In a recent convo with a solopreneur, she confessed she doesn’t “get” social media, but wants to because she’s heard all about it.  Determined to do it herself, she sheepishly admitted she’s attended a variety of social media webinars and events totaling 15 hours; and to her frustration, the confusion continues.     

Another small business owner I met is trying hard to perfect his online marketing skills.  He’s spent a mind blowing amount of time learning about search engine optimization and keyword research.  Internet marketing can be really simple, but executing effective strategies can be very difficult, even for those who are experienced in that world. 

Another person I was chattin it up with at a networking event was interested in how screencasts or videos are created.  Asking very detailed questions she expressed an interest in learning the ins and outs of screencast production.  So I mentioned the six hour course I had taken and that typically one video (depending on length and animation) could take me anywhere from five to twenty hours to complete.  

This got me thinking.  Everything we do has an opportunity cost attached to it.  And when you choose to do all the work yourself, what are the unseen effects?  How many hours have you spent trying to learn it all or do it all yourself because you couldn’t afford to hire a virtual assistant?   What opportunities have you missed because you simply didn’t have the time to focus on generating revenue or pursue the ideas that make your business more profitable? 

When your attention is focused on activities that don’t generate revenue, how much are you really costing yourself?  Are you costing yourself more than a virtual assistant would ever charge?