4 Hour Workweek, the Sequel

My last blog entry dealt with Timothy Ferriss's book, The 4-hour Workweek, and this entry builds on that (and on a comment from Nick Howell, T&N Asphalt Services). Delegating responsibility can certainly free up some of your time, and related to that, I think, is the impact subcontracting (Ferriss refers to "outsourcing") can have on your business. By tying your company to reputable contractors who perform work you don't perform, you can become more important to your customers and can solve more of their problems. You can not only sealcoat but pave; not only pave but stripe - and you can do it without buying a piece of equipment, or hiring or training new people. If you select the right company to work with - a company that is reliable and that does good work - there's almost no risk for you. That's the typical approach to subcontracting. But another approach, an approach contractors often don't think about, is to subcontract out some of your business management services. You probably already “subcontract†some of them if you have an accountant or an attorney, but many contractors have had success working with employee leasing companies. These operations offer a variety of services, from simply handling your payroll to advertising, screening, and hiring employees - all skills that are essential but can take up a lot of your time. While Ferriss's book is a bit much to me, it did make me think. If there's a business or management book that's made an impact on your business I hope you'll share it and your insights with the readers of my blog.

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