You only have so much time in a day right?
So wouldn't it make sense to focus as much of your time as possible on the things that produce the highest payoff.
I don't know about you but most small business owners are do-it-yourself types and get sucked into doing the littlest silly work faster than you can say "Oh look, the copier is jammed again."
If you want to achieve any of your goals and finally start making what you are worth then you've got to stop doing $5/hr work. Period.
As you might have guessed by now, I believe that every business owner's highest payoff work, or best use of time, is any amount of time spent creating effective marketing.
Here's a little math quiz that I suggest you play with to help drive home this point. Figure out how much money you make annually or, better yet, how much you want or need to make annually to achieve your dreams and goals.
Now, divide that number by 2080. (That's the number you get if you work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year - I know, I know, you work 80 hours a week but just work with me here.)
The answer you get is what I call your "PAY" or Personal Average Yield. (I should probably trademark that it's so clever) The idea here is to pin down what you are worth an hour and realize that if you can hire someone to do any of the things you currently spend your time on for less than that number, you can't afford to do it yourself - did I mention that you could use the spare time to do some marketing.
So let's run some numbers. Let's say that you want to make $150,000 per year. Well, using our little formula, that means that you need to be doing work that is worth a little over $72/hr - 8 hours a day.
But guess what...we haven't even factored in any overhead or costs of doing business. That number might really get big if you've got those as well.
This is the point at which many people finally come to understand that they are undercharging for their services?but that's another issue all together.
So I ask you. Is fiddling with the copier, chatting with the mailman, running to the office supply store, making deliveries, or returning meaningless email paying you $72/hr? For that matter, doesn't mowing your own grass, washing your own car, picking up your dry cleaning, and getting your oil changed take you away from marketing your business? I know, now I'm asking you to consider giving up most of the fun things you like to do everyday but hey, if you can get the neighbor kid to mow your grass for anything less than $100/hr, therefore giving you 3 hours to write a killer sales letter - it's probably a steal
Figure out your PAY number, paint it on the wall in your office, and then go about setting up your business in a way that allows you to focus on the only things that can really pay that kind of money: marketing, innovation, and customer service ? cause everything else is just a cost.
Copyright 2004 John Jantsch
About The Author
John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of "Duct Tape Marketing" a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php - get these kinds of killer tips weekly by sending an email to http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php
monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..Doesn't it frustrate you when you've given good service, sometimes... Read More
You'd like to go into business for yourself, and believe... Read More
The FTC, Federal Trade Commission, is considering modifying the franchise... Read More
The Franchise Group at the Federal Trade Commission in all... Read More
I have to admit, I was curious. When I saw... Read More
Opportunities for home show businesses have never been more abundant.... Read More
Most of us remember going to at least one garage... Read More
A recent survey indicated that clean Taxi Cabs Fleets have... Read More
The temporary staffing industry continues to expand, with yearly double-digit... Read More
Have Some Time to Yourself One of the most important... Read More
One of the biggest fears people have about starting a... Read More
Most business owners know when they need an accountant, but... Read More
All cities have a purchasing office and/or a procurement officer.... Read More
Macon, GA goes after garage-gas station conversion detail/hand car washes... Read More
So it's time to invest some finances into advertising your... Read More
Let me get right to the point. The single most... Read More
One of the greatest pitfalls in e-commerce is Field of... Read More
When you hear the word "success" does it bring on... Read More
Some things in business are relatively easy to measure ?... Read More
Work smarter, not harderWhat is one of the best ways... Read More
If you are in a franchise and have a territory... Read More
Today is a Red Letter Day! It's special because today... Read More
One overlooked individual in the process of taking a company... Read More
Small business success is very similar to learning to walk,... Read More
Forget everything you've ever heard about the U.S. Small Business... Read More
scheduled maid service Mundelein ..Did you ever have one of those days or weeks... Read More
In your small business debt collection laws will eventually become... Read More
Office support services can range from basic data entry to... Read More
Today is a Red Letter Day! It's special because today... Read More
In the heavy equipment cleaning business you can make good... Read More
Many of us have noticed how some nearby communities seem... Read More
In the Truck Washing Business every single type of vehicle... Read More
As a successful small business owner,you're accustomed to long hours;... Read More
I love lists. I make them for everything. And I'm... Read More
Hew Hampshire car wash market. Well we have visited every... Read More
The FTC- Mighty Federal Trade Commission has unilaterally decided to... Read More
When someone owes your small business money, you certainly feel... Read More
There are countless ways to save your business money. Unfortunately,... Read More
Seems as though there are a lot of business closings... Read More
$37.4 million funded from venture capital today. $86.4 million funded... Read More
Great question!Freeing your time is an indisputably key element in... Read More
If you're starting your own business or currently work for... Read More
The success of your business depends on your ability to... Read More
Car wash businesses are unique to other businesses. In fact... Read More
As a practise gets larger & larger the associated problems... Read More
Many government department heads are on the take. Oh they'll... Read More
Many job applicants want a job but often do not... Read More
When deciding to host a fundraiser for your company or... Read More
Pity parties are nothing new. In fact, we do it... Read More
Some of the very qualities that attract people to the... Read More
Small Business |