| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Do Your Best; Hire the Rest
One of the hidden perks of raising six children is the learning laboratory it provides for the parents. My wife and I have learned how important it is to teach our children to do things for themselves and become problem solvers. There isn't enough time to do it any other way with a house full of children. Learning how to tie your shoes, make a telephone call and solve for two unknowns in an algebraic equation are examples of goals society sets for children. Undeniably, do it yourself skills are important for all of us to acquire. As we mature, we get comfortable with the fact that doing it ourselves will save time, create a feeling of accomplishment and definitely save money. We do it yourselfers develop a feeling that the control of doing it ourselves will also lead to a job well done. How many times have you heard, "If you want it done right the first time, do it yourself." What parents intend to be a lifelong asset of independence for their children can later be a lifelong hindrance on their financial growth, however. I notice that D-I-Y is a curse at times. We become so accustomed at doing everything, that we spend all of our time doing everything. Unfortunately, this leaves little time for doing the few things we do best. I can prepare my own income taxes, but I gave up the preparation part many years ago. The money spent to hire a professional freed up time to do more productive things in my businesses. I know the basics of how a website is created and how to transfer html coded pages for uploading, but I hire out that service, too. I understand how the stock market works and how to analyze the performance of a stock, but I use a financial consultant to help me with my investments since I just don't have the time to do it all. Many small business owners started their own businesses as "solopreneurs" and got comfortable with being a do it yourselfer. Operating as one-man bands, they are destined to be soloists the rest of their business careers unless they ask for help. When they are ready, they may choose to seek help with bookkeeping, marketing or planning. They will just say help with hiring, payroll or product development. Focusing on what they do best will cause them to ask for help with sales, pricing or maintenance. The paradox of being self sufficient and asking for help is hard to handle. When we do it yourselfers wrestle with the temptation to be jacks-of-all-trades and pin it to the mat, we will be able to grow in our business and personal lives. Next time you have the urge to do everything yourself in your business, think about the Spandex Rule: Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Doug Emerson trains consults and coaches business owners on how to make more profit in less time using 8 key strategies. He writes a free electronic newsletter about the business of life called Getting to the Point. Free subscription available at the homepage. http://www.douglasemerson.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Most Business Owners Sabotage Their Success Owning a business is a challenging endeavor. If you're like many novice small business owners, you've taken numerous risks with your time and your money, only to see all of your efforts producing little or no result. How to Increase the Cash Flow in Your Private Practice in 30 Days If you have a busy private practice, chances are you also have pockets of cash lying around available for the plucking. It simply hasn't been collected yet, and may even have been overlooked. Nevada Incorporation: The Advantages of Incorporating in Nevada Incorporation in Nevada has become an attractive option for savvy business entrepreneurs, and for good reason. Nevada corporations enjoy many benefits just not available anywhere else. Small Business Checks - Money Saving Options When you go into business for yourself, there are many things to consider. What you don't want to worry about is spending too much money on unnecessary items. How to Give FREE Advice and Make Money When is advice free and when should you charge for it?A question is often asked as to when to charge for information. This is not an easy question to answer as it really depends on the situation. Get Out Of The Rut And Back On the Track Do you sometimes find yourself just going "through the motions" of your business from day to day? Has the excitement gone out of your daily routine?What happened? Remember way back when you began doing this? You were excited and enthusiastic about what you were going to do. What went wrong? Where did the excitement and enthusiasm go? More importantly, how do you get it back?Of course, this may be a signal that it is time for you to make some changes or to "move on. Contract Cleaners - A Guide for Business Part 2 In the first part of this article I put forward 7 questions that I believed were important to ask of your potential cleaning company. In this article I will explain the relevance of the first two questions and the answers you get to you as a business. Boat Detailers; Add-on Products and Services As a Boat Detailing Specialist, you may want to offer services such as making sure your clients' boat's batteries are charged and offering to charge them or test the boat before they arrive for their departure. This is an easy service to provide and will keep you on the top of the boat owners list of reputable and reliable service companies. Keeping your Business Alive As long as you eat and breathe you will stay alive. But is that really living? In a crisis that may be enough. Uncover Free Veins Of Gold By Prospecting Online Guru Newsletters (Part 1 of 2) Incredible as it sounds, you have a goldmine of free business advice and resources available to you for starting an online business. Many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the unbelievable opportunity of financial independence by starting an Internet business. Starting a New Business in a Small Town Q. I am a former pastor who left the ministry after sixteen years to spend more time with my family. Small Business Marketing, According to Seinfeld What could Seinfeld possibly have to do with marketing a small business? As it turns out, all small business owners could take a few lessons from the show that brought us such popular phrases as "Man Hands" and "master of your domain".The Coffee Shop - Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine spent countless hours in the coffee shop, talking about "nothing. Starting An E-Commerce Business: Baby Steps Starting your own e-commerce business can be quite the adventure. There is nothing wrong with falling head over heels in love with your ideas and plans and becoming overly excited, but always remember, feet first. Profits are within 6 Degrees of Freedom How far away is the person you need to meet?We have spent some time discussing your inner circle and have suggested that you take time to list all of the people that you know and that KNOW YOU. This inner circle is the start of finding out who knows a person that you need to meet. Creating a Power Plan Part of the power plan is making sure you have all the necessary contact information within a company. It is one thing to have the CEO's information, as he is the decision-maker, but it is quite another to have the information on others that you may be working with directly. Leveraging Business Relationships for more Profits When should you leverage the relationship?Leveraging sometimes brings a negative connotation to the mix. It does not have to be that way. Tracking Revenue For MORE Profits The revenue history is a vital piece of your power page and you need to record that information. Keeping track of client revenues should not be done in a paper format, it should be recorded electronically. Look Out for that Great Accountant There are many factors to be considered when you are trying to select the accountant who is right for you. In other words how to find that good one. Marketing a New or Small Business on a Budget There are almost as many opinions and views on marketing as there are companies to market. The big names and multinationals will have an extraordinary amount of funding set aside in which to convey their marketing message to the masses. How to Bond a Business Relationship When should you create a foundation in order to solidify a business relationship?Before you bond any business relationship, you need to make sure that this is a relationship that you both want to have. No relationship is a one way street; the relationship must work in both directions.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
