Solo entrepreneurs and small businesses often like to follow a DIY philosophy. The reasoning is that they shouldn’t waste funds on things they could do themselves. While this frugal approach is honorable, it may not always be the best solution in the world of business. Indeed, in a small business environment, DIY operations could lead to dramatic financial wastes. Here’s why doing it yourself could cost you a lot:
#1. You pick the wrong solution
There’s a big difference between buying a laptop for home use and using your home device to set up a business. You are likely to waste a lot of time installing, configuration, and implementing the software and hardware solutions you need. More importantly, without a professional IT support service, you are likely to pick the wrong system for your business. With it, you can waste money on tools you don’t need. Additionally, small businesses also lack the knowledge to troubleshoot and avoid costly IT issues.
#2. You hire talents you don’t need
As the business grows or takes on new projects, you need to bring in the necessary skills to the team. As tempting as it might be to hire talent for a new project, you could be wasting time and money in recruitment. A full-time employee can drive your overhead costs up, which could be damaging if they cost more than they degenerate. On the other hand, a freelancer or a gig worker could hit the ground running while providing all the expert skills you need for a specific project. The advantage? You only pay for what you need rather than growing in-house teams.
#3. You rely too much on smart tools
Smart solutions that can do all the work for you are a game-changer. However, many small businesses confuse automation with strategic thinking. AdWords, for instance, is an automated tool that can be set to adjust the campaign based on a series of rules. By default, AdWords used generic rules to make suggestions about your PPC campaigns. However, these suggestions may not be suitable for your goal. Blindly following recommendations is a bad idea. Automated tools assist, but they don’t make decisions. It’s your role to check if the recommendation is meaningful. If you don’t know how to, you should entrust the activities to a specialist.
#4. You’re running out of time
Even with the best of will, your day has only 24 hours. There is only so mulch you can achieve in a day without wasting time. As a business owner, your time is money, and you can’t afford to waste it. The DIY philosophy reduces your commitment to income-generating activities. You can save yourself valuable time by outsourcing menial tasks and automating manual operations.
#5. You lack collaborative creativity
Exchanging ideas and thoughts helps you grow. A professional who can’t reach out to collaborative resources to share opinions and question their work is unlikely to progress. You get your best ideas when you work together with others. The DIY approach facilitates self-isolation and mental draught.
In conclusion, business growth is not built on DIY activities. Bringing a small business to the next level requires creative collaboration, smart outsourcing, and the wisdom to know when and where to ask for help.
