☕ How to Afford Help When You Can Barely Afford Coffee

Ian Terry
Apr 25
2 min read

Delegation for the broke-but-determined business owner.

If you’re drowning in to-dos, burning out, and telling yourself,

“I’ll outsource once I’m making more money,” —you're not alone. But here’s the truth: you can’t grow until you let go.

Even if you're broke, you can afford help. You just have to get scrappy and strategic.

Let’s break down how to get support without blowing your budget or selling your soul.

🧠 First: What’s Your Time Worth?

If you want to make $60,000/year, your time is worth ~$30/hour. Spending 4 hours on Canva instead of serving clients? That’s $120 in lost income.

This is how you start thinking like a CEO—even if you're a one-person show.

💡 The 3 Types of Help You Can Afford (Right Now)

🧩 1. Task Swaps / Skill Trades

Know another business owner who’s also bootstrapping? Trade skills.

You edit their blog posts, they design your flyers. You help set up their Google Business page, they take new headshots for your website.

✅ Post in local Facebook groups or ask on Threads/Instagram:

“Looking to trade services—I need help with X, I can offer Y.”

💰 Cost: $0 💥 Value: Mutual growth, real connections

🤖 2. Use AI as a Virtual Assistant (No, Really)

Don’t sleep on AI tools. They're not replacing humans—but they can take 30–50% of your busywork off your plate.

Try:

ChatGPT – Blog outlines, emails, ideas, templates
Trello + Butler – Automate checklists
Zapier – Link your apps together (ex: auto-send leads to a spreadsheet)

✅ Pro Move: Use AI to prep the work, then bring in a real human for polish.

💰 Cost: $20–$50/mo 💥 Value: Hours back + mental clarity

👥 3. Hire a Micro VA (2–5 Hours a Week)

You don’t need full-time help. You need someone who:

Organizes your inbox
Schedules posts
Uploads blog content
Sends follow-ups

Start with:

“I need someone for 2 hours/week at $10/hour to handle [insert 1-2 clear tasks].”

✅ Platforms:

OnlineJobs.ph (good for longer-term hires)
Fiverr or Upwork (for specific tasks)
Magic – on-demand, higher-end but flexible

💰 Cost: $20–$50/week 💥 Value: Game-changer when used right

🧘‍♂️ Mindset Shift: Buying Back Mental Bandwidth

You’re not just paying for tasks—you’re paying to stop thinking about them.

That mental space? Worth its weight in gold.

You can’t afford to stay stuck doing everything forever.

🙌 Final Tip:

Start by outsourcing one tiny thing you hate. Then take the time you save—and use it to make money. That’s the loop.

💥 Starter Kit Coming Soon: “Your First VA Task List” – A done-for-you starter system to delegate confidently (without micromanaging).

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