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OT jack of all trades or hire out

turnworks

Cast Iron
Joined
Dec 12, 2018
Seen this come up a few times recently talking about one person just can't do it all or know it all.

Im in agreement with the concept but not sure as to what extent.

If you are running your own business how do you choose which to get good at and or master or which do you hire out?

Hire out the ones you suck at? Hire out the ones your aren't passionate about? not a master at? ones that as less valuable?

Rough list of areas: accounting, sales, running manual equipment, running cnc, programing, maintenance, electrical, design, managing, customer service, purchasing ect

Endless list I know but was just some examples.

Curious to hear others ideas on this subject.
 
Just a thought on the programming, since that has been my primary job for the last 15 years.

If you do low volume prototype stuff, alot of times one guy can program and do setup and run. If you are doing more production work, or high mix - short cycle times, you will probably need a dedicated programmer sitting at a pc all day.
 
This may not be the best advice for everyone but it's worked for me so far.

I use my passion to drive what I learn about, invest in and the projects I decide to take on. If I'm interested in something, I buy books, watch videos, invest in tools/machines/software and get to work! I'm addicted to learning about new and old engineering, machine design, toolmaking, embedded hardware design...the list is endless. I rarely sub anything out because when I find something I don't know how to do I get psyched to learn about it and I do my best to become proficient.

That being said knowing your limits and communicating those limits to clients is a necessity as it keeps everyone on the same page with expectations.
 
I take a much more fundamental approach ;- if you've plenty of ''what you're good at high margin etc etc '' work, sub out the rest, ..........if you're slack on the good stuff, start choosing, ........................ or go hungry.
 
I take a much more fundamental approach ;- if you've plenty of ''what you're good at high margin etc etc '' work, sub out the rest, ..........if you're slack on the good stuff, start choosing, ........................ or go hungry.
Sounds like a much more sane approach!
 
Sami has it half right - depends on the money.

The other half is what makes you happiest.

if you have all the work you need, you can pick the pieces you wish to do and farm out the rest. Make your choices as which to farm out based on the money and which you really enjoy doing.

If on the other hand you are short of work, you probably won’t want to farm out anything.
 
This may not be the best advice for everyone but it's worked for me so far.

I use my passion to drive what I learn about, invest in and the projects I decide to take on. If I'm interested in something, I buy books, watch videos, invest in tools/machines/software and get to work! I'm addicted to learning about new and old engineering, machine design, toolmaking, embedded hardware design...the list is endless. I rarely sub anything out because when I find something I don't know how to do I get psyched to learn about it and I do my best to become proficient.

That being said knowing your limits and communicating those limits to clients is a necessity as it keeps everyone on the same page with expectations.

This is me also. The only problem is there are only so many hours in a day. You can spend time reading, learning and practicing new skills, but then you're not making money... Sometimes I get caught up in something that interests me and lose all track of time.
 
I don't run my own business, but I just figure out how much my time is worth, and whether or not I have time to waste. Is it cheaper to pay for my own time or someone elses. Easy one, it usually doesn't make sense to make your own screws. If they're triple-lead titanium, it might.
 
This may not be the best advice for everyone but it's worked for me so far.

I use my passion to drive what I learn about, invest in and the projects I decide to take on. If I'm interested in something, I buy books, watch videos, invest in tools/machines/software and get to work! I'm addicted to learning about new and old engineering, machine design, toolmaking, embedded hardware design...the list is endless. I rarely sub anything out because when I find something I don't know how to do I get psyched to learn about it and I do my best to become proficient.

That being said knowing your limits and communicating those limits to clients is a necessity as it keeps everyone on the same page with expectations.


Same here. I get really involved in the stuff I enjoy. The rest I either don't do or sub out the pieces I don't have capability for or don't really want to do.
 
As the owner of a business there are fewer perks than the hired help think. One of them is choosing what you do, and if you are smart about it you'll choose what you like to do. I had a customer agonizing over whether to hire office help or greenhouse help. I told her I could make the choice for her and it would work well. I asked her what she likes to do. She said she hates book work and enjoys working in the greenhouse. I said then hire the person for the office. She said her husband was worried about losing control by doing that. I asked whether she could tell me exactly how much money the company owed to vendors, how much was owed by customers, and how much was overdue? She said that would take a while to figure out. I said that my company was smaller than hers and I could call my office and get all those numbers in an instant, and that I knew she was overdue paying me, because she wasn't getting paid by her customers!

She hired a woman to run the office and she was a real bitch to deal with. But I was getting paid on time so I couldn't complain! When I hired someone to do the office work that enjoyed the office work, I enjoyed my job a lot more too.
 








 
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