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
tidy up service Glenview ..TRUTH IN THE LAWN MOWING INDUSTRYWe do not wish to... Read More
Think of all of your business ideas as tiny seeds... Read More
CARD SHARK7 Card Tricks That Improve Your Personal Networking PowerThe... Read More
Why does research and education play an important part of... Read More
The FTC Franchise Rule maybe changed, as the Federal trade... Read More
BioTechs even with the latest news had shed over 1000... Read More
Starting and managing a small business is no fun chore,... Read More
Pardon my enthusiasm, but a large part of your small... Read More
What types of companies do you want to align yourself... Read More
Attorneys and Lawyers are ruining the franchise industry. It is... Read More
Business owners rarely go into business to deal with the... Read More
One of the greatest pitfalls in e-commerce is Field of... Read More
Q: Is the online world the best place to sell... Read More
What are the best methods for keeping a good business... Read More
Canon City, Colorado is known for it's 6 Prisons; State... Read More
Home based travel businesses are no longer the wave of... Read More
In today's economic climate, the first priority for the small... Read More
Your business account comes with an ATM, Debit card. Pick... Read More
Why should you do informative talks to smaller groups?Informative talks... Read More
What is the Big Race all about when it comes... Read More
If you're like me, you love accounting. It's so fascinating... Read More
Everything starts with a business plan: If you don't have... Read More
A suggestion box is a really good idea for your... Read More
Cash is King... That is what everyone tells us and... Read More
There is a continual trend we are seeing which I... Read More
maid service near Winnetka ..Have you ever heard the phrase, 'PREPONDERANCE OF PROOF'?I recently... Read More
When it comes to cost, how much can you afford... Read More
Should your business have a toll free number for customers... Read More
Your business is only as good as the number of... Read More
Franchising is the fastest way to build small businesses, provide... Read More
Small business owners often enter their field with great expectations.... Read More
Here are some sound debt collection techniques that can be... Read More
Here are just a few ways to increase and diversify... Read More
Has this ever happened to you... 'John, you have a... Read More
Cleaning the trailers towed by big trucks is not easy,... Read More
Starting and growing a small business can be a daunting... Read More
I love work, I can watch it all day.I am... Read More
Why are Chambers a good launching pad?Chambers provide you with... Read More
What's your job profitability? Do you know?Many business owners are... Read More
You can provide affordable health care plans to your employees.... Read More
If you're starting your own business or currently work for... Read More
Some of the very qualities that attract people to the... Read More
We were more than excited. Our women's doubles tennis team... Read More
Just as you are about to say "good-bye" to your... Read More
Mobile detailers will find themselves with lots of competition even... Read More
In the first article we mentioned the main characteristics that... Read More
Sacred cows take a long time to die. We get... Read More
Work smarter, not harderWhat is one of the best ways... Read More
Why does consistency in the message have an effect on... Read More
Increase your profit potential by identifying ? and avoiding ?... Read More
Small Business |