How Do You Handle "Problem Areas" in Your Business?

I take one of four approaches to something I cannot do, do not like, or don't understand (any of these three reasons make it a "problem area" in my mind).

1) Learn it. I don't deal well with failure so I just do whatever I have to do to improve. Whether it's research online, practice/rehearsing, or calling in someone else to teach me to do it, there's a way to make it happen if I really need to learn something.

2) Get backup. If there's something that you absolutely can't avoid, find a way to have a "backup" available when you need it. I fill this role for my design partners for a cart I work with. If they get stuck on a design or coding issue, they know they can email me and I'll reply ASAP with a solution or help in the right direction. The end client does not ever need to know they were stuck. And when I get stuck with certain programming, I have a php expert who I can call in. Knowing that you've got a relationship with someone, a colleague or even a paid by the incident support team, can be a huge relief when you need that help.

3) Outsource it. If it can be outsourced, then I'll outsource it either to my VA or a hired temp for the specific project. Some familiarity though is needed on my part to outsource something, or else a very well established relationship of trust with the outsourcer, so I know whether they're completing the task properly.

4) Don't do it. It took me a while but I've accepted that option 1 (learn it) cannot be the answer for every problem area. There are a few specific services that I do not offer. If the problem area is created by a product or service that isn't essential, consider what would happen if you just didn't offer it. It might not be the end of the world.

Sometimes these are combined for a problem area. For example, my monthly accounting statements. I outsourced them until I found a system and learned to do it myself. Now I can do it in less than an hour instead of wasting half a day every month so I moved from option 3 to option 1.

There are my four strategies for handling problem areas in my business. Consider these next time you run into something that feels like a problem area in your business.