When it comes to starting a business, you’ll find there are some things you simply don’t know how to do. It’s normal. Don’t panic. You are the master of your craft, but not the master of all things and that’s okay! You just need to decide if you want to learn it or hire it.

When I became an entrepreneur I wanted to be the one wearing all of the hats. Doing all of the things, and running the show all on my own. I felt that to understand every single aspect of my business, I would need to be the one doing all of the work. And I did. For years I was a one-woman band, doing everything with just me, myself, and I. For a while, it was fine. I was working on my terms, and my hours, and had no one to answer to. But then the fatigue set in. All of the hats got a little too heavy, jobs outside of my skillset got a little too challenging, and working alone began to feel a little too lonely. 

Doing it all on my own made me feel stuck with no vision for moving forward.  I knew there had to be another way. I couldn’t go on burning the candle at both ends. Running a business requires both left and right-brain thinking and if you’ve ever done any research on the human brain, you’ll quickly discover that we aren’t wired to equally favor both sides. Being both the creative lead of my business and the behind-the-scenes, clerical lead of my business, just wasn’t working. Something had to change or my business wasn’t going to grow and thrive in the ways I wanted it to. And so I finally decided to hire out some of the things that weren’t “uniquely me”.

I had accepted the fact that hiring help wasn’t a sign of defeat or failure, but rather a crucial move for the success of my business.

But I didn’t know the first thing about hiring other professionals and I certainly didn’t know where to find them. It’s not a category in the Yellow Pages, or a topic talked about a lot on Google, so again, I felt stuck with how to move forward. 

Fortunately for me, after hours upon hours of searching, I did find the perfect set of people to join my team and help move my business forward, but I have to tell you, there was no easy button. 

But fortunately for you, I’m here to help with my “Learn It or Hire It,” series!

I chose to hire help for a lot of things I didn’t know how to do but I have also learned so many new skills since becoming an entrepreneur and the same can be true for you!

One of the things I had to learn early on was how to build a website.

I don’t know about you, but if a company doesn’t have a website, a part of me wonders how legitimate they are. Maybe that’s the wrong assumption with how dominant social media is these days. However, I do believe having a functioning website will serve you in the long run as a business owner.

Just like there are many roads to success, there are a lot of opinions on this subject. But let’s look at my “Clif Notes” version on some of the things that I’ve learned in my entrepreneurial journey.

 

LEARN IT OR HIRE IT: WEBSITE EDITION

First, ask yourself “Do I want to learn how to create a website or do I want to pay someone to do it for me?”

If you are someone that feels comfortable learning how to build a website I want to suggest 2 companies for you to check out.

1. Squarespace – It’s a beautiful platform that is user-friendly and has a lot of beautiful templates to choose from.

2. ShowIt – This one is a little bit more complex, so I would only suggest using ShowIt if you feel very confident in your tech abilities. One of my favorite template shops is from Tonic. They have gorgeous templates that work perfectly with a ShowIt site.

If you would rather hire this out, I don’t blame you 😉

My best advice is to check out Fiverr. It’s a great resource to help you hire a website designer on any budget! You can also ask around or post on social media to find the perfect web designer for you! I have hired many people for my team simply by asking the internet for recommendations!

Building a website doesn’t have to be as stressful as it sounds. There are so many options for learning the ropes yourself or hiring out help. Choose the option best suited to your needs and go from there!

Life wasn’t meant to be lived alone and business certainly is no different. Ditch the overwhelm of trying to do it all and find the help you’re looking for. When it comes to running a business you can either learn it or hire it. There is no right or wrong way to do it! 

Stay tuned here and be sure to follow me on Instagram @mkoehler for more tips in my “Learn It or Hire It, ” series!