1 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office, 2 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the 3 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: new world of work or location and hours are more 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is about how 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: to strike the right balance between spending money in ways 6 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: that buy you time now versus investing money which can 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: buy you time later. This tip stems from a question 8 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: I got from a New Corner Office listener who manages 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: her own business. She noted that I write a lot 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: about hiring childcaren outsourcing chores. Even if you work from home, 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: business owners can also outsource work tasks. In both cases, 12 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: the reason is that taking some tasks off your plate 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: means that you can focus on your professional goals during 14 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: the hours that you've designated to do that. Of course, 15 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: outsourcing costs money, and so the listener noted, while you 16 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: are also pretty frugal and you like to spend your 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: time and money wisely, so I'm wondering how you decided 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: on money spent now for time to day and money 19 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: saved now for time in the future. The listener said 20 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,559 Speaker 1: that I'm at this stage in business in life where 21 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: my business is starting to make more money, but is 22 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: also needing more time, and so I'm at this weird 23 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,680 Speaker 1: fork in the money road. She could invest more for 24 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: retirement so the money would have time to grow. Or 25 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: she could invest the money in hiring contractors for her 26 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: business and outsourcing some personal tasks to free up time 27 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: and possibly see an investment on that too. So the 28 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: question buy time to day or buy time tomorrow. This 29 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: seems like a tough question, but my answer is yes 30 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: or really both. No one ever saves as much money 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: for retirement as they potentially could, and no one ever 32 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: outsources every single thing they could. Either, it is possible 33 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: to do some of both, knowing that when you invest 34 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: strategically in buying yourself time now, you'll probably be able 35 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: to earn more and also save more along the way. First, 36 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: you definitely should save something for the future. As this 37 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: listener notes, compound interest is an amazing thing, and the 38 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: more time your money has to grow, the better off 39 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: you will be. But businesses can grow too. They can 40 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: kick off more money which can also be invested, and 41 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: the business itself might be worth more, which is a 42 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: good thing if you should ever decide to sell it. 43 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: So one option is to figure out the pot of 44 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,679 Speaker 1: money that you could theoretically save and then roughly split it. 45 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: Half goes toward the future and half goes towards strategically 46 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: buying time now so that you can grow your business now. 47 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: You may decide that that ratio doesn't make sense in 48 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: your case. There are many cases out there, but maybe 49 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: it does. You have to start somewhere then, to figure 50 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: out how to best use the money that is freeing 51 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: up your capacity. Really analyze your time. What ways do 52 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: you spend your hours that have the best return, and 53 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: what ways have the least. Many business owners figure out 54 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: that spending time building relationships with current and prior and 55 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: potential customers has a huge return. Basic administrative stuff like 56 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: bookkeeping might have less of a big return. It's important 57 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: to do and it's important to do it well, of course, 58 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: but possibly not by you. Likewise, you might be more 59 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: relaxed for evenings with your family if someone else helps 60 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: drive the kids too after school activities, thus freeing you 61 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: up to focus during business hours. The returns on buying 62 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: time can be quite large. When I finally talked myself 63 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: into getting enough childcare a few years ago, my business 64 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: income didn't go up by something like eight percent. It 65 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: doubled because I could actually start traveling for speeches, opening 66 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: up a business line that wasn't really there before. In 67 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: any case, my answer to the question of buy time 68 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: now or buy time later is yes, buy time invest 69 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: for the future. But by investing in a few extra 70 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: hours that might yield big returns, you can generate more 71 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: revenue that can help make your future really sweet too. 72 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: These are both good ways to use money, so there's 73 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: really no wrong choice. In the meantime. This is Laura, 74 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding in the New 75 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: Corner Office. The New Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio. 76 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 77 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: wherever you get your favorite shows.