What Are The Most Common Excuses For Not Seeking Help?
By Paul Esajian on October 2, 2015
There is something to be said for taking one step back to take two steps forward. One of the reasons you may have gotten started in real estate was to free up more time. What typically ends up happening is that you try to be everything for everybody, and end up with nothing for yourself. This is the case, whether you are brand new to the business or close a few deals a month. Hiring help is the easy solution, yet we make excuses why we can’t at this time. The right hires can free up time to spend in other more important areas. Instead of making excuses why you can’t, you should figure out a way how you can. Here are the five most common excuses (and ways to combat them) for not bringing on more help:
“I don’t have enough money yet”
Money can be a real obstacle regardless of where you are in your business. Instead of looking at the expense think of the return on your money. Most real estate investors get bogged down doing important but mundane tasks. These tasks can be easily outsourced for a lot less than you may think. There are many people who are interesting in making between $8-10/hour stuffing envelopes, answering calls, pulling listings and handing paperwork. If you can find money to eat out every lunch or waste in other areas you can find money to hire someone to help grow your business. One of the most popular reasons that new investors aren’t more successful is because they don’t spend their time wisely. The get frustrated when they don’t get enough deals and end up doing less. The cost to hire someone is not an overwhelming expense. You should be able to find this in your budget or rework it to make it possible.
“I like doing the work myself”
Most people involved in real estate love what they do. It takes a certain passion and energy to be successful. Loving the business doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. It is true that doing the work yourself is one of the best ways to learn a business. That being said there is only so much you can learn from stuffing envelopes or pulling public records at town hall. In many cases you do these little tasks to avoid more important ones. By spending most of your day on these minor tasks you miss the big picture. These little tasks are important but your goal is to find and work on as many deals as possible. This is where your focus should be. Hiring someone for a few hours a week will free up time to work in other areas.
“I refuse to pay someone to do something I can do”
Just because you can cut the grass on a rental property doesn’t mean you should do it every week. There are many things that you can do that someone else can do just as good of a job as you. In any business there is a fine line between cost effective and looking at the bigger picture. Cutting grass or managing a rental property can be well in your scope of work but what are you giving up for it. After driving thirty minutes each way to the property and spending an hour working on the yard you have already spent at least a few hours. Would your two hours have been better spent doing something else? Is the $25 or $30 that you would have paid someone worth two hours out of your day? Being able to do something doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself.
“I don’t have enough deals yet”
The real estate business is about putting yourself in front of as many people as possible. Regardless of the number of deals you have closed this should be your goal. Instead of spending all day working on your website you should focus more on lead generation. If hiring someone to free up time helps you do that than this is what you should do. It is important not to judge your business on the current level of production, good or bad. With the right hires you can turn an empty pipeline into a full one in a matter of just a few weeks
“I don’t want to waste money”
There is a difference in wasting money and spending money. Any expense that yields a return on your money should be considered a positive expenditure. It is when you spend money and get nothing back from it that is considered a waste. Hiring someone to help you be more efficient or find more deals is not wasting money. Even if they are doing tasks that you can do you are getting something for your money. Wasting money is eating out five times a week or taking office space before you are ready for it. If you can free up time that results in more deals than how are you wasting money?
Growing your business starts with the right mentality. You have to have the mindset that you are a business whether you are working on your first deal or have three closed already this week. Hiring people is part of the process. There is nothing wrong with saying that you need a little help. Sometimes a few free hours are all you need to completely turn your business around. There are always excuses as to why you shouldn’t hire someone but look at it the other way. How will hiring someone help your business?