Being able to ask for help and knowing when to ask for help is always a hard thing to do. People today don’t like to ask for help because they think it’s a sign of weakness. Being able to ask for help is a strength and not a weakness. Knowing when to ask for some help is important. There are many reasons you could need help and many ways to ask for help. Let’s explore some of them.
Many people I speak with in my work have overcome the hurdle to ask for help. They know they can’t do certain things on their own, or think they can’t. So along with my partner, we teach them how. One of the first things is to figure out the difference between help you may need to pay for and help you simply need to ask for. As an example, let’s say you want to incorporate. If you know someone who can do this for you, then do so. If not, you would have to hire someone. Simple right. Another example is software for a new business. In our case, we happened to be friends with an accountant so we just had to ask for some help from her. In return, we freshened up her resume. We traded some help from her for some help from us. If we hadn’t had that contact, we would have had two choices – learning to do it on our own using trial and error, or we could have hired someone to do it for us. Your networking and contacts could make a big difference between having to pay someone for their professional skills and just asking a friend for a favor or bartering for services. There is nothing wrong with paying people for their expertise. Learning about everything you need to could take an entire lifetime. Find the best person for the job and, if possible, ask for a favor. A simple, “I could use some help learning how to use XXX. Could you help me out?” If not, then pay them for their skill or trade services rather than money like I did when I was starting my company. Something you are an expert in is a commodity and of obvious value. Use it to help yourself.
The biggest thing is to ask for help though. Being afraid to ask is simply insecurities trying to keep you from achieving great things. Don’t allow fear to rule you. Open your mouth and say, “I need help.” People will help you.