small business mentors
small business mentors
Hi, it's Gordon D'Silva. And today we're going to talk about another of the Myth Busters.
And today's myth-busting is going to be on the thought, the myth that the, “because I can do it, I should do it.”
Hi, my name is Gordon D’Silva. And on this myth buster, I want to talk about this phrase. That I often hear and you probably do as well. You have probably come out in and across other people who feel the same way. Is that, because they can do a task. They believe they should.
Now the task can come in in many forms. The one I come across it most because of my numbers bias, is that the one of, well I can do my own books, so I should. Now, clearly as an accountant, I can do my own book, but I haven't done for over 30 years. Maybe even 40 as time pass by so quickly, doesn't it?
small business mentors
And so my thought is just because I can, I should. Of course not, I've got much better things to do with my time. Much more important things my business needs me to do. Lots more important things might clients need me to do than do my own books. And the time I could be spending on doing my own books. I could be doing other things. For example, I could be recording a video on myth-busting in the business arena.
All right. Go figure. So let me give you a couple of other examples I've come across in my career. I wasn't always a business owner. I used to be an employee. I used to… I was a trainee accountant at one time. God help us.
That was a long time ago. And what I remember profoundly from that day, and this was quite a large organization, it had something like 12 or 14. I think it was 14 partners at the time. So, 14 people at the top and probably a hundred other accountants and admin staff below them. But the partners used to open their own post.
small business mentors
Can you believe it? How could that possibly make sense? You know, what did they think was going to happen to their posts? And it is really strange. This is in the days when a lot of things that arrived by post. Now, of course, it arrives by email and it goes into their email box. The mentality would be that, I should open my own email.
Yeah. It's the same sort of thing. And just because you can doesn't mean you should. You should be looking at the value of your time and the opportunity costs you're giving up by doing these tasks that other people could do equally well. That may take longer. And I'll talk to you about the numbers on that in a second.
That may take longer, but nevertheless, it frees you up. It not only frees your time up, it frees your mind up from having to do that task. Now if it's a somewhat difficult task or it's not a difficult task, but let's take post, for example, with every piece of posts you've got to make a decision.
What should I do with it? Should I answer it now, or should I do it later? Most of the time, interesting enough, they would do it later. Hence, wasting even more time. So yeah, that was a decision. You've probably come across this phrase called "decision fatigue" and so we could easily get tired more quickly than we should by making small, crazy decisions that don't need us to make them.
And so my thought on the numbers that I promised you I'd talk to you about the numbers briefly is that, take for example me, right? I may value my time at 500 pounds per hour, $700 per hour for argument's sake.
small business mentors
Okay, and I could employ someone to look at my post/email who I would pay £20 per hour. Okay. Now just say they took three times as long to do the task than I would, that's not unreasonable. I would do things pretty quickly. I am known for my speed, but they would take the three times as long. That is still £60 pounds per equivalent to do the same task.
Now, clearly if I'm valuing my time at five or six or £700 per hour, surely it's worth me hiring someone even though they take three times as long and costs £20 an hour to do that work.
Right now, if you've never looked at the value you have for yourself, then that's probably one of the reasons you keep doing the things that you've always done. And my challenge for you in this myth buster is to look at what you're doing. Value your time, and just go. And what?
And just think, if somebody took three times as long to do it and I paid them X, would it be worth them doing it to leave me free to do things that they couldn't do? For example videos, for example promotional mails, for example reaching out to potential client or clients. And showing them how much they mean to you. All of these things I was far more than just the bland task of doing your own books or open your read own emails or typing your own letters.
All of those things reasonably pointless with technology as it is today. With the potential for virtual assistants it is today. With just the challenges businesses have to get everything done.
small business mentors
So there it is. Is that Myth Busted? "Just because I can, I should."
I think I busted it. Do you agree with me?
Comment below if you do or if you don't. And let's keep the conversation going. This is Gordon D'Silva wishing you well. Stop doing it and do something more important.
Take care.
Goodbye.
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