What is your time worth?
As a small business owner, I am constantly debating whether I do it all myself versus hiring someone. As with most small businesses when they get started, I am trying to keep cash flow as tight as possible. Usually this means doing as much of the work as I possibly can.
When I first started a niche advertising company over 11 years ago, I would spend all day in client meetings and all night doing the graphic design work that was a result of those meetings - so I could have it back to the client the next day. While this was very beneficial in delivering on client results, it was very taxing on the body (and mind). Combine that with the fact that I was in my early twenties and enjoyed the bar scene (Social Media 1.0), so sleep became an afterthought.
Now 11 years later, as I start another small business, sleep is still an afterthought (note that I am writing this blog post at 2:25 am). However, based on that past experience, I am much wiser to how to handle this. Also have traded the bar scene for an amazing wife, and subsequently two wonderful children. Please note: I did not meet my wife at the bar. I met her online, maybe that’s why I went from a traditional ad agency to a digital one. (I digress….)
So what do a plumber, a dentist, and a real-estate agent all have in common? Mostly all are over-worked, but still find their businesses struggling – as most small businesses owners are. In speaking with many of my prospective clients, they exclaim how they have heard all these great things about how marketing on the internet can solve all their problems – and it can, but it needs to be done the right way.
It happens to every entrepreneur and small business owner. It’s the nature of growing your own business from scratch. You start out doing everything yourself, and as the business grows, it stays that way. We refuse to hire out help because we worry that no one else can perform these tasks as well as we can.
Are you up to your eyeballs in work? Are you spending all day, every day on marketing, administration and fulfillment? Chances are, you’re wearing a few too many hats, and it’s time to relinquish most of them.
I’m sure you’ve realized this at one point or another, but it can be difficult to let go of the details or to relinquish control over any process. One of the reasons we entrepreneurs started our businesses is so we could be in control. On the other hand, maybe you’re worried about how much it will cost.
Are you spending valuable time each day doing work that could be better delegated to an employee or outside contractor? I often find this when it comes to most small businesses and their internet marketing efforts. They see charges of $100 an hour for consultants and that scares them away. However, if the consultant can get the job done in 1 hour where it takes you 3 or 4, without any experience, how much is it really costing you?
How much is your time worth? $50 an hour? $150? $1500? More? As long as you continue to spend your time on tasks that someone else could do more efficiently, you’ll be limiting the profit potential of your business.
If, like the average small business owner, you spend 75% of your time on administrative, clerical, and operational tasks, you’re only earning money 10 hours out of a 40-hour week. Even if you pull in $400 an hour, you’ll be hard-pressed to make more than a hundred thousand dollars a year. Leverage out-sourcing and you could easily triple your income.
No one can succeed in a big way by themselves.
Most small business owners, as well as corporate managers, have a hard time delegating substantial work after years of being in control of every aspect of their business. The assistants you hire, or out-sourced help, can typically be faster and better at doing things like web work and fulfillment tasks than you are.
The truth is, nobody has EVER succeeded in a BIG way without getting all sorts of help. I’m sure Bill Gates never saw himself being a “one-man show”, personally writing the code for Microsoft Windows, packaging the product, doing all the marketing and customer support himself. Moreover, if you want your business to grow, you’ll want to shed the tasks that others can do as soon as possible.
I recommend out-sourcing any activity in your business that wouldn’t pay you your desired hourly rate that it would take you to do it. I am sure that down the road your bottom line will improve. You may also find that you have time for a life outside of your business. Money is a renewable resource. Your time is not. You can always make more money next month or next year. Nevertheless, there’s only so much time in each week, each year, and in your life. It’s up to you to take control of it, and spend it wisely on the things that only you can do.
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