Submitted by Kathy Grosskurth, Bookkeeping Clean and Simple
I have spoken to quite a few people in the last couple of weeks because it’s the start of tax season (though I don’t do taxes myself, but that’s a topic for another day).
And inevitably this topic continues to bubble up over and over again in our conversations: "You don’t know what you don’t know." This statement is true of so many people starting their own businesses.
Many of us start businesses with a great idea or a true passion for what we’re doing: some of us possess special skills (tax, accounting, coaching) while others enjoy certain hobbies (baking, art, music), while others may want the flexibility of striking out on their own.
Regardless of the reason, millions of people start their business with high hopes, only to realize that they don’t know the first thing about running a business: the various legal requirements to set it up, recordkeeping requirements, payroll regulations, paying taxes. You get the idea.
This was true for me in the beginning. Even though I probably possessed above-average knowledge due to my business background, I still had a lot to learn when I started my QuickBooks-based bookkeeping practice. Even today - it’s amazing that, after all this time, there are things I am still learning. And there are still a lot of things that I don’t know. There are also instances where I STILL "don’t know what I don’t know."
Which is why this quote resonates so strongly with me. And that’s most likely true for many of us.
We may think we know certain things, and we may think we’re on a good path. But somewhere along the way, we realize that there are gaps in our knowledge. But do we ask for help? Most often we don’t. We often want to just power through it, or we don’t want to admit to others that we don’t know something. What do we do? We often flounder and float around rudderless while the issues we’re dealing with becomes increasingly worse and the problems compound exponentially.
Well, I’m here to tell you, there’s no shame in asking for help or in seeking the information you need to fill in those knowledge gaps. We are never too old to stop learning, and we should strive to learn something new each and every day.
So, when have you been putting off learning or getting help, what does that look or feel like to you? Let’s hold each other accountable. Better yet, let’s not be ashamed to ask for help when we need it!
PS: The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce is a great resource to start asking those important questions. If they don’t know the answer, then they can point you to valuable resources that can help you with the specific issues you’re dealing with. So, add them to your speed dial and reach out to them when needed!
#motivationmoment
#askforhelp
#neverstoplearning
