As an entrepreneur, you’ve decided it’s time to hire some help so you can lead your business into the future and project growth. You’re excited about the decision and can't wait to start your search. A sense of fear begins to set in as you try to decide what type of help you need and, more importantly, where you’ll find the right person who will share your vision.

Most all of my clients have faced this same fear when they began their search for assistance. As we began our relationship, there was some initial hesitation and it took a few weeks before that trust factor was established.

Here are three steps to help prepare you for receiving assistance with your business and give you a sense of empowerment about your decision:

1. Emotionally, you have to completely let go. I produce a newsletter for most of my clients. Two of them worry each month -- not about my ability to produce their newsletter, but the fear of rejection when it goes public. It never seems to fail that something goes wrong during production, which further fuels their fears. We are our own worst critics, but we need to learn to give ourselves some slack. In order for you to be successful in your business, you need to believe in yourself.

2. You should have some idea of why you want to hire an assistant and what you’d like to delegate to him or her. Don't just say, "I need help" and then immediately hire someone. You’ll need to do some homework first to maximize the value of your relationship.

3. Put processes in place now to avoid overworking later. In one of my recent articles, I proposed the idea of what would happen if someone wanted to buy your business today. Could you clearly define your day-to-day operations? If your answer is no, then how can you expect your assistant to understand what to do? You need to document the tasks you perform. Putting steps in place now will make delegating tasks that much easier in the future. If you need help mapping out your steps, be sure to visit the “Tools” section below.

It takes some time to build a relationship with someone new, but following these steps should make your relationship stronger and provide you with much needed relief for your business.

Copyright © 2005, Angee Robertson

What would happen to your business if you were not there to take care of it? If you do not have any systems in place, no one else will know how your business operates. Visit http://www.diymicropreneur.com to learn how Angee can help you address this issue and better prepare and organize your business.

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