Tackling your ‘don't-want-to-do' list, deciding when to hire
Owning and operating a business is no joke. If you are a human and anything like the rest of us who live in “Management of Business”-land then you have at least one day or time a week you slog slowly to the computer thinking “I don't wannaaaaaa….”. Or you convince yourself you can put off logging into your day just a minute more to relish your newfound taste for gone-cold morning coffee.
If either scenario sounds familiar I have some good news for you: you don't have to do it! Yes, I said it, and I am right! “Is there a catch?”, you're asking? Of course there is, there always is.
(Here is a free bonus catch-all answer you can use whenever you have to ask that question: There is no such thing as a free lunch. You're Welcome.)
The catch is that it's going to cost you. You'll need to hire someone or find a service to do it for you. Doesn't matter if it's sales leads, book-keeping, tax evaluations, scoping docs, etc. You CAN find someone to help if you're willing to pay.
I know you're thinking this is NOT big, earth shattering news. However I'm about to give you the secret sauce to help you decide if it's worth hiring someone to help you or alleviate you from your don't-want-to-do list. Ready? Ok here it is: Know Thyself. This may sound like a deep process, but I assure you it's rather simple when applied to a specific problem point. Here it is in math form for all you linear thinkers:
If (cost of hiring person) to do (painful thing you hate) < the pain you feel doing (painful thing you hate) then HIRE if (cost of hiring person) to do (painful thing you hate) > the pain you feel doing (painful thing you hate) then DON'T HIRE.
An example for applied thinkers:
John REALLY hates sending out invoices. The process is boring, he gets conflicted on what he should actually bill for, he forgets to add extra work to his already scoped invoices, has no timetable of when he should do them so he ends up with many outstanding invoices, and on and on. John has a problem.
John puts off doing invoices and has caused himself lots of headaches. He has lost money by not billing for things he neglected to write down. He has incurred late fees on personal bills and with his bank because he has put off doing invoicing for his business.
John needs to take a minute and think about how much his distaste for invoicing is costing him vs how much a simple book-keeping service or part time helper could simplify this for him. Twice a month getting someone to reconcile his accounts or his notes on billing and send/collect invoices from clients would cost around $150. Is $150 worth the relief of not having to do it himself? Is $150 worth not having the worry of not getting paid on time?
*If you're not nodding your head or yelling at John by this point then you must be reading this with your eyes closed. *John needs to know himself. Hating invoicing doesn't make him a BAD business owner. In fact, KNOWING that he hates it makes him a GOOD one.
Know Thyself
Know thyself. Then embrace thyself. Give that big don't-want-to-do list hater in you a big hug and say “It's going to be OK”, and go find someone to make your life a little easier. It doesn't make you a bad business owner to pass the major responsibility for tasks you really don't like, or aren't really any good at, to someone else who is. In fact that makes you a little smarter than the next guy who is suffering through it all. While he's busy putting off returning sales phone calls, you're already in the day, retuning them first and snagging clients he could have had, if only he had embraced his non-love for those sales calls.
Do you have any examples of getting to know yourself? What have you done to give yourself freedom to be productive? What have you had to embrace about yourself?
