DIY or Do It Yourself. You love to dabble, to tweak, to play with the newest tools, apps and gadgets. I understand. Do it yourself or “DYI” can be stimulating and it definitely creates the feeling of accomplishment, of feeling like you are getting things done.
I see the websites, and read all the information about sales tools, apps, and the latest techniques from the sales, marketing and technology worlds. Every one makes it sound easy, simple to install, use and master. I write some of this myself here within the posts at Fill the Funnel, in my newsletters and in my webinars and speaking. It is true on the surface. Each tool or app, standing alone, is usually straightforward to work with. Standing alone. The challenges arise when you mix that new tool into the mix of the rest of your environment, the rest of your routine and the rest of the limited time you already are feeling the pinch from.
The DIY approach is holding you back in many ways. Here are a few to get you thinking about this:
- It takes time to learn a new tool or tech. Deploying a new tool without “reading the manual” and understanding the requirements will end up sucking up even more time in the future due to correcting problems, changing existing procedures and practices and possibly trashing the tool in the end.
- The opportunity costs of DIY within your business are usually easy to measure if you are honest with yourself. Consider your website. Because tools like WordPress are free and highly recommended, many of you DIY. You select a hosting service, install the software, configure the settings, pick a theme, look at hundreds of plugins that come out each month. On top of that you need to write the content, publish the posts, respond to the comments, and of course, share everything on social media. in the end, what does your site look like? Is it honestly reflecting you, your talents, your offerings and your brand? From what I see daily, the answer is no. You just get by. You might have been happy three years ago, but after that nightmare getting it all working you sure don’t want to go through that again, even though you know you should do an update on your site every year or two.
- Keeping pace with the techniques and trends yourself is a nightmare in the making. Yesterday’s Twitter sharing button, stops working, or looks dated. Scouring recommendations and the web for a new tool that does it in the new way takes time. Then you need to learn how to use it properly.
- Not using the newest tools and styles is making you look dated and out of touch. Content is an important piece of every business activity. Look at the evolution of something as simple as an eBook cover. Two years ago it would be acceptable to create it in Powerpoint. If you are still doing that today, you are killing opportunity and leaving a negative impression of your work. You can create stunning eBook covers in 3D, in multiple formats and layouts by pointing and clicking. The catch – you need to know about the tools, you need to learn the tools and then go about using the tools.
The alternative to DIY is of course hiring someone else to do these things. That means paying someone. Hard cash out of your pocket.
Spending the money to have someone create an eBook cover that you can be proud of might cost you $100.00, probably less if you have the artwork. The hour or two (or more if you are honest with yourself) of your time better be worth more than that. Especially when you look at the impact on the results a good looking book cover can generate in increased response and interest from your audience and prospects.
I guarantee you that the dozens and most likely hundreds of hours you have spent “dinking” around on your website can never be justified if you look at what you could have been doing to generate more sales and satisfied customers in the same amount of time.
I could go on for a long time but hopefully you get my point. Spend the money to get professional help with the things that you need to grow your career. That includes training and self-improvement investments as well. You can read a book, and get a lot from that. Why not read the book but also spend $100 to $300 to attend a conference where several of the authors you have learned from are speaking at a live event for a day or two. Meet them, interact with them and others that are attending and you will get a much larger return than just reading the book and moving on the the next item on your agenda.
Evaluate if your DIY approach is holding you back. Identify key tasks and projects that you really are not very good at, or take too long to complete and go hire a pro to get them done for you. You will free up a large chunk of time to go generate more revenue and build your business and you will be putting dramatically better looking, more productive information into the world for people view you through.
I have a rule that I teach to all of my consulting clients that is important to remember:
[tweet_box design=”default”]”Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” – Miles Austin[/tweet_box]Are you being held back by DIY? What areas can you move off your plate and have a pro deliver for you? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.