Your time is worth more than you think – Vinay Rathod discusses when to say ‘no’ and the dangers of undervaluing yourself.
‘Value’ is such a subjective word, a term which means different things to different people. To some of us, value comes from quality and longevity while some want the lowest cost available.
So what is your value? What is the value of your time? What are you worth per hour?
Most of you will be calculating how many hours you work so that you can figure out what to divide your net profit or salary by… but it isn’t your hourly rate we want to know, it’s your hourly worth that we want to establish.
Don’t undervalue yourself
The majority of you are probably undervaluing yourselves… let me explain.
If an associate has a net profit of £100,000 and works 48 weeks a year, this may translate to £2083 a week → £416 a day → £52 per hour (before tax).
For those simply self-employed, after our beloved HMRC take their cut, you are left with, assuming the same 48 week year and eight hour working day, £35 per hour.
You pay for your annual leave when you are self-employed. This means any annual leave you take costs you the equivalent of what you would have made, had you remained at work.
But this is still not your hourly worth… your hourly worth is in essence; the hourly sum one would have to pay you to leave the comfort of your home and family, on a day off/weekend/evening, to go back to work.
Yet despite this, how many of you will do a menial task, something you don’t enjoy, to save ‘a few bob’…? Have you saved as much as you could have earned, spending the same amount of time either at work, or toward progressing your career?
How many will spend hours over their weekends to save £100 on their home or car insurance renewal? How many have taken a task in hand when otherwise faced with a bill to have someone do it for you?
Have you stopped to consider what that time was worth to you, and whether you have acted frugally? Or inadvertently, wastefully?
Delegate, delegate, delegate
Have you ever noticed that the truly wealthy people never appear to do anything themselves? I am not talking about the WAGs or crypto bros… but people who have earned, built, and created wealth and whose continued actions have a financial value to their net worth.
These people will, wherever possible, delegate – as they recognise their value, either at work or of their free time. They will spend a set amount of time at work, and whatever time is left is valued so highly that no task is worth their personal free time being sacrificed.
While I consider myself far from truly wealthy, as my professional commitments become more time consuming and valuable I aim to delegate and outsource any aspect of my personal commitments and tasks I am realistically able to.
I am fortunate enough to have a work diary that gets filled up quickly and consistently, and I always have irons in the fire to work on if the diary is less demanding. But when I am off the clock, I am off the clock… and people will be there to do as many things as possible for me, to allow me to have time with my family. There is very little that I could think of doing that would make me want to spend any of that time – to save some money.
Learn to say no
One of the lessons learned as the years pass by, as both business grows and the family grows, is that there are more people asking you for your time. The more successful and wealthy one becomes, the more people want to ask for your time.
Social events, professional events, colleagues asking for your advice, the young and aspirational wanting to benefit from your expertise etc. The better you get at life, the more people want a slice of you, and you can’t wait for someone else to point this out; they probably haven’t figured this out yet either.
It is easy to think you are going to have enough time to fit it all in, but the most difficult word I have learned to say more frequently is ‘no’.
Your time has a value, and most of the people reading will likely have spent their time inefficiently this month, this week, maybe even today. Human nature is present in us all, and there is always some desire to not hand over your hard-earned money to another person, especially if you know you could ‘do it yourself’.
There is a finite sum of money in your account, on your tax return, in your savings, so it’s only logical to be careful with it. And I am the last person to advocate frivolity and careless spending.
But the same is true of your time – it is not endless, and unlike your money, it could all suddenly be taken away from you with no warning.
So, maybe we should be more careful with our time than we are with our money, and by calculating the true value of your free time, you can truly budget efficiently your most valuable asset.
For more information on financial solutions for dentists, visit vrfs.uk.
