[REPOST] Dear Small Business Owner, don't go at it alone

I still remember that day. I had been delayed in traffic after a presentation appointment and now on my way back to the warehouse. I had to ship my four orders for that day.  Doing all of this alone was a crazy set up.

Cold calls in the morning, processing orders mid-day, and then going to client presentations.  I would rush back to the warehouse, prepare and hand off the day's orders to FedEx before the cutoff time.  Was I going to make it in time to honor the promise I had made to two clients that their order would get there by tomorrow?

My reputation was at stake, and I felt very alone in up keeping it.  I had sold a meal-packaging system to this meals-on-wheels organization on the promise of excellent service, including ultra fast shipment.  Now, here I was, stuck in traffic, and on the verge of defaulting of this promise.  I felt abandoned, and all I could do was to count my sorrows while "parked" on the highway. What was I going to do?

Then I clicked: I didn't have to stay stuck in the "Alone" mode.  I did not have to keep believing nobody could help me at the moment.  This was again another strike of the small business owner tragedy syndrome. So, I called my FedEx driver and asked him if he could help me out with my delay.  It turns out he came up with a crazy but simple solution:  Meet him with my items to ship further down his delivery route. I suspect he enjoyed the excitement.

In 10 years running my small business, there must be hundreds of stories like this. Stories of a small business owner, trying to do it all and assuming there was no other way. Whether you have started or are trying to get it off the ground, you probably have your own stories of "loneliness" to tell.  Over the years, I have learned that this feeling, while very real, is often based on myths we like to tell believe in.  Getting rid of them is key to making to the next stage.

Here are the six myths.

1. We started this business on our own; we must make it on our own.  The very nature of our original motivation to make it on our own stems from this persistent feeling we need to do it our way, by ourselves, for ourselves.  This strength of character becomes an obstacle for growth.  Not only our growth, but our company's growth as well.
2. We have a clear vision of what we want to achieve, nobody can get it like we do.  We started on this adventure with a pretty clear vision of where we are heading. It does get messy in the middle, especially when real-life strikes back at our plans.  The trap here is in believing others will not understand that vision, of that we will not be able to communicate it well enough.  That's where successful small business owners depart from struggling ones: If we share our vision openly and with passion, others will understand it and actually WANT to participate in it.
3. We don't have money or the resources to get help.  This is a tough one.  Especially  in the early stages of our small business, we are always short on money.  Paying to have someone else do something we can do ourselves is so counterintuitive.  Yet, this myth is probably the most destructive on 2 levels: First, there are so many people who so much better than we are at so many things, it's self-destructive not to pay for help in a well budgeted way.  Second, the time we spend on one element is wasted FOREVER and our use of time is very precious. We need to focus on our areas of strength, and be creative in getting help from others.
4. Our better-half is supportive BUT they can't really help us in the business.  Our better-half are rarely experts or even experienced in our field of activity. We know they support us but how good is that in the nitty picky details of the business?  Well, I'd like to challenge you reconsider: No one except your mother know more about youor weaknesses then your better-half.  Most challenges you face will probably be a manifestation of your personal dramas.  Guess you can be an excellent mirror of those to shed a light on potential solutions.
5. People that understand what we do are probably competitors that we should avoid at all costs.  Whatever industry you operate in, there are macro-events that will rock your boat.  Whether it is a foreign exchange issue, a dramatic increase in raw good costs, you will have to deal with it and it can be very lonely.  Guess what, your competitors are on that same boat and might be the best people to talk to. Without endangering my business model, I've done it many times and was always reassured of the "fraternity" in tough times and even picked up good ideas along the way.
6. We don't want to burden our employees with our problems. This is a tricky one.  We tend to treat our employees with a certain level of care, like a good parent would. We can be demanding in their workload but feel a need not to burden them with our own. Doing this is an issue: They will feel your increased stress and assume for the worst.  You might as well get their feedback instead of going at it alone.  This will probably trigger an increase sense of ownership on their part and they will feel valued (rightfully) for having helped you solve whatever issue is at hand.

Starting and running a small business does not to have to be a lonely affair.  Our very nature is biased toward self-sufficiency, which is great, but the nature of a successful business is based on the efforts of a well-coordinated team.

Be mindful of the beliefs and myths that prevent you from tapping into extraordinary resources that are right next to you.  Whether you need to appeal to your better-half, your employees or event competitors, there is always a way to break that "alone" feeling.

Which of these myths do you tend to fall back to when feeling alone in your journey?

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