Doing it all yourself

[alex234]

Hi everybody. I just wondered if anyone feels the same way. I'm starting a new new business completely on my own this time. However, I'm finding work really slows down when doing it all yourself - because you have to take on the marketing function, then change to becoming a salesperson, then become the finance guy.
Does anyone else find doing all the different functions yourself slows you down, and as if you almost have take time to change personalities throughout the day?

[Clementine]

I can relate to this no problem.

Started a company last year all by myself and yes it does slow everything down dramatically. However it also meant I learnt a lot I would not have, had I just got someone in to do it for me.

What I am realising now is that the business is developing quickly and the slow pace of my personal development/work load is not satisfactory any more. We got a new member of staff in back in January to concentrate on production and operations and now we are discussing employing a dedicated sales person whilst I concentrate more on new product development and the general management of the company.

You might not realise it now but you will be learning more than ever possible had you got an office full of staff waiting for you.

Good luck.

Clem.

[mattley23]

I completely understand what your talking about Alex.

I run habanero totally on my own and also have to work around my other business which im partners in. The upshot of this is that over the last 4 months Habanero has grounded to a halt due to me doing 0 marketing and promotion work on it which is seriously worrying.

I wish I had more time to dedicate to Habanero but with my other business doing so well and being so busy its very hard to pull away from it.

I was thinking of enlisting the help of a marketing company but to be honest thier charges are just way out of my league at this point in time.

Im left with a horrible dilema:

1) work every eveing and weekend on Habanero to get it moving again but risk never seeing my wife and 6 month old baby
2) Bin Habanero and focus on my other company which is booming at the moment.

The hard choice is, is that Habanero is my passion, its what ive always wanted to do and I never ever quit at anything so shutting it down would feel like a complete faliure to me

Hard choice to make and I hope that it doesnt come to the same thing for you.

[Artman]

I have the same problem but from a slightly different angle.

As you can see from my ID i paint for a living - pictures. As an artist i can be very creative for a few days i then have to list the art on ebay, do the boring bit and make frames, prepare panels, do the mailings. I often wish that i had someone to do all this mundane work but income won't allow for that.

I am also spending hours on preparing a business plan and developing another business idea. The thing is that it is difficult to dedicate time for every thing, if i spend time on the business plan, painting gets negleted, if i paint too much i will never get the plan done oh, and the children want to play the dogs want walking AAARRGGGHHHHHH!!!!

[jklondon]

simple, clone yourselves!...ahh wait the technology isnt there yet

[Reality Warped]

Originally posted by jklondon
simple, clone yourselves!...ahh wait the technology isnt there yet

Maybe youve found a niche market someone could work on

[nemesis]

stick with it. i used to pull 90 hour weeks and am now back to the regular 40 hours and turning a profit on all sides. it is well worth it but be careful you are not chasing a market where there is no profit to be made as i did for far too long

[kinster]

It's best not to do everything yourself or you'll be left behind. You'll need to learn from professionals.

After all a business can carry on running when you're not there.

[alex234]

Thanks for the comments. I feel better about things now, because you made me realise I have learned a lot more, and become aware of costs as I do things, rather than just looking at accounts. Also what works and what doesn't work seems to have become more obvious.

With the marketing and sales side of things, I really notice that selling a product to customers in person that you created yourself is so much different to working in sales or delegating. When someone else is helping or being delegated to, I find I delegate the feeling of responsibility as well.

I suppose the big downside to trying things on your own is that, it can get boring, and like someone suggested, you can chase unprofitable markets because there's very few people to bounce ideas off.

[Bumptastic]

Originally posted by Artman
I have the same problem but from a slightly different angle.

As you can see from my ID i paint for a living - pictures. As an artist i can be very creative for a few days i then have to list the art on ebay, do the boring bit and make frames, prepare panels, do the mailings. I often wish that i had someone to do all this mundane work but income won't allow for that.

I am also spending hours on preparing a business plan and developing another business idea. The thing is that it is difficult to dedicate time for every thing, if i spend time on the business plan, painting gets negleted, if i paint too much i will never get the plan done oh, and the children want to play the dogs want walking AAARRGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Is there much of a market for art sales on ebay? I know someone who is thinking about using ebay to sell photographic prints would you recommend it?

[Artman]

Bumptastic - Up to a few months ago, when a house move upset the apple cart, i was making a good living from selling my original art on ebay. The thing is with ebay, you have to get the product right at the right price! Paintings are now beginning to sell again.

My paintings are, in the main, semi-abstract, fairly quick to paint, i make all my own supports etc. i can then list these with a low start price that i am happy with and then hope that more than one person likes it and so bids the price up.

It is a case of knowing what will sell, what the latest trends are.

There is a market for photographic prints and it is all about pitching the product at the right price. Your friend may find that the prints will sell better if they are 'ready to frame'. ie with a mount and backing card so that the print then becomes a picture to frame.
Not everyone appreciates the time it takes to set up and take a good photograph, to a lot of people it will just be a photo'! but as a picture they may look at it differently.

I would give it a go, it doesn't cost too much to list and the item is then in the global market. A lot of my customers are from the USA/Australia and the like, which i wouldn't have got if i had just sold in galleries.

[captainequity]

Originally posted by mattley23
I completely understand what your talking about Alex.

I run habanero totally on my own and also have to work around my other business which im partners in. The upshot of this is that over the last 4 months Habanero has grounded to a halt due to me doing 0 marketing and promotion work on it which is seriously worrying.

I wish I had more time to dedicate to Habanero but with my other business doing so well and being so busy its very hard to pull away from it.

I was thinking of enlisting the help of a marketing company but to be honest thier charges are just way out of my league at this point in time.

Im left with a horrible dilema:

1) work every eveing and weekend on Habanero to get it moving again but risk never seeing my wife and 6 month old baby
2) Bin Habanero and focus on my other company which is booming at the moment.

The hard choice is, is that Habanero is my passion, its what ive always wanted to do and I never ever quit at anything so shutting it down would feel like a complete faliure to me

Hard choice to make and I hope that it doesnt come to the same thing for you.

if your heart is in it that much, and it sounds like you arent doing it for the money, have you thought about bringing someone in on an earn-equity basis with you in charge? that way you keep the business going, get some fresh blood and someone who will do the little jobs. if they flunk, dont give them any equity as its earn in.

i dont know if you have partners or not, and i assume you have considered the above, but its just it would be a shame to lose something you care about..my guess is the less time you invest in this and the more money the other businesses make..the less time you will invest in this and the more..you see where this is going.

either way, be happy with your decision. i dont see you giving up less time anywhere, so getting someone to invest in it with no downside seems a good option