It’s been 3 weeks to the day since my wife and I celebrated the birth of our firstborn, Adam.
Before he was born, we both wanted to be as prepared as possible for his arrival. We weren’t stupid, we knew it was going to be a huge lifestyle change.
But …
It wasn’t until he actually arrived, and we were knee deep in poopy diapers (just metaphorically … we wouldn’t really let it get that bad! :-)) that we actually began to experience just how life-changing an experience it is.
One of the things that I’m grateful for is that I’m able to work at home and have the flexibility in my day to take care of Adam and also Christina as she recovers from the birth.
However, I’ve found that I’ve had virtually almost no time to tend to my business (hence the lack of blog posts recently!)
But instead of this being bad for my business, I actually think that me having less time to spend on it can be a good thing.
Why?
It means that I have to take steps to make sure things are done – and that means outsourcing.
By outsourcing my work, I’m starting to realize that in many situations it’s actually better for me to pay someone else to do the work for me instead of doing it all myself.
For example, I’m not a great writer, but I know how powerful article writing and submission can be for my business.
So instead of spending all my time writing, it’s much easier (and more cost effective) for me to pay an actual writer $5 or so for any articles I need.
Likewise with my site graphics. I know a little about photoshop, and given 8-12 hours or so I could probably come up with a reasonable looking set of graphics for my site. But that would mean I would lose those 8-12 hours when I could be doing something I’m actually good at.
The less time I find myself with, the more I know that it’s better for me to pay someone who can do it for me.
In the long run, it will probably save me money in terms of time I’d waste, and I know a professional can do the job 100X better than I could myself.
So, thanks to baby Adam, I’m now starting to realize that by outsourcing the things I don’t really need to do myself, I can get more accomplished overall for my business AND spend time with my family. I think that’s pretty cool 
This is something that you can do yourself, even if you’re just getting started.
Did you know you can go to places like elance.com, scriptlance.com, guru.com and find (professional) people who can do things for you like setting your website up for you or writing articles for you?
I know at first it seems like you don’t want to be spending money on these things, but when you consider you could spend days trying to get a website up yourself and STILL not get it to work, isn’t it worth spending a little to get it done right and done quickly?
I’m not saying you all need to go out and have babies to grow your business but, I know many of you have school, college, full time jobs and families that all demand time.
So if you don’t have the time (or the skills) to do something, find someone who can do it for you so you can focus on what’s important to you.
To YOUR Success,
P.S. I’ve also come across a great audio and video series that shows you how to get started with outsourcing, even if your business is still in it’s infancy. I’ll send you an email in a couple of days with instructions on how you can get it for free
Get used to NOT SLEEPING on a regular schedule! They can take YEARS to sleep through the night, and if they are sick… nobody sleeps!
Congratulations!! Kids are the most amazing thing you’ll do with your life!
Hey Richard, outsourcing is great if you have the money to doit with but what about those that dont have the money? those that are new and still havent got going enough to do that. I believe knowledge is the biggest part of Internet Marketing and doing what it takes to get going will give you that knowledge, with help ofcourse. there are no get rich schemes out there so when you do finally get going ,having the knowledge you need to do most everything is bound to be a plus. Glad your having fun with all those poopy diapers!! Be good and God bless. Tim
Hi Richard,
It sounds like you are adjusting well.I am happy for you that you will be around to enjoy when Adam starts to notice& recognize you,smile,laugh,crawl, talk and teethe. A lot of wonderful memories to make.take pictures too.
God Bless you and your Family.
Regards,
Glenna
Dear Richard
I am so glad to hear something about you and that your family is very well.
Adam is obviously the focus of your Live
you’re just a very proud Father.
And you are so right, either you take your time for your family or you are working intensively every day on the computer.
both are very difficult
and believe me I know best.
I have brought up two Children on my own,it was not easy.
But marketing is difficult for me because I still have problems with the technology,
all I wish for you, stay as you are, even if your members miss you a bit
on the Net.
Greetings from Germany Inge Feiler
Outsourcing only great for those marketers that have budget and not suitable for newbies that lack of budget for outsourcing.
Delegation and prioritize your task is wise ideas seem you need more time with your lovely baby! Hope that your business continue to flourish!
To Your Success
Bryan Hee
*Download 247 ways to drive traffic to your blog now from my website!
Baby is a very good, as not to say THE BEST, teacher is my life. I hope it’s in yours, too. You have work hard to do what must to do with the Baby-Adam.
He teach us how to split our whole day of live to be the beautiful pieces of living meat….
Be blessed…
Dear Richard,
Great post! I am amazed how much you are still doing even with little Adam around!
I think the outsourcing is a great idea. I am at the point with my Internet Marketing that I am seriously considering it. I mean, it can take me 3 days (!!!) to write one measly article, and I know of sources where I could get an article written for $5, so I think that would be a good idea.
Of course, there is the money issue for all the bigger things, and it is great to have a go yourself. There are many fantastic free resources on the net which can help you with pretty much anything. But again, time is a crucial factor.
In the end everybody has to decide themselves what they are going to do.
Have fun with Adam!
And special greetings to Inge Feiler who wrote the comment just above – I am from Germany, too, even though I live in Australia
Hi Richard,
Post Adam’s pics on this blog from time to time, I love to see.
Wariya
When we start to have children, it really does force us to change the way we do things. At least you’re a guy and don’t have to work with a baby hanging on to your boobies
Yes Richard,
Being a first time father takes up a lot of your time as your time is not your
time. Bay needs to be fed, diaper to change, baby need to be pacified when he cries. Not only that, the first one is always the most precious so you spend a lot of time on him/her.
Anyway, you do need to outsource so that you can spend more time with
Adam. In any case, you have more than enough to share, so why not share with those
who need that income? š For us who are still struggling, outsourcing is
not an option until we have started making some income.
You’re the best.
Amelia
Richard – You know how, as a little boy, you used to stand against the wall? – and ask your Dad to make another pencil mark at your head-height, so you could check how much you’d grown?
Well, one of my Mentors said … “You don’t need a mark on the wall for your son, as long as there’s a man around the house, about the size he’d like to measure up to!”
Seeing your Attitude in what you write, and the way you write it, your little fella already has the right measurement ahead of him!
God Bless You and your Precious Family,
Len Stevens. Cape Town, South Africa.
I bet it can. As long as you are up with the baby, you might as well knock out some work online!
Congrats again!
Thanks
Bryan
Sounds like you got yourself a new work schedule.
Congratulations with the baby, hope all is going well
You will probably be able to get some work done while up at night!
Outsourcing really is an awesome thing. I use elance
Thanks
One of the most important things that you will ever do is spending time with your family. Yes, you need to make mucho dollars to support that family. However, time spent doing things with them and actually caring for them creates priceless memories. When Adam is grown and out on his own you will cherish the time you spent together.
I have raised a couple of boys and never seemed to have enough dollars or time to do everything that I wanted to do with them. Now they are grown and on their own. Even though I did the best that was possible with my time and dollars, I wish that it could have been more. Kids grow up so unbelievably fast.
I know that a common concern when people are getting started is that they don’t have the budget to get going.
Here’s what I would recommend …
Skip going to Starbucks for a week, or take a sandwich to work instead of buying lunch, skip eating out for a couple of weeks.
Make a small sacrifice to save a few bucks (If you really *have* to, it’s surprising what you can save) and use this to start with.
Even if you only save $5 to get one article written, that article could make you your first sale.
If that sale is only $10, now you can get 2 more articles written to generate even more traffic.
Then start to build on that. Reinvest your profits into your business so that you slowly start to have more of a “budget”.
I know there are many people out there who have serious financial difficulties, but if you can find just one thing to sacrifice for your business, that can give you the initial capital you need to get going.
When I first started I was in college working up to 30 hours a week part time just to pay for rent and food. I “invested” $10 to make my first sale and built on that.
You *can* do it too!
Richard
Well, just to say, congrates for the baby, Adam! And just to say I hope you can find that someone that could do your work for you, as I’m also not a writer or a seller. I also, can’t seem to get any of these Internet Businesses off the ground working for me, or the Affiliate Marketing.
So, thanks anyway, and I hope you and Christine the best!
Tari
Hi Richard,
We all know losers always whine, and winners never do. A new infant in our lives, can physically exhaust us, yet forces us to take a step back to see things differently, delegation being one for example. Emotionally it is also a period of welcome relief and reinforces our belief system whic is always good. Appreciate your support of the team at home as well as to all of us. Have not made a buck yet online but know it will happen. Thanks to you,
Henry
congrats on the newborn Rich.
my toughest chalenge is to focus on what i need to do to be successful. any tips??