by Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect and co-founder SnappSales
I had the good fortune of attending the Lioness Lean In event last week in Johannesburg. Very inspirational to be in a room of business women who are buzzing with excitement with new product launches and celebrating business growth! As you can imagine, when surrounded by this calibre of women, you instinctively think, “Wow, these women can do it all” and yes more than likely they can. But should they?
Women as a whole are known to be resilient, fearless and don’t know about giving up, so sometimes it’s tough for us to accept help. I was chatting with a fellow entrepreneur who is expecting her little one in the next few months and my advice to her was to accept any and all help. Why? Because even though we can do it all, we don’t have to. There is a huge support structure for women entrepreneurs to be highly successful and to be the best versions of themselves, without having to face burnout or losing a grip on their business.
Sometimes all we need is permission to accept that help. I guess it may have to do more with not wanting to delegate and that typical thought of I can do this better if I do it myself, rather than pride.
Get outsourced assistance
We need to embrace the fact that we live in a culture of helpfulness, compassion and outsourcing. You have help at your fingertips, whether it’s a nanny to assist with the children during the day so that you can get to business meetings; or it’s an assistant helping out with the admin work that is piling up. I get it, when starting out, every entrepreneur wears every hat in the business. However, there comes a time where we need to draw the line, focus and prioritize on what is important to build the business.
Maybe look at getting outside help to focus on the admin so that you can concentrate on taking your business internationally. Or perhaps you’re a new mommy, who can really do with a few minutes to herself, just to have some quiet time to enjoy a cup of coffee and remind yourself to enjoy these special moments with your new bundle of joy.
Learn to say yes
I know it’s hard to say yes to help. Today we heard that this is a year of saying yes. So why not say yes to help, say yes to the support structure, say yes to putting you first. By doing this you are allowing others to thrive around you. You are allowing them to work in their genius.
By saying yes you acknowledge you are a strong, decisive business woman, who knows what she wants and understands her own value.
Say yes! You’ve got this!
Karen Wessels is the co-founder and COO of VA Connect, a South African virtual assistant platform that provides outsourced administrative support; and is also the co-founder of SnappSales, a company that generates quality sales leads for its clients. Prior to establishing both her companies, Karen spent over 10 years in different sales, marketing & admin support roles. This experience has equipped her with the invaluable skills required to run her two successful business ventures. Follow Karen on her Personal Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+
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