Confessions of a Control Freak
So, it turns out I don’t know everything.
Who knew?
Ever since I started this business with my husband, we’ve made all the decisions ourselves. We did hire a web designer to create our site, but we basically dictated the content and the designer worked within those parameters. And since then, we’ve never hired outside consultants for anything. We’ve taught ourselves all kinds of skills, from search engine optimization to pay-per-click marketing to landing page design. But ‘taught ourselves’ is the key phrase. We know a little about all of those things – but not enough about any of them.
At the end of last year, we decided to take the plunge and hire outside help to revamp our website – we took some time to choose the right company and now we’re in the midst of the process. It has been both eye-opening and exciting to work with creative, talented professionals who are looking at our business, our staff and our clients with a fresh perspective. We’ve learned a lot – not least, we’ve learned to let go and trust a little bit.
So far we have a brand concept that is better than anything we could ever have come up with on our own, a new logo that I can’t wait to start using (again better than anything we could have done ourselves) and we’re now deep into planning the site strategy, a process we never went through on the current version of our site. Tomorrow we get to see the first prototype of the site, a wire frame that will show us the planned structure. I don’t know how it will look – but I know one thing, it will look better than anything we could have done ourselves!
Which leads me to my question … is there anything you’re holding on to that might be better outsourced to an expert?
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About the Author
Louise Fletcher
Louise – How exciting to be going through this process! I felt the same way when I partnered with a professional to redesign my site. As I continue to grow my business, my advice to job seekers echos in my head! Of course, I believe that they should hire an expert to partner with them to propel their job searches forward. I ask:
“Do you cut your own hair? Wire your own home for electricity? Would you pull your own tooth?”
I like to follow my own advice! Hiring a pro makes all the difference, especially when it is as important as your business or career!
It’s only 9:30am, but I feel like I could just go home now, and call it a day. What a great compliment. Its not everyday we get to work with such committed clients. Thanks Louise and Phil!
Miriam, can you believe my dad once pulled his own tooth? Ouch!
Matthew, glad I could make your day 🙂
The title of the blog post caught my eye.
I admit, I too have ‘control freak’ tendencies.
Breaking down this past April and hiring someone else to completely revamp my site AND become my small biz consultant was scary territory for me. But I’ll tell ya, it felt oh-so-good to relinquish control and let someone else do the website/SEO/marketing thinking for me. Freed up so much of my time to focus on WORK. 😉
I hope you enjoy this process AND your new free time you will soon have.
My best,
Erin Kennedy
Erin, Your new site looks great!