Is DIY a Curse or a Talent?

For as long as I can remember I’ve always wore the title well, “I am a do-it-yourself kind of girl.” From the day I ventured into the online space, every site I built, every job I’ve taken is based on DIY experience. Whenever I want to know how to do something I just pick up a book and figure it out. That’s how I wrote my first screenplay, that’s how I built my online store and that’s how I take pictures.

There are of course great advantages to doing things on your own. You get an overwhelming since of accomplishment, you generally will save a lot of money by not paying a consultant, and you get things done exactly how you want it.

But there are plenty of disadvantages to being someone that prefers to do things herself. It’s extremely time consuming. I sat in front of my computer for a week trying to implement some new features on my blog.  So after being so frustrated I gave in and paid someone to do it for me, do you want to know how long it took him to do it. Less than 3 hours!

That’s when I realized that sometimes being a natural DIY’er can be a curse instead of a talent, because you spend so much time trying to do things that would have taken others just a couple of hours. So it’s important to look beyond your do-it-yourself tendencies and focus on what you do best and pay someone else to the rest. Not only will this save you time, but it will often save you money.  Sure you might have to pay the contractor but by working as a team you can take on more projects.

I know it will be hard to hire help, this is your business, your baby and you naturally want to control everything. It took me several years to finally enlist the help of a real PHP/Wordpress developer and I’m shocked at how easy it is.

Are you contemplating getting extra help, but aren’t sure if the time is right? Check out the following reasons why you should get that ad pasted on craigslist.org tonight.

1. Are you overwhelmed by your inbox? When you answer one do eight others come rolling in?
2. Are you missing important phone calls with clients?
3. You spend hours doing stuff like printing invoices, loading uniforms into the washing machine, or running to the post office to ship out your latest products.
4. You find yourself working on Saturday morning.
5. You are missing out on any free time for yourself and your family
6. You don’t have time to update your Facbook page or pulls feeds from your RSS.

There is a lot that goes into launching a business and running a successful one. Have you hired help for your business?