Here’s a brief story about an age-old entrepreneurial conundrum brought to my attention by Coach Leah. I started using WordPress a few weeks ago and have been messing around and tweaking this blog. I plan to integrate the blog and my coaching website into one in the next few months. I am thinking about how best to do it. Do I do it myself, using a WordPress Revolution template recommended by my friend Newt? Do I hire someone to do it for me from scratch? Leah says: Don’t spend time doing/learning things that are not going to become a repeatable skill that you can resell to your clients and customers. Makes perfect sense. So I go about getting a proposal from a great web developer that will cost $4000-$8000. This makes me perspire and have trouble swallowing. I continue messing around and tweaking with WordPress tools on my own and another few hours go by but I kind of like the results and the experience. I talk to Newt again and he recommends another developer who helped with his blog/site, which is really excellent. So should an entrepreneur work on activities that are potentially “low value” and not marketable to other clients? The pro argument is that entrepreneurs need to develop a wide range of skills, and technology is so interwoven into small business today that learning more about blogging technology, as an example, is hardly a waste of time. At this very moment I’m more inclined to heed Leah’s advice…but it’s still early in the day; talk to me after lunch, the answer could be different.
March 29, 2008
The Catch-22 for Entrepreneur Do-It-Yourselfers
Posted by Mitchell York under Uncategorized | Tags: blog, Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, small business, Wordpress |[4] Comments
March 30, 2008 at 3:39 am
It really depends if the new skill has value to you as a entrepreneur. I mean if your business currently does not focus on technology but you would like it to then of course its a great skill to have/learn. But if this will not become part of your existing business and you are doing it to save a few bucks then you are wasting time that could be spend on more productive things.
March 30, 2008 at 7:13 am
G, yeah you are right
I think there are moments I enjoy wasting time to rationalize not doing what has to be done. Another common entrepreneurial trait perhaps.
March 30, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I know exactly how you feel. Have done it, and do it myself. But we both know the real answer. Discipline yourself to do the things that only you can do, the things that if you don’t do them, simply won’t and can’t get done. Focus on the big decisions, let someone else do everything else, including your WordPress programming. If you want to learn, sit next to them as they do it. You’ll learn faster and better, rather than “futzing around”. But, people like us like to futz, and that’s where the time goes.
March 30, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Andy, thanks for the comments. “Futzers of the world, unite!” You are right on with your point of view. I think I am going to ration my mindless curiousity. I’ll give myself 10 minutes to futz, and then call in the artillery.