How I Turned a $21 Fed Ex Into $600 in Revenue By Shifting My Thinking and Focusing On My Genius (by Kelly O’Neil)
[This guest article was graciously shared by Kelly O’Neil. Please thank her by taking her up on her free MP3 offer: http://www.marketingtomillionairesgift.com]
No matter how much we might wish to believe the contrary, no one is good at everything. Each of us possesses specific talents, gifts, skills, abilities, etc. Our unique set of talents and abilities makes us who we are as business owners or entrepreneurs. It makes us who we are as individuals, as well.
In the business world, no one can do everything. The same is true in our personal lives. Whether we don’t have time to learn to do things, or we don’t have time to do some of the things we know how to do, we simply can’t do it all. Nor should we try to do it all.
Fortunately, each of us has our own area of genius. When we focus on our particular genius, we are able to accomplish more, accomplish it more efficiently, and accomplish more of what we do best. For example, I am not an automobile mechanic, nor do I want to be one. If I were to try to fix my car myself to save money, by the time I figured out what was wrong with my car, I would be able to develop a marketing strategy for a client. By the time I figured out how to fix what might be wrong with my car and actually fixed it, I could have helped several clients and easily created enough profit to fix my car and then some. So, I don’t even try to work on my own car. That would be a complete waste of my time and energy. What is more, it would take me away from what I do well and cost me more in lost time and income than if I just take it to a mechanic and pay him to fix the problem.
Running a business involves similar sets of decisions and choices. Every business is a group of activities. Every business can ultimately be broken down to certain processes, strategies, and tasks. We will not be good or efficient at all of those tasks, steps in processes and strategy implementations. We can do one of two things: either we can learn to do each step of each process and personally handle every task, or we find someone to do those things for us.
Having someone perform certain tasks or process steps will cost money. Unless you happen to find someone who is willing to work for you without salary, you will pay some amount of money for their services. Now this is where understanding breaks down for many small business owners and entrepreneurs. They don’t consider the cost of performing tasks themselves. For example, if your business is based on providing a service to other businesses, your business is make money when you are providing that service. When you step away from your genius to do other things that simply must be done, like writing checks, sending out press releases, scheduling appointments by phone, or printing and assembling reports, you are taking time from your core competency – the activity that brings in revenue and a sense of satisfaction.
I have told “the FedEx story” many times in my marketing seminars and when I speak at conferences.
When I was starting my own business, I received a call from my father, who is a retired accountant. He called to tell me some papers were complete and needed to be picked up from the attorney (who is a family friend). This was a time when my cash flow was extremely tight. My response to my father was “tell him to FedEx the papers to me.” My father said, “You’re cash strapped right now and you want to waste $21 to FedEx the papers?” I explained the decision to my father this way. By the time I leave the office, drive downtown and park, and get to the attorney’s office, it will take 20 minutes. Because he is a family friend, he will expect me to chat for a few minutes. Then I will go back to the car and drive back to the office. This will take at least an hour of my time. And it will cost me at least $10 for gas and parking. By the time I get back to the office, I will have lost my momentum on the project I dropped to go. It will also take at least 15 minutes to get back into working mode. Then I will be behind schedule because I have lost an hour and a quarter. I will spend the next 30 minutes completing the work I was doing before I left. Essentially, I will reallocate 2 hours from working with clients “on my genius”. At this time many years ago, my time was worth the equivalent of about $300 per hour (as you know I do not advocate billing by the hour – but instead use it as a marker to judge how I spend my time), it would have cost me about $600, plus the cost of gas and parking. Doesn’t it make sense to spend $21 to make $600?” He decided I had a point.
Staying focused on your genius enables you to make the kind of decisions I made about the cost of Fed-Exing the papers. Staying focused on your genius enables you to devote your time and energy to the efforts and tasks that advance your business and keep your life balanced.
So here’s my advice: Stay focused on your genius, and outsource the rest. You will be happier, more productive, and more profitable.
© Kelly O’Neil 2009
Kelly K. O’Neil, Chief Strategy Officer, UpLevel Strategies, Inc.
