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The Three False Beliefs Holding Entrepreneurs Back, Ep. 64

Sep 20, 2018

Longtime listeners of Just the Tips know that Dean and I are in an epic race to see who can finish their book first. It was a challenge set by Ken Dunn, our guest on episode 44, and as of this recording, there’s no real easy way to put this, I’m mopping the floor with Dean. I may even be able to finish my book and come back and write his. But aside from the friendly competition (which isn’t that friendly and which I am winning), putting my thoughts down in a book has been great for me to help organize my ideas around why entrepreneurs hit roadblocks. So on today’s episode of Just the Tips, I’m talking about the ideas I’m working through in my book, and hopefully this sneak peek will help all of you if you encounter a roadblock.

The three false beliefs

Some entrepreneurs feel like they need to do everything themselves. And not only can they not do everything themselves, they shouldn’t do everything themselves. And there are three false beliefs that drive entrepreneurs to take on too much. The first is a sort of hero complex, where entrepreneurs can feel like they are the reason the company exists, and everyone else exists to take tasks off of their plates. But once you build a team, you need to identify people who have superpowers that cover your weaknesses. If this sounds like you, you need to tune into this week’s episode of Just the Tips.

What to do if you can’t afford to hire

So let’s say you’ve convinced yourself that you are ready to delegate, what’s the next, inevitable roadblock? You’re not sure you can afford to hire anyone. I have a very detailed McDonald’s analogy in this episode that you just have to hear, but the short and long of it is that every hour you don’t have someone who can do something better than you can, you’re not making the money you think you’re making. You’re effectively losing money. It’s a difficult thing to wrap one’s brain around, and of course it doesn’t fix the problem of being cash-strapped, but I think this bit of advice could really help Just the Tips listeners.

Buy back your own time

When you’re thinking of hiring someone, don’t think of it as paying them for your time. Think of it as buying back your own time. Because every chance you have to buy back your time so you’re not working on low-value tasks frees you up to work on high-value tasks. And if that seems a little selfish to you, think of it this way: Anytime you are not optimizing your time and doing the highest-value work, you are restricting the flow of money to other people, too. As Dean and I discuss on this episode, payday is the best day for an entrepreneur, because you know you’re paying people who can then go on to have a good life

Trust people to work for you

So the third false belief, then, is that you can’t trust someone else to do a good job. And it’s not just that you’re a control freak and you want to do everything. It’s just that you don’t have a feedback loop set up so that you can verify that you’re spending your money well. You need to have accountability, and you need to have a way for both you and the person working for you to know they’re delivering value. If you have a system in place, then you can ease some of this anxiety. This week’s Just the Tips is all about the psychology of being an entrepreneur, and destroying Dean Holland in the book race. That too.

Outline of This Episode

  • [2:00] Currently owning Dean in our book competition
  • [3:48] Why some people get stuck
  • [6:40] The first false belief
  • [13:10] The second false belief
  • [20:25] Buy back your time
  • [30:00] Stop being a control freak
  • [36:45] Doing stuff because it’s quicker than training someone else
  • [43:45] You’re a busy fool

Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Connect With James and Dean

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