Time And Money For Self-Employed
By Andy Britnell
I remember how intrigued I was when years ago, and long before I had heard of time management, I recognised the link between time and money - we say that we 'spend' both time and money, and also talk about 'saving' time and money.
Moreover we usually find that in order to save time, we have to spend money, and vice versa. For example, to save time cooking, we might buy ready- prepared food. Our decision depends on our circumstances and priorities - someone else might well prefer to save some money and spend more time preparing and cooking a meal.
We make these choices all the time and often have no objective yardstick to show us how effective they are - unless our choices are so extreme that eventually we are totally overloaded with commitments, or on the other hand we run out of money! Constantly trying to keep a balance between spending and saving time and money demands a willingness to keep checking priorities.
This is particularly true of self-employed people starting or growing a business. It can be tempting to try and keep all costs as low as possible and do everything yourself. But this can be counter-productive when you realise just how much is involved in starting and building up a business.
You need to think carefully about money and time management. If you can pay a specialist to do a job and thus free yourself up to do something else, that may be the better solution. Here are just a few examples:
* You might be able to tinker on the computer and come up with a logo and some marketing literature, but how long will that take and will the results justify it? Paying a designer might be a good move.
* Business these days is wrapped around with bureaucracy and you must comply with all kinds of government agencies. Is it better to do all your accounts, wages and admin work yourself or would an employee or virtual assistant do it better and quicker?
* Selling is an essential part of any business and one loathed by many. You can either spend hours on the phone working through directories, or hire professionals to do your cold calling and set up appointments.
* Running business systems efficiently can be time-consuming and repetitive. There are software programs available which reduce the monotony, but they cost money. Another choice!
* If you need to travel some distance for work, consider the respective merits of driving yourself or taking a plane or train. A plane or train ticket may be expensive but you might be able to do some work while you travel and still arrive in good shape.
* You are probably constantly receiving invitations to attend conferences, seminars and workshops. These are often held in expensive hotels and can be pricey. It is tempting to think you can save both time and money by not attending! But you can meet some valuable contacts this way who will refer you work, thus saving your marketing time and costs. At the same time, you may well be inspired with some new ideas to transform your business growth.
* Personal development - when you are working for yourself and have no employer to pay for these on your behalf, training and executive coaching looks very expensive and you may barely even consider it. My own personal experience and that of many of my clients shows that the spurt in growth which comes about when you commit to personal development can move you further and faster than you ever dreamt.
* Holidays and breaks - it is so easy to feel that we cannot stop working or everything will start to crumble. The descent from enthusiasm and motivation to worry and stress is an insidious one which we may not even notice and which has a profound impact on our time management. Give yourself the gift of some time away from your desk, however, and you will return feeling newly inspired and be so much more productive.
Time and money - our investments in both will ultimately pay off in the success of our business and the happiness of our lives. It makes sense to think carefully about the balance.
|
