1. You aren’t ready to delegate.

If you aren’t willing or ready to delegate tasks, hiring someone is going to be a big, fat waste of money.

I know delegation is a hard topic for some people, especially those that like to hang onto control of things in their businesses. But it is a skill that can be learned over time and is essential to the future success and growth of your business.

It’s simple math. If you want your business to grow, you will have more tasks that require more time. But you don’t get any more time in the day as your business grows. So you will inevitably have to hire on other hands to help you – unless you want your business to say exactly the same, forever.

Learn how to delegate now and you will thank future you, I promise.

2. You want a yes-person.

A yes-person is a great friend to have around when you want to go on adventures and need a partner-in-crime, but they are NOT an asset to your business. If you are looking to hire someone who will never challenge your ideas or who you punish when they do – don’t bother. I’m going to be frank- you are doing a disservice to yourself and your business when you only want things done your way. No one likes working somewhere where business meetings feel more like lectures than discussions.

Do your due diligence and hire people with special expertise and skillsets that you don’t have and value their opinions and perspectives. Iron sharpens iron, so not only will this help your business grow, but it will help you grow as a leader and a business owner.

3. You aren’t open to change.

If you are only looking to hire someone so that your spouse will get off your back about working so much, but you aren’t willing to put work in or take actual action in your business, don’t hire a OBM. Businesses have to adapt and innovate, in order to stay alive. When you aren’t open to change as a business owner, you stunt the growth of your company and make your employees feel un-valued and unheard.

4. You aren’t open to feedback.

This is a classic, yet I have never understood why people are so afraid of feedback in their business. When you break it down, every single thing that happens in your business IS feedback.

• Someone shoots you an email that they are interested in your services – FEEDBACK. They are telling you that whatever marketing, messaging, or advertising you did to attract them worked.
• You have a sales meeting and they decide to sign on as a client – FEEDBACK. They are telling you that your sales pitch targeted their pain points and your services met their expectations
• They give you money for those services performed – FEEDBACK. They are telling you that the services you provided were worth what they are paying for and they would like to support your business.

You get the point. But if you aren’t open to hearing feedback about how things are working in your business from the people working on your business, then don’t bring someone in.

5. You aren’t invested in your business.

This is a common occurrence in the world of consulting and virtual assistance. A business owner brings someone in to help get things running smoothly and then checks out of the business. If you are not invested in your business, no one else will be either. It’s that simple.

A consulting or OBM relationship takes development, time, and action to help you and your business. If you aren’t willing to make the commitment to work on strengthening your business, neither will someone else.