Today has not been a stellar day for my business. My kid was sick so I spent most of the day at home, trying to focus on my laptop while Disney movies played at top volume 5 feet away (the kid is 3 – when he’s sick, Mommy has to be there). In the afternoon I had 30 minutes at my office to pack my kit and supplies for a two-day facilitation event in Surrey, and despite my best efforts to stay calm and orderly, I managed to leave behind my box of markers, tape, and other graphic facilitation doo-dads.
While I’ve managed to recover the situation with a quick stop at Staples, it made me think again about my plan to make myself a carrying bag which will accommodate two rolls of chart paper and my kit of markers etc., to make commuting to facilitation gigs easier and faster. I’m lucky to be good with my sewing machine, so I’m more inclined to puzzle my way through making such an item rather than buying one from off the Internet.
That led me to thinking about my habit of insisting on doing things myself, despite the fact there are usually vendors out there willing to take tasks off my hands for a fee. My website, for example, is the product of uncounted hours of clambering up the WordPress learning curve. This year I’m probably going to do my own taxes because paying the going rate for my accountant to do my year-end seems like a serious waste of money, for a one-person company. But where should I – or other business owners – draw the line when it comes to “do it yourself?”
This is a particularly relevant question considering I’m the pioneer of “Do It Yourself Strategic Planning” for my clients. Do I really mean that people should take their strategic planning into their own hands instead of hiring a consultant? Yes. Yes, I really do. Especially when you have a small business, like one or two people. Strategic planning is a discipline which can be explored from many starting points; you don’t have to be an expert, and in fact I defy anyone to prove they really are an “expert” at strategic planning. I have expertise in organizing and analyzing the process, but strategic planning is like golf – you’re always striving for the perfect game and if you ever actually play it, well you might as well just curl up and die. It helps to know a bit about SWOT analysis and industry analysis and competitive positioning, but that stuff is like icing on the cake of deep, abiding understanding of your work and your industry.
But when it comes to other things, like website design or bookkeeping, there are strong arguments for outsourcing instead of burning the midnight oil trying to do everything for your business. For me the distinction comes from enjoyment: I honestly did enjoy doing all that crazy stuff for this website, and I also enjoy my bookkeeping because it’s simple, light and keeps me in touch with my business cash flow. I also enjoy sewing things for myself because I have the ability and the tools. I don’t really enjoy taxes, but I do enjoy having an extra $grand or more in my pocket. The taxes is the one thing that holds a question mark for me – maybe I really should just suck-it-up and hire the accountant.
Where is your line for “do it yourself?” What do you do for your small business that others often outsource, but you consider part of your role? Do you do it because it’s fun, or because (as I say about myself) you’re too cheap to hire somebody else, and don’t want to be bothered to explain how you want it?
Is “do it yourself” really a good business choice?
Today has not been a stellar day for my business. My kid was sick so I spent most of the day at home, trying to focus on my laptop while Disney movies played at top volume 5 feet away (the kid is 3 – when he’s sick, Mommy has to be there). In the afternoon I had 30 minutes at my office to pack my kit and supplies for a two-day facilitation event in Surrey, and despite my best efforts to stay calm and orderly, I managed to leave behind my box of markers, tape, and other graphic facilitation doo-dads.
While I’ve managed to recover the situation with a quick stop at Staples, it made me think again about my plan to make myself a carrying bag which will accommodate two rolls of chart paper and my kit of markers etc., to make commuting to facilitation gigs easier and faster. I’m lucky to be good with my sewing machine, so I’m more inclined to puzzle my way through making such an item rather than buying one from off the Internet.
That led me to thinking about my habit of insisting on doing things myself, despite the fact there are usually vendors out there willing to take tasks off my hands for a fee. My website, for example, is the product of uncounted hours of clambering up the WordPress learning curve. This year I’m probably going to do my own taxes because paying the going rate for my accountant to do my year-end seems like a serious waste of money, for a one-person company. But where should I – or other business owners – draw the line when it comes to “do it yourself?”
This is a particularly relevant question considering I’m the pioneer of “Do It Yourself Strategic Planning” for my clients. Do I really mean that people should take their strategic planning into their own hands instead of hiring a consultant? Yes. Yes, I really do. Especially when you have a small business, like one or two people. Strategic planning is a discipline which can be explored from many starting points; you don’t have to be an expert, and in fact I defy anyone to prove they really are an “expert” at strategic planning. I have expertise in organizing and analyzing the process, but strategic planning is like golf – you’re always striving for the perfect game and if you ever actually play it, well you might as well just curl up and die. It helps to know a bit about SWOT analysis and industry analysis and competitive positioning, but that stuff is like icing on the cake of deep, abiding understanding of your work and your industry.
But when it comes to other things, like website design or bookkeeping, there are strong arguments for outsourcing instead of burning the midnight oil trying to do everything for your business. For me the distinction comes from enjoyment: I honestly did enjoy doing all that crazy stuff for this website, and I also enjoy my bookkeeping because it’s simple, light and keeps me in touch with my business cash flow. I also enjoy sewing things for myself because I have the ability and the tools. I don’t really enjoy taxes, but I do enjoy having an extra $grand or more in my pocket. The taxes is the one thing that holds a question mark for me – maybe I really should just suck-it-up and hire the accountant.
Where is your line for “do it yourself?” What do you do for your small business that others often outsource, but you consider part of your role? Do you do it because it’s fun, or because (as I say about myself) you’re too cheap to hire somebody else, and don’t want to be bothered to explain how you want it?
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