As a child, all I ever wanted in life was to be able to play every instrument in the world. It’s such an ambitious goal, isn’t it?
Over the course of several decades, I learnt a variety of instruments and mastered some of them. On several of them, I felt like I was only a mediocre performer, but at least I could play, so that was good! As the years went by, I kept studying new instruments, and I was happy with my progress.
One day, I decided to pick up the drums. I started by playing the snare drum, which I was reasonably proficient at. Next are the tri-toms, symbols, bass drum, and so on. Being the overachiever that I am, I decided to buy a drum set one day. Every day, I worked very hard to attempt to understand this set of drums. I kept beating on them in an attempt to get them to comply under my control and find my rhythm. My good-natured father entered the room as I was playing my drum set and said, “You know, you look like a maniac flailing around over there.”
Let’s go ahead a few years. That drum equipment is still in my shed, and I still play it sometimes. No study materials, books, or lesson plans seem to be able to teach my hands and feet how to play the drums correctly. Since my beats wind up half-witted, I’ve accepted the fact that 1) I can’t do it all by myself and 2) I might as well hire a professional drummer if I need one.
The lesson of my narrative is that I recognise my limitations. I don’t play the drums, but I know some folks who are very good at it. This is also true for my business; even if I am able to file my personal taxes and manage my books, when I combine all of the accounting and bookkeeping, I end up stumbling like a crazy again.
It seems that many business owners think they can do it all and are their first port of call.
company needs. This is not only false, in my experience, but it may also convey that your business lacks professionalism. You can differentiate your business from the competition by using phrases like “I’m not an accountant,” “I’m not a web designer,” or “I don’t know my head from a hole in the ground in regards to [fill in the blank]”. I have a great example for you: When it comes to real estate, I know very little. I understand that it has to do with mortgages, housing,
Listings and showings, but what good are they to me? But for a friend of mine with extensive real estate knowledge, this is the niche market. As a result, I send my acquaintance all enquiries about real estate.
All of us eventually lose sight of the fact that we are not able to do everything and begin undertaking things for which we are manifestly unqualified. Finding our niche market is important, but so is figuring out what we can’t do effectively and passing that information along to someone who can.
I can play the flute and trombone very well, but I’m not very good at drumming. I am not good at accounting or bookkeeping, but I am a specialist in marketing and design. How about you?