’t broken, but you also shouldn’t become so bogged down in your routine that you stick with it even if it’s no longer serving your business well.
Reaching out for help exposes you to new people, new businesses, and new ways of thinking. It can give you the creative energy you need to find what’s not working well in your business and make changes.
If you’d like to learn more about the American Agents Alliance and how it can help your agency, contact us.
