The Most Expensive Words in Business: ''We'll Do It Ourselves''

The most expensive words in business are ''We'll do it ourselves''. I explain why DIY drains time, momentum, and cash, and how expert support accelerates growth. Avoid compounding hidden costs by delegating what you shouldn't own ...

Most expensive words, In the world of business, Time matters

I recently had a proposal turned down. I think seeing the reality of spending money on non-growth work made them feel like they should just do it themselves. Sure, save cash and feel in control, but when you don't fully understand the implications you're signing up for (or in this case, not signing up for), that mindset quietly becomes a cost multiplier.

The real question isn't whether it's expensive, but whether
you can actually afford to do it yourself!

I understand the instinct: save cash, preserve control. Yet the hidden bill arrives later, which causes rework, delays, and lost momentum. The question isn't whether external expertise costs money; it's whether you can afford the compounding cost of distraction, missteps, and slow execution.

Are you clouding your own strategy with sentiment? Founders need not be experts in finance, operations, compliance, or delivery. That is why specialists like me exist. Our value is speed, clarity, and repeatable outcomes. You should hire specialists because they compress timelines and de-risk decisions.

That is precisely how I protect your growth capacity - and it is why the most expensive words in business are also the most misleading.

Research consistently shows founders bleed time into low-impact meetings, admin, and firefighting. If even 40% of that time is redirected toward selling, partnerships, or strategic growth, revenue moves quickly. Founders are the primary sales engine. Every hour not spent on high-leverage work is an invisible tax on the business.

So what's the real cost of DIY?

"Cheap today" often becomes "very expensive tomorrow". Designing policies or systems without context invites failed audits, rework, and loss of confidence. That is money twice spent - and time you never get back. Expert support prevents layers of breakdown. It is not a luxury; it is operational risk management. Ignore this, and you will rediscover the most expensive words in business the hard way.

• Start-ups need to buy speed, not bureaucracy: At launch, passion fuels progress, but time is finite. If your energy is trapped in back-office friction, you're surviving, not scaling. A Fractional COO can fix dysfunction with precision and pace - turning ambiguity into motion. That is not additional cost; it is reclaimed momentum.
• And scale-ups are where founder gravity slows everything: As teams grow, founder involvement in everything becomes the bottleneck. Decisions stall. Teams disengage. Progress drifts. Delegating to trusted operators such as myself is a deliberate strategy for speed and expansion, not a concession. The most expensive words in business show up when leaders confuse oversight with ownership.

What to delegate first:

• Compliance and risk: recurring, specialist-led, and unforgiving if mishandled.
• Finance operations: cash clarity beats cash leakage.
• Delivery operations: repeatability scales; heroics do not.
• Strategic projects: high-stakes initiatives need dedicated operators, not evening efforts.
• Admin and scheduling: every reclaimed hour compounds into pipeline.
  

So, how do you decide on what to delegate to your new Fractional COO? Well, is this work repeatable, high risk, or outside your core competence? What is the cost of delay in terms of lost customers, morale, and if you freed up 40% of my week, what revenue could you unlock?

The most expensive words in business are
simply a mirage of control!

My role as your Fractional COO involves allowing you to delegate that 40% to me, because when you let go of the 'wrong work', capacity multiplies. That is how to protect time, momentum, and money.

And how you unlock growth that actually compounds.

Until next time ...

STEPH BIRCH
Founder & Transformation Catalyst

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About Steph Birch ...
With over 17 years of hands-on experience, Steph is that rare unicorn who’s done it all - and done it brilliantly. From transforming scrappy contact centres into high-performing hubs, to leading full-scale functions across finance, tech, product, data, compliance, sales and more - she’s scaled it, fixed it, or rebuilt it from the ground up. Steph’s superpower? Blending big-picture strategy with sleeves-up execution. She’s led operational strategy at board level in industries like Insurance, SaaS, Tech and BPOs — and knows how to drive results whether she’s supporting a scrappy founder or steering a complex enterprise. She’s passionate about people, powered by data, and obsessed with making operations smoother, smarter, and future-ready.  Are you ready to go from firefighting to future-focused, without losing the heart of your business?

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