Last week I asked you to think about the following question: As a successful business owner what is your time worth to you/your business?
You may recall I also asked you to come up with an hourly rate.
How did you go?
What was the amount?
Now please don’t get hung up on the amount – although a larger number is better than a smaller number for reasons I will explain.
The point is you are each running your own race – and everyone has different goals and dreams – each with a particular amount of money required to achieve them.
Few business owners I do this exercise with truly value their time beyond $300 per hour.
How about you?
Yet in this article I hope to get inside your head and rearrange the deck chairs so that you might begin to see why as an executive/leader/owner/director of a successful business, your time is indeed worth at least $300 per hour.
OK, at this point I have already lost some of you because you think this is impossible.
Well, in the words of Henry Ford, “If you think you can’t, you can’t. If you think you can, you can – either way you’ll be right.”
All I will say on this point is ignorance is expensive and just because you or the circle you mix in does know how to achieve this, doesn’t mean that it isn’t being done in your industry or in your town today and every day this week, month or year!
The battle truly is in your mind. You must see yourself and your contribution to your business differently (by faith) before it will become a reality.
For those of you who have stuck with me consider this:
If you truly value something or if something is truly important to you then it will have a demonstrable effect on your decision making and your actions.
Notice I am not talking about lip service or some theoretical nonsense. I am talking about it informing and changing your habits.
Let’s consider a couple of examples:
1. If you smoke imagine that tomorrow your GP tells you that unless you stop smoking immediately you will die within the next 2 years?
2. If you don’t smoke imagine getting the news from your specialist that you have 12 months to 2 years to live due to a terminal illness?
In either of these cases would your lifestyle and habits change?
For some people the answer is, (somewhat amazingly to me) “No”. They are happy to continue as they are.
For others this would have an immediate impact on what they did tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. They would become more centred and focused on the really meaningful things, e.g. loved ones, relationships, time with family.
So why wait until something like this happens.
Why not reassess your life, your business and ask yourself:
Is what I am doing now – the best use of my time?
If yes – great keep doing it.
If no – stop what you are doing. And start doing what is the best use of your time.
“Paul, this all sounds a bit waffly to me”, I can hear someone say.
Well let’s ground it once and for all.
How many hours a week are you working? 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 or more? (Use your own numbers.)
How many of these hours are directly related to revenue related activities? 2, 5, 10, 20? (Use your own numbers.)
For illustrative purposes let’s assume:
1. You are working 50 hours per week.
2. Only 10 of those hours directly relate to revenue generating activities.
3. You earn/draw a salary of $156,000 per year from your business.
These numbers tell us that over the course of a year you will invest 520 hours (52 weeks x 10 hpw) in revenue generating activities or HIGH VALUE ACTIVITIES (HVAs).
In business it is my contention that these activities are the only activities that count.
(They will of course be different for each role within the business, yet it is my contention that as a business owner you must be focused on HVAs that correlate to raising revenue. Everything else is commentary, since without sales you do not have a business.]
Ok, back to the story.
Given you draw a salary of $156,000 per year then each hour of HVAs is worth $300. (156000/520)
Now this is only part of the revelation because ask yourself:
1. What am I doing that I should not be doing?
2. Is what I am doing each day worth $300 (or more) an hour to my business?
3. Can I outsource what I am doing for less than $300 per hour and thereby free up my time to work on the truly important HVAs?
4. What is the opportunity cost for me to continue to shuffle paper rather than concentrate on HVAs? If you are routinely filling your work day with tasks that you could outsource for say $60 per hour, then the opportunity cost to you in your business is $300 less $60 = $240 per hour, never mind the incalculable loss of revenue because of the lost time/focus of you the owner/prime mover of the business.
5. How much more business could I write if I was focusing on HVAs (revenue generating activities) instead of all that other ’stuff’.
6. If I spent double or triple my current time allocation on revenue generating activities, e.g. say 20 hours instead of 10, what would happen to my sales revenue? Would I be able to draw a significantly higher salary as a result? Would that give me greater choices? Would my family feel better about all the energy I expend?
The key here is that IF you truly value your time at $300 per hour or more – then you will make better use of it!
Specifically you will outsource lower value activities (LVAs) that are taking your time away from HVAs.
Yes, I know you probably know you should be doing this, and yet here’s the thing -
ARE YOU DOING IT? Now be honest!
If not why not?
Are you willing to change?
Do you want help to make the changes?
Then drop me a line to help@rightteam.com.au | 
