We All Need Each Other’s Small Business

Author’s note, August 2026: I wrote this nearly ten years ago, early in my journey as a business owner. The humility in it is real – and the core truth has not changed. None of us can do this alone.

Admitting What You Do Not Know

I am going to say something that most business owners will not admit publicly: I do not know what I am doing in a lot of areas.

I know how to build websites. I know how to create marketing strategies that get results. I know how to help businesses become visible online. That is my lane, and after twenty-five years in it, I am confident there.

But insurance? Accounting? Health coverage? Business structure? Public speaking? I was – and in some areas still am – completely lost.

Here is what changed that: I stopped pretending I had it figured out and started asking for help.

An insurance agent sat down with me and found $1,700 in annual savings I did not know I was leaving on the table. A health insurance specialist cut my premiums nearly in half. A performance coach helped me see income potential I had been blind to – within two sessions. A vocal coach taught me how to use my voice in ways that changed how I showed up in every room. A dance instructor – and I realize how unexpected this sounds – taught me more about leadership and presence than most business books.

Every one of those people had a skill I lacked. And every one of them needed something I could provide. That is how this works.

The Village Model

There is an old model of a village where everyone contributes their craft. The baker makes bread. The blacksmith forges tools. The tailor makes clothes. Nobody tries to do all of it. Nobody is embarrassed about needing the blacksmith. The village works because each person brings their best skill and trusts others to bring theirs.

We have somehow lost that understanding in modern business. Entrepreneurs, especially solo operators, carry this belief that asking for help is a sign of weakness. That hiring an accountant means you have failed at understanding your own finances. That admitting ignorance in any area undermines your credibility in your area of expertise.

It does not. The opposite is true. The business owners who grow fastest are the ones who identify their gaps early and fill them with people who are better at those things than they will ever be.

I walked into my first meeting with an accountant feeling like I was going to the principal’s office. Nervous. Embarrassed. Certain I was going to be judged. And then I realized – this is exactly how my clients feel when they come to me about their website or marketing. They are not stupid. They are just outside their expertise. And the best thing I can do is make them feel as welcome as that accountant made me feel.

Find Your People

We all need each other’s small business. Your strength is someone else’s gap. Their strength is yours. The sooner you accept that, the faster everything moves.

Stop trying to be the whole village. Find your people. Let them help. And bring your best to the table in return.