Business Owners Toolbox Blog Discussions and articles to help the small business owner solve the challenges they face as they grow their business.

August 4, 2009

How Much Time for Admin?

Filed under: Entrepreneurship,Growth Management — Tags: , , , , — Mike Van Horn @ 5:46 pm

Q: From Matthew on LinkedIn. “How much time does a “single shingle” professional spend on admin?”

A: One person suggested 30% of time for admin. If this is on target, this is why solopreneurs never get to take a vacation.

Suppose as a professional, your time is worth $100 per hour, and that you can find work at this rate if you have time to market. Suppose you work a 50-hour week, so 30% of your time is 15 hours per week. Suppose you can hire a really good admin assistant for $20/hr, or $300 for a 15-hr week. (You’ll hire somebody AT LEAST as fast as you are.)

So if your admin person freed up 15 hours of your time each week, and you used that time to get even 3 more hours of paid work, you’d break even. But surely you’d be able to generate more than 3 extra hours, so you’d definitely be ahead financially.

You’d also be focusing on activities where you brought more value to your business, and that were more exciting for you. And you might even be able to take more time off.

With more time and energy for marketing, you might get more selective with your client selection, and thus be able to raise your prices. You may have time to brainstorm and create a new way of structuring your business that sets you apart, so you could charge even more. More money, less effort. I like it!

So stop thinking “single shingle” and get the help you need.

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