All of us in business have three basic resources with which to create our vision, our systems and our profits:
- TIME
- MONEY
- PEOPLE
Our success ultimately depends on how best we use them.
Recently I’ve been reflecting on my own past (and that of others) and realising that many of us make a basic mistake in our approach.
It goes like this:
“Just as soon as I’ve made some money, I’m going to hire some more people.”
“When I’ve hired some more people, I’m going to take more time for myself and my family.”
Sound familiar?
So we fall into a trap of investing more and more of our own time in doing more and more things – in the hope that there will be a magical break-through moment when money appears.
Did that ever work?
Every week I meet owners who tell me that they don’t have enough time for themselves and their families.
The formula we are seduced by is:
MORE OF MY TIME = MONEY + PEOPLE = LESS OF MY TIME
In reality this seldom works, simply because we run out of a fourth resource – ENERGY (that’s our own).
I’ve met too many people over the years (myself included) who invested money in premises, equipment and visibility but didn’t invest enough in people. In which event the only time that gets consumed is their own.
So this requires a different approach.
Your business has to be adequately funded to hire the right people from day one – that’s the people who are going to do the things that are not on your unique abilities list.
The funding should either be external (bank, family) or internal (savings or capital).
Don’t make the mistake of trying to create the funding from sales – you will get caught in a hamster wheel from which there may be no escape.
The correct formula is:
MONEY + PEOPLE = LESS OF MY TIME
Then you can firstly, go on holiday and secondly, not check your smartphone or worry about what you will find on your return.
