Getting Leaner and Meaner

Ok, not really meaner, but I am trying to streamline the business this year. I am approaching the maximum number of things I can make/hours to be worked in a year. I figure based on growth the past two years, I have two more years before I am only sleeping four hours a night and only taking a day off when my husband kidnaps me and takes me out of the country by force (ok, really he just shows up with non-refundable tickets and I can't say no).

So what is an artisan to do? Well for one thing I am trying to reclaim hours by doing things a little differently this year. I have bought some new equipment that will let me double my production. (This amounts to a second crock pot and some new trays to hold the lip balm tubes). What I used to do was make a batch every time I needed some. This meant hauling out the equipment, making the batch, cleaning the equipment, putting it away, and then printing the labels I needed. If I needed two kinds then I would clean the equipment, make a second batch, and then clean the equipment again before putting it away. Now I can make two flavors simultaneously. It doesn't half my time, but it does shave off a good 25%.

I also have decided to use some outside services. Instead of printing all my own labels, I have sent some out to be printed, saving me hours at the printer making sure it isn't jammed. By the time I looked at buying the labels and the ink and then factored in my time dealing with the printer malfunctions, it was actually less expensive to have them printed for me. Plus if they come out badly or crooked, I can go back to the printing company for a refund, I didn't have that option when I did them myself. I am having my flyers printed and folded by a copy and print service now too. No more standing at the paper folding machine putting in 20 pages at a time. Now a big box arrives and they are ready to go. Once again, by the time I factored in paper, ink, and time, the service was worth it.

It is scary to spend money on things I usually do myself, but I am at the point where I have to look at things from a different perspective. Should I spend four hours folding flyers or making soap? Even though many things I would do at night while relaxing after dinner, is that really relaxing after dinner? Is it better for me mentally to spend that time reading a book, going for a walk, or even just doing research into my next product rather than the mind numbing hours of folding a flyer?

So each day I try and reflect and see what I could do differently and to save some time. Sometimes these ideas do cost too much, or are not yet feasible, but they go on a list for maybe some time in the future. I never know when I may need them:)