- Kriss Berg
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Hey Side Hustle Fam…
I think a lot about time and energy management. I have 6 businesses, I coach my sons soccer team, I have a handful of hobbies and I prioritize family time.
So I have to say NO to quite a few things and figure out where to put my time and energy. And, since I have employees, I have to figure out where THEY put their time and energy too.
This is THE #1 skill for entrepreneurs and leaders: resource allocation. Setting priorities. No other skill is more important than deciding how and where you’ll spend your time. I know how to make more money, more friends, more businesses. But to get more time, I have to say no to some things and yes to others.
So how do I do that? Here some loosely held rules I (try to!) follow:
Use leverage: I want activities that get maximum results with minimum effort. This is why I like online businesses and real estate. You can use debt, labor arbitrage (lower paid workers overseas), digital marketing and contractors to get things done with minimal effort from me.
Measure odds of success: I try to gauge what the chances are that this project is going to work vs. the time and money invested. I don’t take long shots much anymore. I have a good idea of what is going to work and try to focus my efforts there. That comes only with experience. Which means I have to…
Take low risk bets. At some point you have to try stuff. Just try to make the time and money investment as low as possible. Challenge yourself to get to the first step in success (say, your first sale) with as little time and money invested as possible. Use that first micro-success to propel you forward.
One in-one out. When I do decide to take on a new project, I make sure I drop something else. I systematize a process I’m currently doing and hand it off to another teammate. Many times I find a contractor who’s doing this task all day every day and have them take it off my plate. I try to find people who are better at this thing than I am. Which brings me to…
Focus on strengths. I can’t tell you how many years I tried to work on my weaknesses. For me that is the minutia of business: bookkeeping, proofreading, and minor details. I finally realized: I suck at this! I have realized I am great at two things: visioneering and firefighting. That is, setting the big goals for a business and then diving in when big problems surface. So that’s where I focus my efforts now and offload all the things I suck at to others.
Extreme delegation. I used to hear a good idea from a teammate or colleague and say “Ok I’m going to do that!” Now I say “Great idea! Go for it and let me know how it goes!” I try to push as many tasks down as possible to my team. I want them to feel empowered to try things, but I also want them to know I’m not here to make their ideas real. You’d be surprised how many leaders get this wrong!
I set hard limits. I bet you find yourself saying “I can do this faster than I can explain it to someone else”…. only to find yourself struggling with it hours later. I used to do that too. Now I assign a time limit. It’s usually about 15 minutes since that is how long it would take to assign it to someone else. If I get stuck for more than 15 minutes, off it goes to my team.
Hire multi-skilled fixers. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to hire people who have skills in many different areas. I like to hire people with skills in distinct areas but also at attitude of “I can figure it out” But I was bad at leveraging that. Now I ask the team: “Does anyone know how to _____” If they don’t know, I have at least 2-3 people willing to dive in and try to fix it.
Know when to quit. This is probably the hardest skill to develop. When do you stop trying to make this thing work? This is where mindfulness helps. Being able to detach emotion and look at something objectively is a massive hack. If you can’t do this yet, try explaining what you’re doing to a trusted friend. They may not have the answer, but the simple process of explaining the problem will probably reveal what you should do. This is also a great reason to find a mentor.
Emphasize fun and learning. Doing new stuff is HARD. It’s usually scary too. So if I’m going to take on something hard and scary, it had better be kinda fun and exciting too. I want to be learning new things and engaging my curiosity. That’s why I rarely do things for pure monetary gain anymore. If I see a business that’s a pure money grab, I either find someone to run the thing from the outset or walk away.
Now, it’s your turn. How do you make sure you’re spending time on the right things?
Answer by replying to this email…
Thanks for being here: Car Wash Guy Kri