Episode 667: Show Notes
There is only one resource that you can’t get back and we’re willing to hazard a guess that you already know what it is. The good news is, it is renewable in the sense that you can plan to save more of it in the future! You guessed it, we’re talking about time.
Usually, when you start a business, you have way more time than money. As a result, you tend to be more generous with the former, committing every spare moment to building. Often, your business grows, and your approach doesn’t change. You’re still working nights and weekends to make up for the deficit that no longer exists. There have been various moments in our own journey where we’ve taken stock of what the business is and isn’t doing for us, and where we can free up some time.
The mistake we often see people making is that they tend to forget that investing their own time is worth way more than the cost of outsourcing certain tasks to someone else and paying for it. We’re here to tell you it’s okay if you don’t know how to invest your time wisely! There are actual steps that you can put in place to learn how to do that more efficiently to literally save you money and time in the future.
The Biggest Asset You Have as a Business Owner
What do we mean when we say that time is the biggest asset you have? An asset is something you have that serves you in some way. If time is one of your biggest assets, it means it has the power to do more for you than a lot of the other things that you own. You can change a lot with the time that you have! One of the primary ways we want you to do this is to use the time at your disposal to produce systems and plans to bring your ideas to life.
How can you streamline your client processes and the project management behind them? Can you do this in a way that frees up your head, but allows you to have a more streamlined, more productized client experience that is consistent from client to client? When you do this, you’re allowing for better results, and more referrals, simply because people know what to expect. The amount of time you’re saving yourself later is totally worth it.
An Investment Opportunity You Can’t Afford to Miss
Let’s be clear. Time in and of itself is not an investment unless you make it one! Your time is your time, and how you spend it matters. Your time, not your team’s time, is the most expensive asset your business will ever pay for. It’s the only thing if you invest it properly, that can actually generate more of it. We have a proprietary calculator that can actually help you figure out how much it costs you to do things within your business.
If you don’t know what your time is costing you, that’s one thing. But we see so many folks who do know get caught up in the narrative that it’s easier to do things themselves. Sometimes the excuse is that you simply don’t have the time to give someone else the info they need to take over any of your tasks. We call bullsh*t! You have the time. You’re choosing not to invest it in a way that’s going to move your business forwards. To continue to use that excuse is a major rookie move, and you are no longer a rookie!
How Time Can Unexpectedly Turn into a Crutch
When you don’t know how to spend the time, how much it costs, or how to delegate it, you will undoubtedly get sucked up in things that don’t ultimately move you forward. It’s time to put your big kid pants on and learn how to stop wasting the time! Time that hasn’t yet been spent could be renewable, if you’re spending it the right way. You’re often using time in the route that makes you most comfortable. But if you want to see revenue growth, and if you want to see personal growth, you have to be willing to have individual change.
You could be ignoring the ways in which you could be most effective with your time! Often, it requires more of an upfront give, and some of you don’t want to do that. You have to sacrifice time to get to where you want to be. Are there other places in your life where you are giving it freely? Is it possible for you to recapture some time that you’re giving away elsewhere? What are your non-negotiables when it comes to your time? What are you willing to create some flexibility around?
