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Page 120 GO IT ALONE!
Herein lies the tradeoff: Had I chosen instead to undertake multiple activities myself, they might indeed have been done somewhat better than the existing automated services I could then find. But there would quickly be a multiplier effect. Once I had taken on just a few of these responsibilities, my time would be entirely consumed, and I would be unable to focus on the areas that I believed would allow me to dramatically grow the business. In each area, I might have been able to perform an otherwise automated function 10% to 20% better than an available ASP, with a small associated increase in the size of the business. My conclusion was that it was far better to forfeit these incremental benefits and focus on the areas with the highest potential for dramatic benefits. Once again, the idea of concentrating on the high-leverage points is applicable to building a successful go-it-alone business. I achieved leverage by determining where I could have the highest impact on profits and sales. These were the activities that merited my time and energy. So long as everything else functioned, it was not worth the time or money to make it perfect.
To adopt this philosophy requires far more discipline than one might imagine. There is an enormous temptation to say “That’s not quite right, so I will handle it by hand.” This impulse must be squelched at all costs. The bias for a go-it-alone entrepreneur must be that all possible activities are automated or otherwise outsourced unless there is absolutely no other choice, which makes it a core activity. Moreover, if you do decide to lock yourself into handling a specific function, you should be asking yourself four additional questions: Have I exhausted every possible source for outsourcing this activity and found that no alternative exists? Is the activity itself crucial? To what extent will it hurt my sales if the business does not include this function at all? Though it may not be possible to outsource this activity today, is it possible to imagine that as the business grows this activity might be quickly outsourced? It’s very different
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GO IT ALONE! Copyright 2004 by Bruce Judson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
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