You’re ready to see your business’s news in headlines, but handing over your story to a PR professional seems overwhelming. After all, aren’t you the expert on your business? You’ve built your media list, sent some emails and waited for journalists to jump at the opportunity to write about your venture.

When you’re just starting out, your brand is still growing and changing. You’re figuring out what works, and similarly, your audience is figuring out if they want to build a connection to what you’re offering. You find yourself reaching out to publications in the hope that they will feature you. You consume all you can about marketing, using digital platforms to get in front of customers and spreading the word about your fantastic idea.

It’s natural to want to manage your own PR, but there comes a time when you need to consider if your business is ready for professional help. Perhaps you’ve been planning your first full-fledged campaign and your focus is being tested by too many tasks. Maybe you’re finding your media targeting isn’t reaching the big hitters and you want to be in a specific publication.

Whatever the scenario, here are the five questions to ask yourself to see if your business is ready to hire a professional PR firm.

Head on over to Forbes to check out the rest of this story and my top 5 questions!