Can’t Afford to Hire Help?
Tip: Maybe you really can’t afford NOT to!
Dear Fred & Lyna,
About 9 months ago I left my “job” to become a writing coach. The good news is I am busy with 10 steady clients. The bad news is- I am busy with 10 steady clients. I am exhausted doing everything- paperwork, weekly articles, keeping my website updated- not to mention trying to get more clients- but I can’t afford to pay for help. Any suggestions? --Diane, Denver
Fred: It’s true that when most entrepreneurs start their new ventures, they find they have to do it all.
Lyna: And that means they wear many hats, including salesperson, accountant and office assistant.
Fred: Some Entrepreneurs have a hard time letting go of doing everything. It’s not because they can’t afford help, but that they want to have complete control.
Lyna: Even if they multi-task, to get it all done, like checking email, talking on the phone and responding to a fax at the same time, are they really being effective?
Fred: Studies actually show that multi-tasking increases stress and anxiety. Your brain becomes overloaded
so your work is less productive. You loose focus and concentration and you loose results.
Lyna: So you are more productive and healthier if you realize you can’t possibly do it all yourself. But what if, like Diane, you can’t afford to hire help?
Fred: You can start by hiring a college business student as an intern. They can come to your house on a set schedule. You get their time, and they get the experience.
Lyna: That’s a great idea. But I know eventually it would start to feel like the office is just too small for both of us. Also, how much time would actually be spent training and making sure things are done right?
Fred: Then you may be ready to adjust your thinking. There are professional “Virtual Assistants” that work from their home office, using their own equipment and pay their own insurance and taxes. You pay only for the time they spend on your administration needs and you set the budget.
Lyna: Sounds great, but once again, how can Diane afford them?
Fred: Actually, although she thinks she can’t afford to pay for help, hiring someone even part time can help her make money.
Lyna: OK. Let’s do the math. If Diane spends an hour a week on $100/hr coaching calls, that’s $1000 a week of income. And she is spending 30 plus hours a week taking care of all her business paperwork and details needed to run it.
Fred: If she paid someone $35/hr to spend 20 hours a week doing some of these office tasks, that $700 a week that she pays out would free her up to coach 20 more clients each week. This is $2000 in more income which is a $1300 increase. And she would still get everything done.
Lyna: That makes it so clear. Hiring help can give you time to make more money, and still allow you to get everything done without added stress.
Fred: You can search the web for Virtual Assistant directories. There are VA associations that also give you information on how to find the right one for your needs.
Lyna: So Fred—Can we afford to hire someone to do the things we don’t want or like to do in our business?
Fred: Actually, I think we can’t afford not to.
Do you have an idea we haven't mentioned? We'd love to hear it .
Write us at marketing maverick@aol.com and we'll mention it—along with your web site—on our Marketing Mavericks page.
Fred and Lyna host a weekly radio talk show on Alltalkradio.com called Growing Your Business. They also write a weekly newspaper column. If you are interested in their column, please send an email to:
info@growingyourbusiness.net
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