What to Do When You DON’T Have The Answer

What to Do When You Don't Know What To Do

When you don't know what to do or how to answer a question, all you have to say is, “I'm not sure, but let me look into that and I'll get back to you.”

It’s actually that simple. Like I said, no one is ever going to have all of the answers—it’s all right to admit when it’s your turn to have to look something up!

And here’s the great part: when you remove the pressure from yourself to always know things off the top of your head, the whole thing gets so much easier.

You might feel embarrassed, but let me ask you this: how many times have you asked someone a question, they didn’t have the answer, and you immediately lost all respect for them? How many times has someone not been able to give you an answer, and you decided they were stupid?

I’m guessing not very many.

You hope they have the answer; that’s why you’re asking them. But if they don’t know off the top of their head, you’re not sitting there judging them.

And even if it’s difficult, you have to remember that it’s so important to verbally acknowledge when you don't know what to do. Otherwise, you might mislead someone by accident, and that’s never a good outcome—especially not in bookkeeping.

When we don’t have the answer, the instinctive fear of sounding stupid or making a fool of ourselves can cause us to make up something that sounds good in the moment.

But here’s the thing: the biggest way to actually make yourself sound stupid is to give an answer that sounds good in the moment, but a week down the line, it turns out that you were totally wrong.

That not only hurts the people you've misinformed, potentially with catastrophic consequences; it can also hurt your reputation.

This WILL Happen—And That’s Okay

I want to paint this picture with full transparency: if you start a bookkeeping business, you will have many times where you have to walk through a unique circumstance with your client.

The new circumstance could be having to tackle historic data. It could be having to learn a new platform that you've never been on before. It could be learning a new platform no one's ever been on before.

This business is always changing, but that’s what I love about bookkeeping: it’s not always easy, but it is simple. You’ll have those moments in the beginning where you're learning something new, but once you’ve learned it, you’ll have a new notch on your belt…and that can only make you a better bookkeeper.

How LIBBY Can Help When You Don't Know What to Do

So now you know what to say, and why…but what can you do to find that answer?

I have something that can help.

If you want to be able to ask somebody for help when you don't know what to do—if you don't want to be banging your head against the keyboard at 3:00 AM, and you don't want to have to refund customers if you can't figure their circujmstance out quickly enough—then you need my program, Life by the Books!

In Life by The Books (aka LIBBY), part of the support that you receive is one-on-one Voxer access to me.

You’ll also have a group Voxer where you can reach out to members of the community that want to be in that active group. It’s especially valuable when you don't know what to do and need help finding the answer.

Don’t Be Afraid of Not Knowing

So there you have it: what to do when you don't know what to do.

It feels scary in the moment, but it’s truly not a difficult thing to tackle, and you never have to feel bad for needing to look into something a bit more before answering confidently.

And moreover, if you’re struggling to find those answers on your own, there’s a community waiting for you in Life by The Books to help you get there! We’d love to have you!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Need to boost your bookkeeping basics—and want to get in on the goodness before the price goes up? Join BABs now…before the price goes up!: https://www.katieferro.com/become

Want a peek behind the curtain into LIBBY, my program all about what it really takes to have a simple and scalable (and successful) bookkeeping business? Get access to my free, on-demand four-part series, 6 Secrets to a Simple, Scalable Bookkeeping Business: www.katieferro.com/6-secrets

Learn how to take your bookkeeping skills and turn them into a business that allows you to replace (or surpass) your corporate salary, be present for your life, and profoundly impact your clients without selling your life in the process by joining Life by the Books (LIBBY).  

CONNECT WITH KATIE:

Website: https://www.katieferro.com/

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