“Done With You” Solutions… the Hottest Goldilocks Trend

Business owners feel busier today than ever before. There are so many things competing for our attention - email, social media, and the general day-to-day grind of running a company. Prioritization is often difficult for many entrepreneurs because everything seems to be equally important at first glance.

If you follow my blogs and podcasts, you know that I consistently talk about the benefits of systems and automation. Systems do the work FOR you, so you can scale your company and gain back free time. I always share productivity tips on how to build leverage with teams, processes, and automation so you can set it and forget it.

With ‘Do it Yourself’ (DIY) programs, some people are getting stuck implementing the program, or they get distracted and never start the program. Their bookshelves are stacked with DVDs and workbooks gathering dust – or still nicely displayed in the original shrink wrap packaging. Others say the DIY solutions take too long to learn without any support.

With ‘Done for You’ (DFY) programs, many business owners say the cost is out of reach for a small business budget. These solutions can also be more robust and complex than required for people just starting their companies. That’s why ‘Done with You’ (DWY) services are gaining popularity.

While the price of a DIY program may be reasonable in dollars, the opportunity cost and time is high. Yes, you are smart and can probably figure out lots of things on your own. But, at what cost? Wouldn’t you rather spend time and energy growing your business instead of learning something new all by yourself? DWY shortens the learning curve so you compress the time to get results.

Everyone learns differently. When you work directly with a coach or consultant, we adjust our teaching style to match how you learn. Most DIY self-study programs use audio, or audio with video. If you learn best by doing, you may struggle with a DIY program. The learning may feel like a lot of work since it’s not your preferred learning style. A learning style mismatch increases the chance that someone bails on the DIY program, and thus misses out on acquiring new skills for the business.

Many DIY programs pair you with an accountability partner – someone you meet with regularly in person or by phone to report your progress. This is positioned as a value-add, but in reality I found that very people keep the momentum. New students are enthusiastic at the start of a program, and meet with their accountability buddy for the first few weeks. Then life happens. The meetings get rescheduled, people miss calls, and slowly the accountability concept dies. This doesn’t happen with DWY as nothing gets done if the participant doesn’t show up. There’s instant accountability.

It’s sad that many of the people who invested in the GBA course just aren’t following the simple 90 day Action Plan. It’s not their fault. I understand how hard it is to stay committed to goals in this crazy, busy world. It’s happened to me when I’ve purchased other elearning courses, too. (By the way, the people who did complete the GBA course found an average of 11 more hours of free time in their week – congrats!)