How many times have you heard “is it worth your time?” But what does that really mean? How do you know if something is worth your time? How do you know how much your time is worth? What’s the $ value of a minute? How precious is that minute?
Understanding How Much Your Time is Worth
It may seem simple – you just decide how much your time is worth and that’s it. But it’s not and this is a big issue for many entrepreneurs. Let’s see if we can bring some clarity on the subject.
These are the words from a frustrated entrepreneur: “Ive been hanging in there because of the $80 price tag .. but I have been struggling with it now for 5 weeks which is insane!!!!”
Just looking at that sentence makes me think: “hmm $80/5 weeks – probably at least 3h every week + the daily frustration – that is not worth$80!”
But the worth of time is not only monetary – it is much more than that. You may have saved a few $ but you have also gained: stress, worry, frustration. With that comes: lack of inspiration, not being able to move forward, keeping you unfocused and probably causing you trouble to sleep at night.
So let’s say your hourly worth is $25. Instead of spending $80 to get something done you spend 6 hours searching the internet and trying to get it done. It’s a one time thing and once it’s over you can start working again. Well actually you are doing it in your spare time. Spare time? Spending countless of hours searching for a solution on the net while your family is sitting in the living room waiting for you to finish?
Instead what you could have done is offer s little extra to a client or two and you would have had the money to pay and you would have spent 6 hours with your family, time you will never again get back.
5 Common Things You May Want To Save Money On and Why You Shouldn’t
We all know that to spend money we need money and most starting entrepreneurs simply don’t have that. So as a result we try to do everything ourselves or find inexpensive ways to get by. A few common things you may do:
- You get a free newsletter service instead of paying for a more reliable one, causing us to spend hours trying to just figure it out and in the end you change it because it’s not meeting your standards as your business grows.
- You spend countless of hours searching for answers on how to do something instead of paying $60 to talk to someone who can actually help and fix it in an hour.
- You try the “DIY” version when it comes to getting our website up just to find it wasn’t so easy and at the end you have a website you aren’t satisfied with and that doesn’t resonates with your market, resulting in less business and a longer road ahead.
- You select the coach that is the least expensive “that will do” instead of spending some extra cash and get more value for your money.
- You are afraid to invest in programs because it will be too expensive and you aren’t sure it will be worth the investment. (what you really is investing in though is yourself)
Deciding What Your Time Is Worth
Let’s start with “what would you rather do?”Instead of wasting your time and effort on things in which you find no joy or that are keeping you from a more valuable task, what would you rather do?
Don’t waste your precious time and energy on things that you don’t like.
There are plenty of people around that actually like to do what you hate (that is why I have an accountant and gladly hand my papers to her and she actually seems to be happy!). Could you do it on your own? Sure, but how much unnecessary frustration would it add?
3 Steps To Getting Your Hours Worth
- Track your time. Don’t guess how long something takes, know it. Get a time tracker to tell you. There are several good ones out there for free. You will learn if something is really worth your time or if you should let it go.
- Get organized! Seriously, know what to do and how to prioritize and you will save plenty of time! If you don’t already have a copy of The WAH Organizer get it here!
- Calculate your idea hourly rate. Freelance Switch has a nifty little tool that will help you get a better idea of how much you should charge. Know what you spend your money on and how much you need to make. You can also ask others in your niche about their rates to see how you compare to them.
3 Ways To Get More Money For Business Investment
- Cut down on unnecessary expenses. Take a look at what you spend money on today and if anything can be removed to make way for what you need to spend on now.
- Make the extra money somehow. Instead of saying “it’s another $20/month think “how can I make another $20 to make up for this?” Don’t just accept you don’t have the money, think of how you can make it. Can you offer an additional service to a client or perhaps raise your rates? It’s also an excellent time to see if you need to make any changes to your offerings.
- Ask for a discount. Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount or a special deal. I once saved over $400 paying what I could for something I really wanted and my offer was accepted. Tip: offer to do something in return and lay out the benefits.
Recommended resource: The WAH Organizer.
What’s your take on how much your time is worth? Leave a comment below!
So many good points here! I already pay to have my photography studio cleaned because I know it’s not worth my time doing it when I could be using that same time to make money! And when I come across certain editing projects I know aren’t worth my time trying to edit, I will outsource those as well. BUT, I’m still very guilty of spending way too much time trying to find answers to things sometimes. It never occurred to me that instead of paying someone to do it, there’s a middle group where perhaps I could pay someone to HELP me do it faster than on my own! : )
Paying for studio cleaning is definitely a good investment Lisa! Another tip is to make a list of what you love to do, like and dislike and what only you can do and what someone else can do. That will give you a clearer idea of what can be outsourced and what you should be doing. 🙂
Hi Linda! Love this: “Don’t waste your precious time and energy on things that you don’t like.” AMEN! This has been one of the single most influential business decisions I have made. If I do not feel satisfaction with the activities in my business I now drop it and hire someone else. Most of the time, I let my ‘gut’ guide me in what I do and not do and it’s been a real life saver. I think the challenge really is in those beginning stages when the money is going out faster than it is coming in a and the guilt creeps in, but as you said, it is NOT worth it and sets the stage for the entire business (sacrifice and cutting corners). Love your message on valuing time, it’s so important.
Right Monica, satisfaction is so important! At the end of the day you need to feel you have accomplished something good and aren’t drained by things that could have been done by someone else. Yes unfortunately money has a way of going out faster than they get in but with a plan everything is possible!