Vita's Tip in 10: Do I Do it Myself, or Do I Hire a Consultant?

Hello, hello friend, and welcome to a brand-new episode of Vita’s Tip in 10. In today's episode, I want to build a bit on the previous episode, where I shared the wonderful project management system we use at Vitalia Inc.  

I will start with a quick, real-life, true story like everything I usually share with you. 

A few weeks ago, I was demonstrating our Airtable to one of my LuAnn University students. And she asked me, “Should I do it myself? Or should I hire a consultant to help me with it?” That is a very valid question! This question also allowed me to see how she was maturing as an entrepreneur and a business owner right in front of my eyes. 

And here is the answer that I gave to her, and I thought it would be interesting for you to hear in case you have a question that is like that. 

My answer was this - It depends. 

As all good questions go, in order to answer them properly and thoughtfully, the answer usually starts with “it depends.” And here is what it depends on.  

I told her, “It depends on your goals and, most importantly, how quickly you want to achieve those goals. If I were making that decision, the criteria that I would use would be something like this. I would try to do it myself or at least get it to a certain point - if I knew that I had the time to do it, if I had the desire to figure things out, and if I had the bandwidth to spend my mental energy on it.” 

Now you may be wondering, how do you know if you have the time or the mental energy if that's not an obvious answer for you? This is where you would go back to what your goals are and what the timeline for those goals are. 

So your goals may be, “I want to create a project management system so that I can make my very first hire so that I can grow my business by 30% next year because our family is growing, and I would like to be able to support my grandchildren and contribute to their 529 plan.”   

I completely made this goal up just now, and yet it is a great goal to have. It is an excellent life aspiration to help our children to help our grandchildren. Especially if that help has to do with continuing education. It’s possible that your goal may be something totally different or maybe something slightly different. 

I’m guessing that your goals are to either grow your business or maintain where you are.  Or is it working less, or working not as hard, or working less time? 

So if your goal has a specific timetable, like I used in my example of achieving it in the next three months, that is a pretty lofty and bold undertaking to be able to create a project management system in that short amount of time. 

Additionally, if you wanted to hire someone to use that kind of system, the hiring process should have started three months before the start of the project. 

And so, to go back to the original question of “Do I hire a consultant, or do I do it myself?”  The answer is that you can start doing it yourself. If you have the bandwidth, if you have the energy, and if you have the time. 

In our example of trying to achieve your goal in three months, it's pretty evident that there is not much time left for you to take on such a big undertaking by yourself. And, of course, we have to remember that in addition to developing this project management system for yourself, you still have to run your business, go to appointments, answer the phone calls, put together the estimates, and do the client communication, and figure out the installation, and figure out the schedules and all the things that you do in your business currently. 

So when you find yourself in a position of having a shorter timeline, and more aggressive goals, the answer to that question becomes hiring outside help. LuAnn has been teaching us in both of her podcasts that you either pay with your time or you pay with your money - you have to decide which you have to spare. 

For a project management system, if you're trying to create it and establish it in your business in the next three to six months, then my recommendation is that you hire a consultant who can build it out for you. 

Another aspect to remember is that it will take some time for you to get trained on it, and most importantly, it will take some time for you to start implementing it by embracing it, accepting it, and truly using it as the hugely important and imperative tool that it is. 

So, make sure to appreciate the effort and the time that it takes to do that, after the tools and the systems have been created and handed over to you. When I say Airtable consultant, there are many techies out there, professionals who understand the technical world, specialize in various software, and know how to program things in the background that we don't even see or understand.  

And even though Airtable is a commonly used and widely available software, you have to customize it to your window treatment business. 

In my personal opinion, if your timeline for the big, bodacious goals that you have created for yourself require building and launching in the next three to six months, it is in your best interest to pay for those goals. Not with your time, but with your money. 

Where do you find a consultant like that? They are available on the Airtable forums and freelance sites like Elance, Upwork, and Fiverr. For example, I have been using the Airtable for the last five years, and our version is very robust and incredibly developed. When I do want to make small changes, I know that I don't want to pay for it with my time because I know that I would rather spend my time on something that is a lot more valuable. Which usually means that only I can do that, such as recording these podcast episodes.  

I choose to pay for those adjustments, changes, and improvements with my money by hiring one of those consultants who came recommended by one of my own Luann University Students and by using Fiverr - and I recommend you consider this, too, and research or ask for recommendations for a consultant that can help you launch your project management tool faster, if your timeline doesn’t allow for the time needed to do it yourself. 

So, that’s my tip for today, my friend!  

If time is of the essence, if your goals can’t wait, I you feel like you want it yesterday  – you hire outside help – it is what will get you there faster and easier. 

And if you are looking for more tips just like this, if you’re looking for ways to start using a digital project management tool, if you’re looking for ways to enhance your productivity and workflows, if you are looking for ALL the systems to run your business like a well-oiled machine – well, then I can help.  No, no, I’m not an AT consultant.  What I am is an AT power-user and I can steer you from the business perspective.  You have two ways of working with me personally.  

One is through LuAnn University, my Systems Driven Operations class. And the second is a two-day in-person intensive where I hand over all my systems for you to use and put to work immediately in your business. I want you to check out both tools because they are different and equally applicable depending on where you are in your business and how fast you want to achieve your goal.  

And in the meantime, I will be working on my next episode of Vita’s Tip in 10. See you next Thursday!