Let’s be honest. When you first start your business, it makes sense to do everything yourself. You’ve got the stock in the spare room. You’re picking, packing, labelling, running to the Post Office. You’re saving money, right?
Well… yes and no.
Because while you think you’re saving, what you’re actually doing is bleeding your business dry in ways you probably haven’t even noticed.
Time is money (and you’re spending it badly)
Here’s the brutal truth. If you’re spending hours every week stuffing boxes, you’re not spending hours selling, marketing, or growing. You’re basically the most expensive warehouse operative in town – because you’re the founder.
Would you pay yourself £50 an hour to pack boxes? No? Then stop doing it.
Mistakes cost more than you think
Wrong items sent. Wrong addresses. Parcels lost. When you’re knackered and rushing, errors happen. And they don’t just cost the price of a replacement. They cost customer trust. And once you lose that, it’s really hard to win back.
The postage problem
Think you’re getting a good deal at the Post Office counter? Hate to break it to you – you’re not. Carriers give the best rates to companies sending out thousands of parcels a week. Which means if you’re DIY-ing, you’re paying over the odds.
It’s like going to Tesco and paying full price when you could be getting wholesale. Madness.
Your sanity has value too
Don’t underestimate the toll it takes. Endless evenings surrounded by cardboard, tape stuck to your elbows, rows with couriers when something goes missing. It’s draining. And it kills your enthusiasm for the business you started because you loved it.
You didn’t quit your job / risk your savings just to become a parcel packer, did you?
The hidden cost = growth you never get
The biggest hidden cost of all? Opportunity. While you’re busy juggling fulfilment, someone else is out there focusing on sales, building partnerships, smashing social media. They’re scaling while you’re stuck in packing purgatory.
What’s the alternative?
Outsource it. Hand the tape gun to someone else. Let a proper fulfilment team do the heavy lifting. You’ll save time, cut errors, get better postage rates – and most importantly, you’ll get your life (and your evenings) back.
So if you’re fed up with living in a warehouse, or you’re ready to stop being the cheapest labour in your own business – maybe it’s time to let Diamond take over.
Because your job isn’t to pack boxes. Your job is to build the business.
