Stop It! The truth about doing it all – MOMeo’s 30 Day Challenge continues with Jane Button

I see it over and over – and in fact I’ve done it myself, but you’ve got to STOP IT if you want your business and your life to be successful and profitable.

Let me ask you something.  Do you think Ralph Lauren is out in the shipping room packing boxes? Or Diane Von Furstenberg does her own bookkeeping? Do you think Martha Stewart does all of the projects that appear in her magazine, or takes all the photographs?

Of course not.

Okay, these are the big guys – but they did not get bigger by doing everything themselves. They had help, asked for help and found the right people to help them.

One of the biggest challenges I run into when consulting or coaching clients is the lack of understanding about outsourcing or hiring someone to help.

There seems to be a universal resistance.

Here are the top 3 excuses I get:

1. I can’t afford to hire anyone

Truth: PLEASE, I am so tired of this one. You can’t afford not to! Sounds like a cliché, but so true. I fell into that trap at first. My sales were low, and I kept thinking I could not afford the luxury of help other than manufacturing. But finally I did something that freed up my time – I hired a housekeeper. It gave me more time for my business and my family.

With that first hire, I realized I could easily leverage myself in other ways too. It opened my eyes to hiring or delegating other work, which led to making more money and profiting faster. The next person I hired was a bookkeeper – and that changed everything!

Ask yourself the question: Am I creating a business or a job for myself?  If it’s the right answer (business) you must learn to delegate or all you have done is create a JOB.

2. I don’t have time to find the right person

Truth: You don’t have time not to! Time is so precious; we all have the same 24 hours every day. By taking the extra time in the short run to hire the right person, you will save time in the long run. It will make up for itself tenfold – or more.

Start by deciding which job you want done. Then write down all the skills associated with that job. Remember you are expanding yourself NOT DUPLICATING yourself. If you are a clothing designer, would you hire yourself as a bookkeeper? Probably not the best choice….

3. It’s easier to do it myself

Truth: NO it is not! You may think it’s easier at the time – but add up your time doing all those tasks where you say “it’s easier to do it myself” day after day, week after week, month after month. Think of what you could create for your business vision by just using that time to build your business? In the long run creating systems for all those things you think are easier if you do them yourself and hiring someone to do for you is far easier than using your precious time.

As my mother would say, it’s FALSE economy.

Maybe you don’t think it’s sexy to create systems, but what’s more s*exy than a great life creating the business of your dreams that can run without doing everything yourself day after day?

Now you’re saying to yourself: okay Jane, easy for you to say, but where do I start?

Good question.

Start at the beginning by writing all the component parts of your business. If you have a creative product business you likely have these seven basic parts of your business:

Design / Product and Line Development
Sourcing / Pricing
Sales & Marketing
Production / Manufacturing
Operations / Accounting / Bookkeeping
Fulfillment / Shipping
Customer Service

Regardless of how big or small your business is, these are the basic parts. Grab a piece of paper and at the top of each page write one of the component parts. You’ll have seven pages.

Go through each area and write down all the tasks that need to be completed in each category.  In this case the size of your business does not matter. It also doesn’t matter if you are currently wearing all the hats. Just start writing everything that connects to each area and not necessarily in order.

Once you have gone through each of the areas, ask yourself these questions:

Is this something I could outsource or hire someone else to do? 
Does it require my time doing the work or overseeing and checking the results? 
Am I the only one who can do this task?

When you have completed this exercise you can clearly see what can be delegated and what cannot. Combine that with the answer to: what do I most want off my plate?

You’ll have your decision on where to start outsourcing or hiring so your BIG IDEA becomes a profitable business.
© 2010 Jane Button International | Design2Market Success

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Jane Button has a passion for helping creative entrepreneurs turn their creative ideas, hobby or craft into the business of their dreams. Calling herself a “born entrepreneur” Jane’s first company started in her basement as a cottage industry and went to a National Brand name as a multi-million dollar corporation. When creative business owners began asking for her advice, Jane started her freelance design, consulting & coaching business.

Jane loves the freedom and opportunity that comes with being an entrepreneur and is a champion for creative entrepreneurs in the apparel, sewn product, knitting, jewelry and craft industry. Over the years, she has worked with The Pleasant Company (now known as AMERICAN GIRL®) Disney ®, Brass Key, Nordstrom, various catalogs, specialty boutiques and department stores, and numerous creative entrepreneurs who have a burning desire to create their own business. She has been featured in Barbara Wright Sykes books Pricing Without Fear and Do You Sew for Profit? as well as self published her own books for entrepreneurs; been a speaker at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo and other events. Jane freely shares her information in her seminars, workshops and books to help other entrepreneurs learn to be successful.

Understanding the artist and creative process is a key to Jane’s success with her students. Because Jane does not believe in the “starving artist” concept her goal is to show creative people how to profit from their passion and fantastic creative ability.