Ruminations

The Value of Value

I'm pretty handy around the house. Usually, if I can take it apart I can fix it. But I just don't have the patience, or the skill set for the finishing work. And I don't have the patience for it because I don't have the skill for it. My oldest nephew can make a living doing the finishing work (and much more), as can his father. Me? I'd starve if I had to make a living at it. Alas, a man must know his limitations.

This weekend I need to touch up the caulk around the tub. And I know from experience that I'll make a mess. It's not something I do often enough to be good at. And it's not something that's detailed enough that it requires assistance (not even from my nephew). If I make a mess I'll just clean it up (and maybe have to redo the caulk).

This time, rather than trying to make it look pretty on my own, I bought a kit for $11. It's really just some pieces of rubber shaped in a way as to spread the caulk evenly. So, I spent $11 on something that probably cost less than $1 to manufacture, package and ship. Why? Because of its value to me.

My goal is simple: get it right the first time. Being able to apply the caulk evenly, and only where it belongs, will be a small victory for me. In fact, it will be a victory on two levels: I'll save time and I'll feel like I was in command of the situation. Both also happen to be common goals for small business owners.

Knowing when to upgrade the tools you use to run your business can seem like guesswork. And being able to spot value in something new can be difficult. But these are just two of the skills you're expected to have when you run your own business. There are plenty of businesses that are more than happy to tell you what you need and how much you want it. And as luck would have it, they probably sell a product or service that fits their assessment of your needs perfectly.

Value is a funny thing; it's both tangible and subjective. It can be hard to measure because it's a moving target by nature. Your need, and your perspective, determine its value to you.

Sometimes it's easy to see value, like volume discounts or saving time. Other times you need to be patient and wait for the value to reveal itself. Transitions can be bumpy and some things take a little time to smooth out.

Recently I upgraded my own processes to include three new tools. Well, they're new to me:

• VoiceBase.com, a dictation/transcription service (among many other things). This allows me to dictate ideas and notes so I don't forget things. I find it invaluable while stuck in traffic or on long drives (via bluetooth). I also use it to record and transcribe many of my handwritten notes while I'm watching a game on TV.
• Readable.io, a service that rates/grades my writing and suggests ways to improve the readability. This has really spared Aimée — who is responsible for everything at ElixWare that is public-facing — from having to try to edit my "content" into something that is actually human-readable. This has saved both time and angst, sparing her from finding forty ways of telling me I'm not teaching a class on what goes on inside my head nor writing the accompanying textbook.
• An iPad with support for the Apple Pencil. This allows me to easily markup code, blog posts and page layouts. It will also end up replacing the countless notepads that I use (and sometimes have trouble finding).

In hindsight all three new tools raised the same question: Why did I wait so long to address these pain points? I've asked many small businesses the same question before helping them remove obstacles that were fairly easy to identify. My distance and objectivity made recognizing solutions to their problems much easier.

It's cliché but it's true: time is money. And small business owners never really have enough time for everything that needs to get done. Confidence is important too. Feeling like we're in control of our own destiny is orders of magnitude better than the alternative. It's one of the reasons that we start our own business in the first place. And feeling confident that we know how to get the most out of the tools available to us is satisfying. Even if it's only an $11 kit that keeps us from messing up the caulk.

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