Good Idea: Hire Your Weakness

When you're looking to get help with running your art business, there's an old adage that goes "Hire your weakness." It's good advice.

You're strong in certain areas probably because you enjoy doing those tasks more than others and you've become better at them. The other stuff, well, not so much fun for you. For someone else, however, it's just their cup of tea.

Many years ago, when Aletta de Wal was searching for someone to help her build A.C.T., she was smart about it, she came looking for me! ;-D   Why? Because our skills are very different, and they complement each other. For example, two of her greatest skills are strategy and coaching artists. Me? I'm rather geeky and very fond of computers, web and graphic design, and administrative systems. Aletta has great ideas, I can make them happen.   

When my husband Harry and I began working together, we discovered our many complementary skills and it's been a huge relief for me to know that he's taking care of the stuff I'm not so good at. A lot more gets done that way, and it gets done better than if I had done it. On the other hand, we are also very similar in that we're both project managers with our own work styles and strong ideas about how things should happen. In the beginning that caused conflicts and some things just weren't getting done. Over time we worked out our division of responsibilites and now have a very smooth working relationship, but it's a good example of what can happen when you choose to work with someone "just like you."

So while it will be tempting to hire someone because they're like you, do try and find someone whose skills complement yours instead of duplicating them. I know it can be a bit scary to hire someone who is very skilled in areas you are not, and you might feel that you'll appear incompetent. But, really, you won't. It's smart to know what you're not good at doing, or what you don't enjoy doing, and hire someone to take care of it for you. It frees you to focus on what you do best, and that will go a long way towards helping you grow your business.

All my best to you and yours,

   

P.S. Want a bit of help on how to successfully run your art business? If you haven't already had one, you can request a 15-minute conversation here. It's a great start!