The cost of DIY

I used to be big into the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mentality. Now, I’m not talking about house projects in particular, I actually like doing SOME of those… keyword, some, water or electric, I’m calling a pro. But when it came to my first business, my cash practice, I wanted to do it myself, and it cost me…

I had made a lot of mistakes with setting up my business: pricing, evaluation structure, not selling plans, and probably many more, but those are the ones that definitely cost me some headaches.

Over time, and as I started to help more and more people build their dream business, I still encounter a lot of people who want to give it a try themselves. Some figure it out, which is truly great, but many hit roadblocks and perceive that as a failure, which brings them back to square 1… but, roadblocks are supposed to happen… failure? or a lesson that you need to learn as a standard part of the process? Likely the latter. 

The biggest cost incurred with the DIY mentality is the lack of a second perspective that can zoom out and help break up tunnel vision. We all get it, and sometimes, just like a second set of eyes on a project you’ve been stuck on… a second brain to help process the problems, roadblocks, hiccups, whatever you want to call it… can help you achieve that breakthrough and see things differently. “Have you considered trying it this way…” can be some of the best insight to break the pattern you might be stuck in. 

You’ve seen this before with your clients... They say things like, “Well, I’ll just take the information you’ve given me and go apply it” - we know that’s only part of the equation. So why do we push back on our clients when they say things like this, but then go and do the same ourselves? Makes you think. 

Here’s the reality. The debt we are trying to pay, in this case, is called the Knowledge debt, and there are only 2 ways to pay it down… with Time…. Or Money. The paradox here is that if you pay it down with time, it also costs you money…in the form of opportunity. Once I realized that, the choice was obvious. 

Now I’ll still get the DIY bug when a house project comes up, but when it comes to business, it’s all about trading money in the bank for skills I can later use. There’s truly no better investment.