The false economy of doing it all yourself

Last week, I met with a successful consultant who was frustrated about "not having enough time to grow the business." When I asked how she'd spent the previous day, the answer was telling: three hours updating spreadsheets, two hours scheduling social media posts, and another hour formatting a proposal.

"But I'm saving money by doing it myself," she insisted.

I did some quick maths. Her target income works out to roughly £100 per hour. That "money-saving" day had just cost her business £600 in lost opportunity.

Why This Matters to You

If you're like most business owners I work with, you've fallen into what I call the "£100/hour admin trap." You're doing £15/hour work at £100/hour rates, all while telling yourself it's more efficient.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: every minute you spend on low-value tasks is a minute you can't spend on the high-value work that actually grows your business. You're not saving money - you're haemorrhaging it in the most expensive way possible.

Why Most People Struggle With This

The biggest reason smart business owners make this costly mistake is simple: the price of your time is invisible.

When you pay someone £25/hour for admin work, you feel that cost immediately. But when you spend three hours doing the same work yourself, the £300 cost (at £100/hour) is hidden. It doesn't show up on your bank statement, so it feels "free."

But there's another reason we cling to DIY: control.

We tell ourselves nobody else can do it "right." We worry about quality. We fear the time it takes to explain tasks. These concerns feel rational, but they're often just expensive excuses.

The Hidden Costs of the DIY Trap

When you insist on doing everything yourself, you're not just losing money. You're also:

  • Creating decision fatigue. Every small decision drains your mental energy. By afternoon, when you need sharp thinking for strategic decisions, your brain is running on empty.

  • Missing growth opportunities. While you're formatting documents, potential clients are calling competitors. While you're updating spreadsheets, market conditions are shifting.

  • Building a business that can't scale. Every task that only you can do becomes a bottleneck. Your business growth becomes limited by how many hours you can personally work.

  • Reducing your business value. If you ever want to sell, buyers will pay far less for a business that depends entirely on its owner.

The Three Types of Tasks You Must Offload

Not all tasks are created equal. Here's how to identify what you should never be doing:

  • High-frequency, low-skill tasks. Email management, basic bookkeeping, social media posting, appointment scheduling. These happen regularly but don't require your expertise.

  • Time-intensive, process-driven work. Research, data entry, document formatting, CRM updates. These have clear steps that others can follow.

  • Tasks with high "switching costs." Administrative work that pulls you away from deep thinking. Every interruption costs 15-20 minutes of refocusing time.

Calculating What Your Time Is Really Worth

Here's a simple exercise that might shock you:

Take your target annual income and divide by your working hours. If you want £80,000 and work 40 hours for 48 weeks, that's £42/hour for everything you do.

But that's just the baseline. Your time spent on revenue-generating activities - client work, business development, strategic planning - might be worth £100, £200, or more per hour.

Every hour you spend on £15/hour admin work is potentially costing you £85+ in lost opportunity.

Smart Ways to Test Outsourcing

You don't need to outsource everything overnight. Start with these low-risk tests:

The one-task trial. Pick one recurring administrative task and hire someone for just that. Email management or social media scheduling are good starting points.

The project test. Hire someone for a specific project with clear deliverables - market research, competitor analysis, or database cleanup.

The emergency backup. Find someone who can step in when you're swamped. Even knowing help is available reduces stress.

Making Room for What Only You Should Do

The goal isn't to eliminate all tasks from your plate - it's to focus your time on work that truly requires your expertise:

  • Strategic planning and vision-setting

  • Key client relationships and business development

  • Team leadership and decision-making

  • Innovation and problem-solving

  • High-value delivery that clients pay premium rates for

These activities can only be done by you, and they're what actually grow your business.

Breaking the "I'll Just Do It" Habit

Next time you catch yourself saying "I'll just do it quickly," stop and ask:

  • What's the real cost of my time doing this?

  • What am I not doing while I handle this task?

  • Could someone else do this for less than my hourly rate?

  • How does this task contribute to my business goals?

Takeaways for Escaping the Admin Trap

1. Start tracking your time for one week. Note every task and its duration. You'll be surprised how much time goes to work that doesn't require your expertise.

2. Calculate your true hourly rate, then identify tasks you're doing that cost more than they should.

3. Pick one administrative task to delegate this month. Start small, create clear instructions, and measure the results.

Remember: hiring help isn't an expense - it's an investment in your business's growth and your own sanity.

The most successful business owners I know aren't the ones who do everything themselves. They're the ones who focus their valuable time on the work that only they can do, while trusted team members handle the rest.

What's one task you could stop doing yourself this week?

Your time is your most valuable asset. Stop spending it like it's worthless.

That's all for this week! Take a few minutes to calculate what one administrative task is really costing you - the numbers might motivate you to finally make that change.