Are you investing in your time or just spending it?

Outsourcing, Time management0 comments

I came across a quote the other day from Stephen Covey, the author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It said “The key is in not spending time, but in investing it”.

It got me thinking about how much we actually invest in our time and how much we just spend it. There is a difference.

We can easily give ourselves a big long ‘to do’ list and then happily spend time being busy while we work our way through it. However, being busy doesn’t mean that we’re being effective. That ‘to do’ list may just contain tasks that we like doing but are not really taking us anywhere. So we are busy but we’re busy on the wrong things.

Obviously if you’re running your own business, you could think of this literally by multiplying your hourly rate with the amount of time you spend on non-fee earning projects. This is certainly a good exercise if you’re thinking of outsourcing as it shows you how much some tasks are costing you by doing them yourself.

Investing in your time though is not just about money. It’s also about using the time you have more effectively so you’re focused on doing the right things. These are things that will help you and your business to grow, and which will move you towards your goals and what you want to achieve in life. This can be anything from learning a new skill to getting your business to a level where it can run without you.

So take a look at your ‘to do’ list and see if the tasks on it are important or not. For each task, ask yourself the question: “Would it make any difference to my goals whether I did this task or not?”. If the answer is no, then delete it or at least put it as a low priority.

By investing more of your time rather than just spending it, you will feel less stressed and more fulfilled as you find yourself achieving quicker results in your business and personal life.
 

If you want to get more tips on how to manage your time and work effectively in your business, then download a copy of our guide “How to organise your workload so there’s more time for you“. This guide is packed full of time management tips as well as 10 online tools to help you work more productively. Click on the link to download the guide >> How to organise your workload
 

How outsourcing can increase your profits by 185% !

How to, Outsourcing, Small business, Virtual Assistant0 comments

When I’m out networking, one of the responses that many people give when I start talking about my virtual assistant services is that they are not in a position to outsource at the moment.  Yes, their client work is growing and they’re feeling overwhelmed by their workload, but they’re just too busy to think about it right now.

They may have a list of projects that they want to tackle such as starting up a blog, or sending out a newsletter. 
Or perhaps it’s that pile of paperwork that they know needs to be sorted but they either don’t have the time or inclination to get round to doing it.  So these tasks that could be adding value to their business just get left behind until they’ve got the time to sort it out.  And that time never comes.

My response when I hear this is “What is it costing your business by not doing these things?”.  That pile of paperwork may have no value at all so then why not bin it?  However, it could be business cards that you need to follow up on, or receipts that need to be inputted so you can track how much you’ve spent that month.  Perhaps you’ve promised your contacts a newsletter but just never get round to sending one out.  So think about how it would make you feel if these kinds of tasks were handled quickly and efficiently, leaving you to focus on doing the work that you enjoy.

Also consider the financial impact if you’re spending time doing your admin tasks yourself.  It could actually be seriously affecting your business profits.  The illustration below was put together for an online chat I did the other week about how hiring a virtual assistant can benefit small businesses.  This shows how a business that works 30 hours a week at £50/hour can gain a profit increase of 185% by outsourcing admin to a virtual assistant.

Your chargeable rate = £50 per hour
Virtual assistant chargeable rate = £25 per hour

Scenario 1 – Not using a VA
30 hours available
Max Billable hours per week = 22 @ £50 per hour = £1100 charged out to customers
Admin hours per week = 8 @ £50 per hour = £400 lost time not charged out
Max Gross Profit = £700

Scenario 2 – Using a VA
30 hours available
Max Billable hours per week = 30 @ £50 per hour = £1500 charged out to customers
Admin hours per week = 8 @ £25 per hour = £200 VA cost
Max Gross Profit = £1300

Results in 185% potential profit increase!

So if you’re a business owner who doesn’t think they can afford to outsource, perhaps the question you should be asking yourself is Can you afford not to?

Why outsourcing is the key to business growth

Outsourcing, Small business1 comment

When you first set up in business, you find that a lot of your time is spent juggling multiple roles and demands.  Whether it’s handling your admin, doing the accounts or making sales calls, this may not be what you went into business for but they are tasks that have got to be done!  However, spending too much time on these activities can have a negative impact on your fee earning work.   So how can you grow your business when your time is limited by all the other tasks that you’ve got to do?

Well, the answer is outsourcing.

If you want your business to expand then there comes a time when you have to look at outsourcing those tasks that you either don’t have the skills or time to do.  Some businesses may see this as an additional cost that they can’t afford.  However, remember that when you do these tasks yourself, you are doing them at your hourly rate.  And it’s fair to say that for the majority of tasks you could easily outsource, you will pay a significantly lower rate for someone else to do it!  Also, by using a third party contractor, you don’t have to pay staff or overhead costs and can usually hire their services only when you need them.

So whether you hire a virtual assistant to handle your admin, a book keeper to organise the accounts or a telesales company to manage your sales calls, outsourcing these activities will give you more time and energy to focus on those activities that you enjoy doing and which bring in the money.

Remember, if a business owner tries to do everything themselves then they have less opportunity to increase their income and gain new clients.  So outsourcing is essential for any business that wants to grow and succeed.