I am the type of person that multitasks well on most days and loves to jump into new projects. Sometimes I get my hands into too many things at once and find myself in the realm of overwhelm. Sound Familiar?
Lately, there have been a lot of little projects that have been part of the bigger picture of growing my businesses. While I know I am perfectly capable of handling the tasks at hand I have found that there are times when it pays to pay for help. After all, time is money!
I know I can tackle new things and I enjoy it. It might take me double the time to complete a project that I could hire someone for a reasonable fee to finish faster and probably better but I could do it.
For example, in the process of incorprating my new company I could just as easily have gone to the Secretary of State’s website, downloaded all of the forms, (after figuring out which ones I needed) completed them, submitted them, processed payments and additional documents, etc. You get the idea. Not a difficult project but definitely a time consuming one. After all, I’d want to make sure I completed everything properly because you don’t want to mess up on stuff like this. You with me still? So, here’s what I did.
I went and hired one of the online incorporation service companies that I talked about in a previous post. I spent my few hundred dollars and within about 20 minutes I was on my way. Within about 3 days, my new corporation was formed and I had spent 20 minutes instead of X hours. I saved myself hours of work and probably some headache by being willing to spend a little bit of money to have a professional take care of things. After all, they do this in their sleep, right?
Another example is an upcoming 30 second video for one of my websites. I have friends who do videos all the time for their business.
I have no doubt I could figure it out in short order, ok, a few hours at least, but I have the skills to get it done and am willing to try. While I was thinking about this, something popped onto my radar screen.
Sure enough, one of my contacts just launced a video service that helps entrepreneurs. For $30 he will create a 30 second video for Independent folks which can be displayed on websites or YouTube. Just what I needed! (BTW, He does have other offerings as well for longer pieces). I didn’t have to think long about my choice: Pay $30 or spend hours figuring things out? I decided to pay $30 and use my time for other tasks at hand.
As entrepreneurs our budget is often times linked to our own bank accounts – which can mean our ability to eat, pay rent, or put gas in the car. I am not advocating going out and blowing your rent money all in one full swoop on some new marketing thing or on hiring someone to do what you can and are willing to do. By all means, if it means food on the table or having someone else fill out forms for you – put food on the table and then spend your time filling out the forms after dinner.
What I’m talking about is looking around for opportunities that will help you grow your business through efficiency. You can budget for these items or sometimes take a leap when a good deal passes into your sphere. Like my video choice.
As the president, the accounting department, HR, and the janitor we run the risk of burning out before our success actually hits. Don’t give up. Keep your chin up and look for ways to leverage your time.
After all, there are only 24 hours in the day – and our bodies really do need sleep!
Carpe Diem!