Last week I spent the better part of a day learning Quickbooks so that I could manage my company’s bookkeeping. The program seemed simple enough to use, and we don’t have an overwhelming amount of paperwork to process. Plus, my own labor was technically free, right?? Well actually, it’s really not.
In the time it took me to learn the program and import my information, I could have billed roughly 6 hours of work, or sought out new sales opportunities, or at least marketed an upcoming event. Each of these would have contributed revenue (whether directly or indirectly) to our bottom line, and each is within my skill set. Bookkeeping is not.
This methodology can apply to many areas of your business. The next time you want to save money by taking on some aspect outside your skill set on your own in order to save money, consider the value of your time and where it is best spent. If you save $300 on a service, but it costs you the equivalent of an $800 job or potential sale, then you’ve lost significantly more than you gained.
I don’t know how to rewire my own house, fix the brakes on my car, or buy and sell stocks, and that’s ok. Because it will cost me far less to pay someone else to handle those services than it will for me to learn them myself or attempt to manage them and end up in a worse situation. Remember this the next time you attend a two hour seminar on marketing or advertising and then strive to take the promotion of your business completely on your own shoulders – it could end up costing you revenue in missed opportunities and lost time.
– Melissa, Grapevine Consulting
