It’s been just over three years since I read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It was around the same time I started my business. In hindsight, there were things in the book I really didn’t understand at the time. I recall concepts like asset and liability or reading a financial statement as completely alien ideas to me. Now I can look at my own financial statements and see exactly how my business is running. Then I can create plan on what I should be doing moving forward within five minutes. Believe me when I say there were times when I almost quit just because I couldn’t figure out why my books weren’t balancing on Quickbooks. I was a baby in the business world and I was just learning how to crawl. From there I’ve figured out how to source high-quality products, learn how to create a physical product from an idea or sketch, and sell them profitably on Amazon. I think I’m a talking toddler now and starting to see that I need to go through specific milestones to get to the next step. If I had tried to outsource every task I was unfamiliar with, I would have wasted any seed capital I had and probably fail.
I think it’s important to really discover ourselves and what our innate talents truly are. We need to figure out where we would really shine. I don’t think we get enough positive feedback from our environments to clue us in to how powerful we really are. In most cases, we kind just drift along life and end up in relatively random workplaces. I’ve worked as a fruit arrangement driver, photo specialist at Walgreens, and server a Cheesecake Factory to name a few. The worst possible matchup for my personality type and skills was becoming a nurse and working in the hospital setting. I’ve since recognized that I am creative thinker and find ways to reduce work, improve effectiveness, and increase downtime. I’m not the type of person that enjoys running around for 12 hours straight. Minimum effort for maximum effect. This type of work ethic is a poor match for an emergency room where the nurses are expected to be running around for 12 hours even when there’s nothing happening. I figure we all get paid the same regardless of effort so I’m doing the smart thing here. My performance evaluations were never above par, my coworkers mistake my efficiency for laziness, and my superiors demand I use my downtime to do other menial tasks. My disdain for bedside patient care begins there. It really motivated me to discover that if I work for myself, I am the one who benefits from my skills of finding the maximum profit for the least amount of effort.
Insource before you outsource. I really had no idea that my three years of drafting class could provide me the 3D skills necessary to complete two projects involving 3D printing. I played with programs I never used before and I figured it out on the fly. I assembled and troubleshooted a 3D printer with just the internet. I discovered I really do like my books to be neat and tidy. I figured out how to audit my own cryptocurrency wallets, trades, and capital gains/losses. I discovered I enjoyed being more organized and leveraging apps and technology to help me be more efficient. I’ve learned the importance of cyber security, 2FA, and password managers in a future filled with cryptocurrency and digital transactions. I felt really empowered that I was able to do all these things myself and I wouldn’t have believed I could three years ago. Thinking of a product, designing it, printing it out, sourcing accessories, registering a brand, package design, listing design, advertising optimization, on and on. I figured it out…all by myself. And because I did it myself, I understand the work involved. How much time it would take me to learn. How much my time is worth. What problems I could avoid by hiring a professional. Slowly but surely I’ve grasped the fair market value of anything from labor, skills, products, materials, etc. It helps me make instant decisions that is a life skill worth developing.
I’m always amazed how we went from stone tools to the iPhone. Not that any of us individually know how to construct an iPhone but a specific group of us can. That’s the magic of insourcing yourself first to see what you are capable of. By insourcing your abilities and bringing them out into the world, your ideas and skills can blend with other people’s ideas and skills. I didn’t create a product by myself. I rely on the manufacturers, the shipping carriers, the designers, logistics, and programs that facilitate distribution. Tap into your infinite potential and discover how to do more with less. I think this will attract the minds necessary to take you further. Keep hustling.