Return on Hassle
It’s Mid-Year Review time in our Circles and as always I am blown away by what I hear from every one of our BWC Members. Goals are being exceeded, new joys are being found, play is happening and some BIG lessons are being learned.
Key themes revolve around simplification, being more effective, managing work/life flow, getting rid of the “fluff”… And rightly so. We want to make sure we don’t return to the 24/7 hustle of pre-pandemic times, but we want to make sure we are getting a good return on our investment of where we spend our time.
This means making sure we are getting a high Return On Hassle. What is Return On Hassle? “Return on hassle is the idea that you need to consider the time and work associated with an investment in addition to its expected return.”
This means that you not only take a financial ROI into account - but you also take in what it will take in time and energy to make something happen and ask - IS IT WORTH IT?
Even if you say yes, the hassle is worth it - there are ways you can help manage the “hassle”. Here are some lessons we have learned when it comes to doing just that.
Embrace and Plan for Seasonal Shifts
- Kim Senn of Senn and Sons
Let’s face it, summer can be a hassle. Kids are out of school. The weather is calling you. Friends and family calling you and want you to spend time with them. It’s a different schedule then during the school year.
And work has it’s own seasons - peak retail season in the late fall/winter, high planting season in the gardening industry, etc. Recognizing and understanding these seasons is also key to your sanity!
What if you planned according to the way you want your season to go and don’t let your business or job dictate it completely?
Plan to work less during the times you want to work less. One member is planning for less work between May and August next year after what she learned she wanted her summer to look like this year. (And this doesn’t have to apply to just summer, ask Vicky Emerson of Curbside Curator)
Ask for help from family, friends or hire help if you are able.
Check your mindset. Is it still in the valley of “the harder I work the more successful I will be”? If so - time to shred that mindset and know that you need time for rejuvenation - which might be meaningful time with your family/friends. Just ask Lisa Harris of Lisa Harris & Company.
Dream big and have vision - but cultivate and lean on your team to help you execute. Stay in your zone of genius.
- Andrea Gharritt of The Bold Life Design
High Achiever - know thyself! If there is one thing we have learned it is this: know your strengths, opportunities, capabilities, tolerance levels…and you can do anything. When you know what you are best at and want to be doing - you can “stay in your zone of genius.” Here are some ways:
Surround yourself with a team (contractors, employees, volunteers) who has skills that you don’t have or those skills that aren’t the best us of your time. This frees you up to do what you need to be doing whether that is for your business or personal life.
Drop the things that are high on time, energy and money but low on return on investment. This is the true “return on hassle” focus. As Erica Hanna of Puke Rainbows says - “It’s okay to let go of a goal if it’s creating the wrong kind of stress.”
Learn and practice saying “NO” - if it doesn’t fit into your plan, your zone of genius - don’t do it. See number two above.
Quality pricing strategies and clear definition of your customer will make a difference.
This is something I heard loud and clear from many of our members who are meeting or exceeding their goals year to date. How are they achieving this? Through work on finding and asking for the right price for their product or service and working with the right customers.
Here are a couple of resources to check out How to Price Your Product: A Step-by-Step Calculation OR How to Price Your Business Services
Ask your peers what they charge and why. Pricing is something we talk about in our Circles and we gain great insight and feedback from each other. Ask your peers for this.
Work on gaining confidence in asking for that fee. Whether it is practicing in the mirror or with your partner - get used to asking for the fee you deserve. A few members have mentioned how much of a difference this is making in their business and where they spend their time.
The second part of this is to make sure you are clear on who your customer is - who do you serve best? If you had 10 more of “this type” of customer you could take your business to the next level. Who are they?
Take time to define your best customer - Seven Ways To Identify Your Ideal Client
When you know who your best customer is - you can then spend the right time, energy and money in reaching and engaging with them.
Learn and practice saying “NO” to customers that don’t fit. One member did this and opened space for two new customers that she is enjoying working with.
Again, sometimes the hassle is worth it. And if that is what you determine - go for it. Just consider that you can get a good return on hassle by managing it and not letting it manage you.
