Homemade Pickles: The Triple Win of Quality, Cost, and Time
Find the solutions that create a win-win-win by increasing value or quality, decreasing costs, and reducing time.
Often when dealing with numbers, there’s a feeling of win or lose; abundance or scarcity. Increase revenue and work everyone to death, or decrease expenses and stall revenue.
But there is a 3rd option:
Find the solutions that create a win-win-win by increasing value or quality, decreasing costs, and reducing time.
This is the goal of every business, and it is challenging. So if you’re thinking, how is this possible? Let me tell you about homemade pickles.
Over the holidays, I thought it would be fun to make homemade pickles with my daughter. I presumed there was some magic in making pickles, easier to purchase than make at home. Maybe it would take me 4 hours and not be worth the time, or perhaps they would taste terrible. So I was eager to find out.
And guess what? They were SUPER easy to make, incredibly cheap, and tasted WAY better than store-bought (in my opinion).
It was a WIN-WIN-WIN in quality, cost, and time.
Homemade pickets are healthier & taste better (quality), are cheaper (cost), and can take less time.
Let’s review the 3 wins and break them down for the pickles
Win #1 - Quality:
In this case, quality is subjective but let’s rate 2 metrics on scale of 1/10
Tastes - 10/10 - I think thesis are 100% better than store-bought - though that may be up to you to decide
Health - 10/10 - these are fresh, no dyes, no added spices, sugar or anything else
Win #2 - Cost:
2 cucumbers: $0.99 x 2 = $1.98
1 bunch of dill: $2.29
Salt (on hand, so $0)
White Vinegar: 1/3 of a bottle = $1.39 x 0.33 = $0.46
Total Cost: $4.73 for 4 8oz Jars (price per ounce = $0.15)
Comparison: Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle 20oz $5.49 (price per ounce = $0.28)
WINNER: Homemade (and yes, it's still cheaper if you do organic pickles)
Win #3 - Time:
20 minutes + waiting for a few days while doing other things* vs 1 hr + clean up doing baking with my kids
WINNER: Homemade pickles
I consider my pickle-making a win-win-win!
Now, Let’s apply this to a business example:
A few ways this can be done are: by hiring a virtual assistant, implementing a software automation tool, and streamlining processes & procedures. Reminder- the goals are to increase value (quality), decrease costs, and reduce time.
Example: Hiring a Virtual Assistant
I often encourage owners to look at hiring a virtual assistant because it’s the #1 easiest way to free up time to do more selling & building. It allows owners to focus solely on their zone of genius by delegating tasks to someone else.
Let’s review how this can be a WIN-WIN-WIN:
WIN #1: Increased value (quality):
Ideally, you’re hiring someone awesome who is doing the tasks as well as you (once they’re up to speed), and if not, then evaluate if they’re the right fit; you need to retrain or find someone else.
The real value here is that you, the business owner, become more valuable because you spend more time on higher value-add tasks like generating revenue, serving customers, or building the product.
WINNER: Virtual Assistant
Win #2: Decreased cost:
In a previous blog, I outline the cost savings and ROI of a VA: You can read the full blog here: https://www.financefightclub.com/blog/hiring
Here’s the breakdown of costs:
Let’s assume your time is worth $150/hour (don’t worry if you’re not billing hourly - use this as a placeholder for now)
Let’s assume you need a VA to take 20/hrs of work/week at $35/hour
Let’s assume you can now spend an additional 15/hrs/week on generating sales. For this example- let’s assume you can generate $150/hr * 15 hrs/week * 4 weeks = $9,000 in extra revenue each month.
Your VA will cost $2,800/ month and allow you the ability to generate $9000 in revenue .
That’s a 321% ROI ($9000/$2800 or Your “extra” revenue (increase in revenue) divided by the cost of the investment)
Please take this away: yes you added “expense” of $2,800 and yes you should have that cash ready to be paid out, but you are reducing your costs by not paying yourself $150/hr what it costs a VA to do for $35/hr. That’s where the “savings” comes in. This can feel counterintuitive, but it’s key to understanding.
WINNER: Virtual Assistant
Win #3: Decreased Time
This should be super clear- as long as your VA is doing what they are supposed to be doing, are the right fit, and are fully up to speed, you will save time!
WINNER: Virtual Assistant
A Virtual Assistant is a simple example that can have immense value for your business. Software automation is another area where you can see HUGE win-win-wins when done correctly. A software can: streamline a customer deliverable or product, take time away from what a human can do, and still be high quality. Please note, however, that this can be a double-edged sword, and I wouldn’t go long into automation without fully understanding the consequences.
Finding the triple win for quality, cost, and time is the goal of every business, and it is a challenge. The best places to start are the simple ones - who can you hire to increase revenue and reduce leadership time, and what can you automate via software? By creatively analyzing your financials regularly with a CFO or on your own, you’ll begin to see more ways to find those win-win-wins.
