Why is it important to ask for help?
When Laurence and I started our digital agency we didn’t believe we needed any help.
Laurence had successfully freelanced for several years and I’d been a director of an agency for several years.
We knew what we were doing.
We’d optimised our business for happiness.
We were satisfying our needs for freedom, autonomy, mastery and agency.
But, as with most small service based businesses, it was a rollercoaster ride.
While we’d experience peaks of joyful activity working on meaty projects they’d be regularly interspersed with feelings of anxiety inducing desperation when looking for new clients.
While we enjoyed the work we didn’t love the admin.
The business of agency business.
On top of that we had to contend with the emotional rollercoaster of client demands that went counter to our advice.
Uncessary battles.
Running the business got draining and painful.
And so we needed to ask for help.
We took on a business coach.
It was great.
Having a different set of eyes to look over what we did, as well mediate between myself and Laurence, was super helpful.
It gave us clarity and insight into what was working, what wasn’t and what was possible.
But in the end we closed down the agency.
While our coach showed us what was possible with our agency we also discovered it wasn’t for us.
We didn’t have a vision for the future of an agency.
Not one that excited us.
And so The Happy Startup School became the main thing.
It was more exciting.
It was more aligned to who we’d become and what we needed.
It served our needs and had “potential” to serve the needs of others.
We didn’t know what the business plan or scalable revenue model was.
We just knew that it energised us, people loved the idea and we couldn’t run a digital agency anymore.
10 years on and The Happy Startup School is still here. And last year was our best year ever.
So, why is it important to ask for help?
On one hand getting help can really accelerate your business growth and the ROI is clear and measurable.
But getting help can also make you realise that it’s time to stop.
And while the ROI of stopping may appear to be less than zero, some way down the line that new piece clarity that prompted you to stop will become priceless.
Continuing because you should, rather than stopping because you need to, may be a price you’ll regret paying.
My younger business self was too proud (and scared) to ask for help. I’d thought it was a sign of weakness.
If could talk to that older version of me I’d try to convince them to ALWAYS ask for help. I’d tell that that asking for help isn’t what stupid people do. It’s what curious, humble and open people do.
People keen to grow.
And asking for help may not get you the answers you’re looking for but, more importantly, you may discover the questions you really need to ask.
If you’re looking to make a change in the way you work and/or would like to start a totally new business and you’d like the help and support of likeminded purpose driven people then join our Vision 20/20 program. The next cohort starts March 2023.
