Jul 03 2020 36 mins 1
Full Transcript:
Josh:
I'm the co-pilot today, right?
Ben:
Co-pilot. Yeah, yeah. So today we're flying without Star. Star is not feeling well, so today is just the two of us.
Josh:
And I have been on vacation. Well, I am on vacation.
Ben:
Yeah.
Josh:
Sticking my head up.
Ben:
We are so into FounderQuest that we even come in on vacation to record an episode.
Josh:
Yeah. I don't know. It's nice to keep the schedule. I don't know. I've been trying to take a lot of vacations, so if we didn't record every time one of us was on vacation, then I feel like we wouldn't have a very consistent schedule.
Ben:
That's true. Yeah. So how is your vacation treating you?
Josh:
Alright. It's really a staycation so far.
Ben:
Right. I think all vacations are staycations for a while.
Josh:
Yeah. I've looked at bookings, to go to places. I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to deal with any of the stuff that's going on right now.
Ben:
Certainly.
Josh:
Or take the risk. Then if we did go somewhere, we still have two toddlers. We're better equipped here at least to manage two toddlers who are bored, and there's only so much hiking you can do with a two year old.
Ben:
Yeah. So no trip to Disneyland this summer?
Josh:
Not so far, unless my in-laws decide that they want to watch the kids for a few days or something then we can get away. But so far, that's not looking too likely at the moment.
Ben:
Well, I'll tell you what. All you got to do is wait 10 to 15 years, and it will be great.
Josh:
Only 10 to 15 years. Yeah, yeah.
Ben:
Yeah.
Josh:
So, I don't know. I've been eyeing a bass guitar for a while, and I'm trying to talk myself into finally buying it right now. But I don't know, I'm still debating.
Ben:
Yeah.
Josh:
There's a chance I'll pick one up.
Ben:
Yeah, yeah. The pandemic is a great time to learn new things, right?
Josh:
Yeah. I think that a lot of people are thinking that way, and driving different parts of the economy.
Ben:
Now, you already played a keyboard, right?
Josh:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah. I play piano and guitar, and I actually had a bass for a while. It was borrowed, but I liked it. I liked having it around just to funk around on it.
Ben:
Yeah.
Josh:
Yeah. But now I want to get a big stack from a garage because I don't have enough cool stuff in there already.
Ben:
You need to take out some extra insurance on the stuff that's in your garage now.
Josh:
I know. If that garage burns down, I'm done for.
Ben:
Yeah. You got to declare that stuff, man. Those insurance companies, they don't mess around.
Josh:
Yeah. Speaking of that how's your bathroom situation?
Ben:
Yeah. My bathroom is still not great. So it's amazing how unresponsive contractors can be. I really don't get it. I sent out a bunch of requests to people like, "Hey, here's my situation, and I want to hire someone to help me fix it." And I would say 70% of the people just didn't even respond. I don't know what their sales process is like or if they're super busy right now or what the deal is, but how do you stay afloat in the business-
Josh:
Really?
Ben:
... when you're not responding to leads? I don't know.
Josh:
Yeah. That's a good question.
Ben:
Yeah. So, I still haven't selected a contractor, so the chances of me of actually just doing it myself are increasing as the days go by. I've been watching the YouTube videos to learn how to-
Josh:
Really?
Ben:
... install a new tub, things like that. So my confidence is growing slowly, so I just might actually do it. We'll see.
Josh:
I've had the same thoughts a few times. I should really learn how to do stuff around my house if I'm going to be a homeowner, and then I've also had the thought that maybe I shouldn't own a house, and I should be renting in the first place. There's that whole camp that I don't think ... They're not wrong.
Ben:
So the whole economic theory of you should maximize your ... I don't know what the exact phrase is. I can't remember what the term is, but basically you should focus on what you're good it and pay people to focus on what they're good at, right?
Josh:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ben:
So the economist in me is arguing for me not to do my bathroom myself because that doesn't make any sense, right?
Josh:
Yeah.
Ben:
Pay someone to do it. They can do a better job than I can.
Josh:
It's like comparative advantage or it's the whole specialization thing, and yeah. Same.
Ben:
But on the flip side, there's the whole ... It would be kind of cool like, "Hey, I did that." Right?
Josh:
Yeah.
Ben:
I put that in there, and there may be a mistake here and there, but that's my sweat and tears, and probably blood.
Josh:
It's also knowing how to at least do some of the smaller things would be useful because at some point, finding good contractors, and then managing them, and getting the work actually done, that's a whole job in itself.
Ben:
Wait, are we talking about bathrooms or are we talking about software development?
Josh:
Yeah. That applies everywhere. Yeah. The whole management aspect of any kind of contractor project.
Ben:
Yeah.
Josh:
At some point, it really does feel like it would be more efficient just for me to do it if I learned how or something.
Ben:
Yeah. Pro tip for all those freelancers out there is A) Be responsive to leads. B) Maintain good communication so that you don't have to put a lot of load on the person that's hiring you.
Josh:
Yeah. That whole management overhead thing is huge, and I run across it very infrequently in contractors I work with in both industries. But yeah. That's like a super power, having that skill of managing yourself, and actually driving the communication with the client, and making sure their needs are met, and all of that.
Ben:
Yeah. We've had projects from time to time, that I know that you've discussed that you think, "Well, it would be nice to do this, but I don't have a lot of time. I could hire it out, but then I have to have all the time to manage hiring it out." So it's a big deal for actually getting out that work to actually have someone that can actually just do it, and not to spend all your time managing them.
Josh:
It's also tough when you possess a lot of specialized knowledge that needs to be transferred to whoever does the work, at least if I have a specific way I want it to happen. Like I'm a perfectionist, and I want it to happen my way, but not do it. Personally, maybe that's a problem with me. Just like giving up and letting someone else solve the problem their own way. But there is knowledge transfer that you can take time depending on what the job actually is, which I think that's when argument for hiring someone who's going to stick around longer, and hopefully absorb, and be able to utilize that information for a longer period of time versus having to ... They have to learn all this special stuff about our business and problems, and then they move on in a couple of months, and you got to teach someone else how to do it.
Ben:
Yeah. I saw a Tweet this week that is related to that, and I thought it was interesting. I'll have to see if I can go and find it again for the show notes, but I'm going to roughly paraphrase it because I don't remember exactly what it said. But the thrust of the message was be satisfied with 8...
