How to Value Your Highest Earning Hours Ft. Native Lumber

“The administrative side is something I struggle with. I’ve talked to one of my part-time guys, and he’s interested in taking over a little bit. But I’m a little reluctant to pass some of it on because I don’t feel like my processes are solid in that.”

• John Christensen

Administrative tasks are one of the hardest things for many Woodpreneurs to get comfortable with. Most woodworkers and sawyers are very comfortable working with their hands, but the back-end side of things can be much harder to become used to. Fortunately, because this is a common challenge for Woodpreneurs, Steve has many effective tactics to handle it!

“So here’s what you want to do. Take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle, and think about the things you absolutely hate to do. On the other side of the page, you write down the things only you can do. So write down everything you hate to do, whether email, taxes, bookkeeping, or whatever. 

I like to use Zoom, or another application called Loom or screen sharing software. Then when you’re about to sit down and do the thing you absolutely hate, do a screen recording of you doing the thing. That way, you could go to this part-time guy and say, ‘Okay, this is exactly how I like it done.’ Then you watch him do it, and you correct him.”

• Steve Larosiliere

Outsourcing to Maximize Benefit

“Outsourcing whatever you don’t like to do is so easy. There are a couple of places that you could go. You could go to Craigslist and find a personal admin assistant. Or you could go to Facebook and look for community groups, stay-at-home mom groups, or parent groups. You can even have your wife do this. She’s probably part of some Facebook family groups. 

She can join and say, ‘Hey, my family business is looking for a part-time administrative assistant.’ Then I would start at like five or ten hours a week and write down the tasks you don’t like to do. Allocate how much time it would save you plus one or two hours if they’re new, at $10-$15/hour or whatever it is in your area.”

• Steve Larosiliere

Regarding outsourcing, doing it effectively comes down primarily to your comfort level. For some, like John, keeping things local is important to him, whereas, for others, it all comes down to the bottom line, so outsourcing to the Philippines or similar countries is the best use of time and money. Consider what is most important to you, and make your decisions based on that.

Website: https://nativelumber.co

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