When You Want To Trade Money For Speed

We start consulting practices, speak at conferences, write books and record podcasts because we have something to teach—something to say.

Ideas to hatch. Problems to solve. People to reach.

Faster is definitely better.

Case in point: “Glenda”. Author of three brisk-selling books, she is a frequently named authority in her field and commands mid six figure fees for consulting and speaking.

One of the first times we spoke, she was making her own travel arrangements for a complex set of meetings/appearances in four cities over two days.

She was cranky and tired, not exactly excited about the trip. Asked if she’d considered hiring a virtual assistant for those sorts of tasks, she quickly poo-poo’ed it as a “waste of money and time”.

Later, when it was time to overhaul her website for a media blitz, she wanted to wait three months so that her very busy husband would be able to do the work.

The attraction? He was free.

Showing her the cost of waiting helped her to decide that speed was worth some cash. But in the end, it wasn’t the logic that convinced her—it was the feeling of saying yes to something better.

Consider trading money for speed when:

You’ve got a big hairy audacious goal and you’re on fire to get it done. Maybe you’re going all in on a membership site and need some help building out the system or the pieces. Or you’re knee-deep into writing your first book and want to start beefing up your social media footprint. Spending money on the right resources will get you there faster.

You’re spending valuable time on tasks you don’t like or that aren’t moving you forward. Spending as much time as you possibly can in your genius zone is a worthy goal. So if that’s writing thought pieces for your ideal audience and you’re short on writing time, you know you need to stop doing your own WordPress updates. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: hire yourself a VA.

You’re stuck—and can’t see getting unstuck by yourself. Sometimes, you just can’t get there on your own. And it’s hard to see clearly when you’re feeling stuck. What might take you months to figure out could happen in weeks or even days with the right experts. Don’t suffer solo—find yourself the resource who will push you past this sticking point.

You’re keeping busy on the small as an excuse for doing something that really matters. This is a tough one, because we can’t always see when we’re doing it (although it’s super easy to see in someone else). “Sorry, I’m too busy doing my taxes, evaluating billing software, cleaning out my sock drawer, to”…write that article, rethink my website, make that new business call.

Finding yourself a VA will relieve some of that tension, but if this is more about fear of stepping up to a bigger platform, you’ll just find something else to keep you “too busy”. Could be time for a coach to help push you out of your comfy nest.

Sure, money can feel like a scarce commodity sometimes. But it’s renewable.

Unlike your time.