You’re the Founder, Not the Hero. Ask for Help.

Here’s the thing about being a founder: You start out wearing all the hats—CEO, customer service rep, marketing guru, IT specialist, and, if things get really wild, the person fixing the office printer. (Pro tip: Just turn it off and on again.)

At first, it feels necessary. Maybe even noble. But if you keep operating like a one-person army, you’ll either burn out or, worse, become the bottleneck that holds your own company back.

You’re Not Supposed to Have All the Answers

Somewhere along the way, founders picked up this weird belief that asking for help = failure. Newsflash: It doesn’t. It just means you’re smart enough to recognize that no one builds anything great alone.

Think about the companies you admire. You know what their founders did not do? Micromanage every email, design every landing page, and personally handle every customer complaint. Instead, they surrounded themselves with brilliant people and let them do their jobs.

Your Team Wants to Help—Let Them

Imagine hiring a bunch of talented people and then refusing to let them do what they’re good at. Sounds ridiculous, right? Yet, so many founders struggle to delegate because they’re convinced no one can do things as well as they can. (Spoiler alert: They can. And in some cases, they’ll do it better.)

Giving up control is scary. But here’s what’s even scarier: Exhausting yourself trying to do everything, missing opportunities because you’re too deep in the weeds, and eventually realizing that your company isn’t scaling because you refuse to let it.

How to Ask for Help (Without Feeling Like a Fraud)

1. Start Small – Delegation isn’t an all-or-nothing game. Hand off tasks that don’t require your immediate expertise and see what happens.
2. Trust Your People – You hired them for a reason. Give them space to own their work.
3. Embrace “I Don’t Know” – Nobody expects you to have every answer. Admitting you don’t (and asking your team for input) actually makes you a stronger leader.
4. Remember the Big Picture – Your job isn’t to do everything. It’s to lead. And leaders don’t just manage; they empower.

Final Thought: Stop Playing the Hero

The best founders aren’t lone wolves—they’re the ones who build strong teams and trust them. So, the next time you’re drowning in work, resist the urge to power through solo. Instead, look around and say, “Hey, can you help with this?”

Turns out, the real power move isn’t doing it all—it’s knowing when to let go.