Does this sound familiar, “I don’t have the money to hire an administrative assistant (or insert other service provider here such as PR expert, advertising agency, etc.)” It is the trap of the small business owner. You are so busy doing the work in your business that you are not working on your business. The distinction is important. When you work in your business you are doing everything – bookkeeping, administrative duties, networking, projects, marketing, and any other tasks. When you are working ON your business you are spending time on high impact activities such as networking and generating revenue either by completing projects or bringing in new clients/sales.

I will be the first to admit that I am guilt of not outsourcing enough. For a couple years my bookkeeping was completed by an outside firm, but I found I was spending too much time fixing their work. It wasn’t a good fit. Does that mean I should continue to do my own bookkeeping, absolutely not.

In the book The E-Myth as well as The E-Myth Revisited by Michale E. Gerber he discusses this very point. Many entrepreneurs become overwhelmed as they refuse to spend money to make money. They are worried about what they are spending and fail to see that they should be spending time on activities that can generate revenue. The revenue generating activities would more than pay for the VA or other service provider they hire. In addition, by delegating the entrepreneur is able to reduce their stress levels which makes them more productive.

Spending money especially in these economic times may seem like a bad idea, but it is not. If you start working ON your business it is likely you will be able to bring in new business quickly when the economy turns (which they say is starting already).

If you plan for these expenses it can reduce the anxiety of parting with your cash. For example, track at how much time you are spending on bookkeeping (assuming you are actually doing it). What is your time worth? Where else could you be spending that time? Then decide how much you can afford, is it $100 per month or $200 per month? Chances are you could find a new bookkeeper for about $100+ per month and a more seasoned one for a little more.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.