Two weeks ago I went camping in the desert, without a phone signal or Internet connection.
During the 10 days when I was “unplugged,” a handful of urgent issues formed. A nasty virus infected Afford Anything, triggering “malware” alerts every time a reader tried to visit. Google de-listed me from its search rankings until I fixed the issue.
Meanwhile, a pipe in one of my rental houses exploded. Each time the tenant tried to take a shower, water saturated the living room carpet from a ruptured pipe underneath.
In another rental unit, a different tenant had no hot water at all. The gas company needed access to the furnace to fix the issue, but the furnace is locked in the basement. I’m the only person with a key, and I’m 2,000 miles away.
You can imagine the emails and voicemails that greeted my return.
Yet the last thing I wanted to do was respond. I resurfaced from the camping trip in time to attend a financial blogger’s conference, a series of 18-hour days consumed by socializing with some of my favorite online writers.
I could have saved hundreds of dollars by sitting cooped up in my hotel room trying to fix the virus/malware issue … but I would have missed building relationships with bloggers at the conference.
I could have spent hours on the phone with plumbers, getting estimates and quotes for the tenant’s ruptured pipe … but again, I would have missed mingling with my fellow writers.
So I delegated.
I paid someone to fix my site’s malware issue. I found an “interim” property manager and told him how to access the furnace. I called my general contractor, explained the pipe-rupture issue, and effectively handed him a blank check.
This demanded trust.
“Use your best judgment,” I told my general contractor, “and send me the bill.”
I was potentially authorizing a $2,000+ expense, sight-unseen. He and I both knew it. It gave me butterflies. But if I want the freedom to travel, I can’t operate alone. If I want to unplug, I can’t micromanage.
“Whatever choice you make, I’ll stand behind it,” I told my contractor.
“Alright, I’ll tear your house down,” he joked in reply.
You Can’t Delegate Relationships
Leaving civilization behind — leaving cellular towers and broadband – forces me to face the fact that I spend 80 percent of my day doing things that don’t matter.
Six months ago I spent huge chunks of time ripping out carpet, painting decks, fixing fences. If a virus had infected my site one year ago, I would have spent hours troubleshooting.
But I can delegate all those tasks. I can tap into people who are far more experienced (and therefore faster) at mending fences and troubleshooting websites.
Meanwhile, I can focus my new-found time in three critical areas: my relationships, my health, and raising capital.
I’m better off paying someone to work the bugs out of my website while I build relationships with other bloggers, thinkers and investors.
I’m better off spending my limited time exercising, preventing future illnesses that could cut my life short and deplete my independence.
And I’m better off raising and managing money, watching the coffers to make sure everyone else gets paid.
There’s a certain authenticity to these tasks. No one can outsource relationship-building. No one can delegate their time at the gym.
These take top priority. The rest is just details.
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William @ Drop Dead Money
You had the relationship with the people you called. A relationship that included trust. That is an investment on which you drew. You are smart enough to realize that building those relationships is what’s important…
Afford Anything
@William — There’s just no substitute for strong business and personal relationships 🙂
Lance @ Money Life and More
So what ended up happening? You left us hanging!
Afford Anything
@Lance — The tech guy fixed the virus/malware problem. The interim property manager got into my house, got the key to the basement, and helped the gas company get heat back to the tenant’s unit. And the plumbing problem turned out to be the result of a mistake that the contractor made when he installed a new tub a few months ago. Since it was the contractor’s error, he didn’t charge me for the fix.
Manette @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance
I am glad to hear that the issues were fixed. I definitely agree that delegating, or outsourcing, is the best way to get a life. I also do this in some situations, when I need to attend to my family but need to finish some articles or complete a few tasks. As you have said, “There is no substitute for strong business and personal relationships”.
W at Off-Road Finance
I was wondering what happened with the malware warning. Glad you got it fixed!
Afford Anything
@W — Thanks! This blog has been giving me some technical headaches lately … I’m not a tech-savvy person, so I’m happy to hand it off to someone who is!
PK
Was it a GC you had a relationship with from a previous job? I feel safer delegating when it’s someone who I can do business with in the future – I feel they won’t mess things up in the present to hurt that future relationship. What can I say? I think in game theory.
Afford Anything
@PK – Yep, exactly. We’ve worked together on three jobs (the 21,000 house, the 96,000 house, and the triplex unit that I started renovating last month). Plus, I have an upcoming job planned with him next month (some tenants are moving out of a different unit at the end of this month, and I’m asking him to renovate that one).
Kim@Eyesonthedollar
I have a hard time delegating, so I usually run around like a chicken with my head cut off. If I have someone trusted it is easier, like with your contractor. We are hiring a property manager when we get our rental ready. Maybe that’s start.
Afford Anything
@Kim — I have a natural tendency to do the same thing, which is why I have to be conscious about delegating more. It sounds like the property manager is a great first step for you. Spend a bunch of time upfront picking the right manager … than you’ll never have to worry about it again!
Sam
Hey Paula!
How was burning man?! Heard it was a little less burning?
I agree in delegation. I just need to find more of the right people to delegate to.
What did you end up spending on fixing the housing stuff?
S
Afford Anything
@Sam — I’ll be writing a post soon about how much I spent on renovating that unit …. stay tuned! Coming soon to a blog near you!
Chris
Did you go watch Zozobra? If you did, I’m jealous. I live 3 hours away, and I’ve never seen it.
I’m sorry you had troubles awaiting your return. I run into that at work and is the single reason why I don’t feel comfortable taking long vacations. I’ve been trying to change this by training multiple people to do different aspects of my job. I’m not familiar with real estate but could you get a one month property management contract? So when you know you’ll be gone for a while the property management company can handle things like this?
Afford Anything
@Chris — Zozobra? I’ve never heard of it. What is that?
I was lucky in that I had a trusted guy in town who agreed to be an “interim” property manager for a week. I’m trying to build more relationships so that I have the best people on speed-dial the next time I need to work something out.
Anne @ Unique Gifter
In the middle of the desert you say? My friends got married there, I was sad to miss it.
What a blow to return back to civilization and face that! I’m glad to hear that you were able to delegate and had everything sorted out. I hope you got your tenants something nice as a peace offering.
Also glad to see the malware issue is sorted out.
Afford Anything
@Anne – I’m heading to dinner with one of the tenants, so all is well. 🙂 And I’m relieved that the malware issue is resolved (for now). I seem to be getting infected more than usual, so I might switch hosts soon. Who knew that running a WordPress blog would require so much technical skill?
AverageJoe
Wow! I would have been completely freaking out at FinCon. Way to keep it together when everything’s going crazy in the background.
Julie @ The Family CEO
Yes, Paula, way to be calm.
Afford Anything
@AverageJoe — Fortunately I had jovial people like you to hang out with all weekend! How could I NOT be in a good mood?
Julie @ The Family CEO
Such wise words, as usual! Just today I made the decision to outsource my housecleaning. While she cleaned, I spent the time creating content, which is something only I can do.
Afford Anything
@Julie – That’s a great decision. I desperately want to hire a housecleaner. Starting in 12 days, contractors are coming to the house to do a bunch of repairs; once they’re done, I’m hiring a housecleaning service. Cleaning is just not a good use of my time anymore.
Jackie
Great presentation at Fincon. I never guessed you had anything like that going on!
Afford Anything
@Jackie — Thank you! I didn’t talk about it much while I was there; why weigh down conversations? I was at FinCon to have fun!
Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter
I believe in delegating when it makes sense. My time is precious and should be used for what has the biggest value. The other stuff that needs to be done but has less ROI can be delegated. We outsource our housecleaning now and it works awesome. We have more time to do more important things.
Dominique Brown
Prioritizing your tasks is the best way to do it. I also tend to delegate people to do some of the tasks that I have limited knowledge on and focus on things I do best. Some of my free time I also use to make sure that I stay healthy and also build relationships with my family and friends.
Barbara Friedberg
I need to delegate more. I’m very controlling and want to do it all…. Thanks for the inspiration.
Serendipity
You can’t be everything all of the time. I think delegating is definitely important and I’m going to try do it more in real life. I may or may not have control issues.
PS It was great to meet you at FinCon!
Carrie Smith
This is something I’ve been pondering for the past few months. Every time I delegate and hire a new virtual assistant, they either flake out or become too busy with life to help me. It’s very frustrating. I’m a control freak and it’s difficult for me to reach out to anyone in the first place, to put that trust in them.
But I see the importance of doing it, so I keep trying and trusting people – even when I don’t want to. I feel like my business, my health and my sanity will be better for it. I like your statement that you can’t delegate relationships, and those are far more important than anything else in life. Thanks for giving me more perspective!
Afford Anything
@Carrie — There’s an old adage about how it’s hard to find good employees (and contractors and assistants). That’s certainly been my experience as well. You have to devote time to selecting them, training them … and then they might flake out, or underperform. It’s definitely frustrating. But when I find a great one, I do everything in my power to encourage them to stay around.
Jen
Did you go to Burning Man?! I didn’t know you were a Burner. My husband and I were married there two years ago, but haven’t been back since. Hope you had fun! Love the renos, the house came out beautiful 🙂
Afford Anything
@Jen — You got married there?!?! What an adventure! I’d love to see the photos of your wedding sometime. With the mountainous backdrop and guests in creative costumes, your wedding photos must be beautiful.
Charlotte
So very happy I stumbled upon your writing; I saw you are a writer with Jungle of Life.
I think sometimes it pays to make decisions that save us time and frustration. While this potentially could have cost you a lot more, sometimes it’s better to evaluate the bigger picture: You are going to an event which will allow you to connect with many new people and network and you don’t want to lose out on that opportunity to fix headaches back home. Sounds like you made the right decision!
Thanks for a great read!
Afford Anything
@Charlotte — Thank you, and welcome to Afford Anything! I’m glad you found this site. Here’s a secret: I’m not really a money writer. I write about freedom, leadership, travel, success … about living the dream. My topics have a great tie-in with the “big picture” themes on Jungle of Life. 🙂
Funny about Money
Wow! What a story… Never fails, when you go out of town, does it?
I’m finding that delegating work I strongly dislike, work that someone else can do a lot better, and work that costs significantly less than I can earn by the hour not only frees me to function more efficiently, it’s actually more cost-effective than trying to cope with all that stuff on my own.
Sandra
@Carrie.. Maybe that’s why it’s so difficult for me to be able to find a virtual assistant job. I’ve been looking for something for awhile now since I am home 4-5 days a week. I guess people have been burned in the past. If you are still looking for someone please let me know, I am a dedicated hard worker and would gladly pass on references. Cougarkean at yahoo dot com. Thank you.