Lose The Ego. Ask For Help.
Vol. 011
Lose The Ego. Ask For Help.
This can be interpreted in a few ways, and I'll quickly explain 2 ways in which I've asked for help over the 6 years I've owned my business.
1) Ask for guidance and ask questions to those who are better than you.
This is the more obvious and simple of the two. We all look up to someone, and (no offence anyone) none of us are the best in the world at our craft. And that's fine! In having humility and connecting with and reaching out to creatives that I looked up to when I first started out, I leaped over A LOT of hurdles that I would have otherwise stumbled over by myself. I reached out to people I looked up to and asked them specific questions catered to them that ultimately helped me along the way — there's no reason for everyone to stumble through the same problems when we can help each other grow!
It's worth noting that depending on the role that the person you reach out to is in, it's possible that they either won't see your message or won't have the capacity to respond. In those instances, you can take a deeper dive into the person's career/path, and try to reverse engineer it in a way that offers some insight for you.
Note: if you reach out to people for help/advice/questions, there's a few very important things to remember: 1) you're a stranger asking another stranger to do something for you. Ask with respect, and acknowledge that anything they give is a free gift. Be concise and direct with your ONE OR TWO questions (don't send a list of 5-10 questions), and be gracious if they respond. Then, pay it forward. I've made it a point to be as open and share as much as possible along my journey and that's because others did the same for me when I first started.
2) Ask for help and support in your own creative work.
This is a kinda tricky leap to take, as it's hard to determine how and when to do this — if yall are interested let me know by responding to this — and I'd be happy to write more extensively on the process of hiring other creatives (contractors) for the first time.
For almost 2 years I felt that I had enough work to hire support — part time or even just a few hours on a small project. I always resisted doing so because I felt like I didn't know how to do it, I didn't have a process, and I didn't know who to hire.
Eventually, I was forced into the situation where I either had to turn down a huge project with an amazing client of mine, or I had to stop being scared, and take the leap. Well, I took the leap, I hired another designer (hourly, to support me for this one project) and it ended up not only being one of the best business decisions I've ever made, but it has since enabled me to grow my business way faster than I realized. I needed help for years, and finally asking for it enabled me to take huge, quick strides forward!
I now have a regular, mostly-part-time designer who has been absolutely crushing. I have a few other go-to contractors, and I have partners who support website dev, copywriting, strategy, etc. when I need it. This network and asking for/utilizing help and support has enabled me, one guy, to compete for work with large agencies.
I used to feel obligated to do all of the work myself. I thought, "they hired me because they want my work." When, in reality, they likely hired me because I was top of mind, or because of a certain level of professionalism that I bring to the table. Whether I'm doing all of the design work myself, or I'm working as the creative director, the client doesn't actually know the difference.
If you even think you're ready for or need some help, you probably are overdue! Asking for help and support is an investment (whether time or money) in yourself and in your business, and is truly one of the best investments that you can make.
