Day 29 Guest Blogger Andi Ramsay Returns

In the second of his guest blogs here is Andi Ramsay again this time talking about working to your skills

Staying in your wheelhouse

I accepted a long time ago that there are certain skills I have, and certain skills I don’t have. I’m no good at playing musical instruments, I know because I’ve tried and my neighbours will back me up on this. I also know that I’m not a butcher, a baker, nor a candlestick maker, so I do not attempt to do these things, especially not for my business. When I need something baked, or a candle stick made, I go to those experts and get them to do it. The same goes for my lawyer, accountant, doctor, dentist, and mechanic.

So when it comes to your business image; branding, print, website, photos, copywriting, videos, why risk everything on a roll of the dice. Most of the time, the small amount of money that you save by doing-it-yourself will be more than outstripped by the time you waste and the custom that you lose as a result of people failing to take your business seriously. This will do irreparable harm to your reputation in the long run.

Know, Like, Trust

People buy from people who they know, like & trust; and in order to build your business you need to establish familiarity, popularity & credibility among your audience. Never has it been easier for a business to achieve these things but conversely it has never been easier for a business to lose these things. Demonstrating your commitment to your own business by displaying only the highest quality in everything will help to build your credibility, and simultaneously convey your business’ commitment to detail.

Your Own Reserve Army

It is not a failing, as many people are led to believe, to outsource aspects of your business, especially if you are a sole trader or small company. You can’t afford several in-house departments like the large multi-nationals to attend to every aspect of your business, and you certainly don’t have the necessary time to become an expert at every skill when you have to remain an expert at your core business.

Outsourcing, subcontracting, farming it out, are all perfect ways for you to get distractions off your plate so you can stick what you do best. You can have the equivalent of a marketing department, a sales department, a website team, but you don’t need to have them on permanent staff, nor pay them every day. By carefully selecting the right expert for your needs you can have all of these skilled individuals & businesses at the other end of a phone call or email whenever you have need for them. They can do the task and go off to work for their other clients until you need them again.