Possibilities – How to Deal with the Unknown Factor

January 1, 2011

Tags: researching

If you’re embarking on a journey such as home repair, web design or any project you know little about, the unknown can be daunting. There are just so many possibilities, where do you begin?

If you had all the time in the world, you could just research all the options and decide the best course of action. But of course, like the rest of us, you don’t. Your expertise is your business, not this new project. And yet, you’ve identified that this project is necessary for your business to succeed.

There are 2 common strategies to effectively deal with the unknown:

Define the possibilities yourself
Find an expert you can trust, and let them explain the possibilities you can choose from

Defining the possibilities yourself

Using this strategy, you ask friends, do some research on the web or with books, and formulate your opinion as to what you really NEED. The benefit of this approach is you’ll feel more comfortable that the options are fully in your hands. After all, you did the research, you asked around, and there’s a feeling of self-empowerment. Also, the fear factor of being taken advantage of is reduced because now you can just price shop on what you feel you need.

The drawback though is that whatever time you spent researching pales in comparison to the knowledge of a true expert. So while you have formed an opinion of what you THINK you need, the truth of what might be BEST for you and your business may be widely different than your conclusions.

Finding a true expert you can trust

Another strategy is accepting that you know very little about a area and instead focus on finding a true expert that you can trust. A true expert is rare. These are individuals and businesses that have wide and deep knowledge and experience in their field. Often they have unique and brilliant approaches to their field that leave the mediocre majority far behind. They have excellent testimonials and have a track record of delivering on time and at agreed prices.

Once you find a few true experts, select someone you can trust. Someone who explains various options to you and who you feel will give you a fair price.

The benefit of this approach is you will save time by not having to overly research the specifics of your options. Instead your research is to find the expert and then let them tell you the best options. Once you have someone you trust, you wont find yourself excessively worrying. And you’ll be far more successful and confident in staying within your budget.

But this approach can be hard for many of us. Accepting that “we don’t know, what we don’t know” can be challenging. But I have found that having to know everything is far more exhausting and ultimately error prone. Building a network of true experts is more reliable, successful, time saving and rewarding.

From your car mechanic to your doctor to your favorite restaurant, focus on finding experts who will do the job better than you can. And then enjoy watching them do what they do best and profiting from it.