Is BYO or DIY worth it for salary statements? Learn when doing it yourself is practical and when expert help is essential for complex tasks.
Introduction: Abbreviations in Everyday Business
ARD, ZDF, C&A, BRD, DDR and USABSE, THC and DRK GbR, GmbH - screw you. We are not the Fantastic Four, but abbreviations such as CEO, CFO, etc. still accompany us in everyday business life. Two main questions arise in connection with the salary statement. BYO and DIY
BYO – Bring Your Own: A Misunderstanding at a Party
On my first trip to Australia, I met a lovely lady at the bar in a pub. She spontaneously invited me to a party on her roof terrace the next evening. At the time, I didn't quite understand what she meant by BYO. When I turned up at the party that evening, I quickly realized that BYO had nothing to do with the music, the guests or the location, but stood for Bring Your Own, which means "bring your own".
This question comes up again and again in day-to-day business. Do I have to use a standard template or can I use my own "BYO" format? You can design the payslip however you like. It's the content that counts. The same applies to the employment contract. The salary statement is not BYO. You must use the form that is binding for the whole of Switzerland. If a wage statement is not created fully automatically (e.g. with the SSK's eWage Statement), it must be signed. If you use your own form, the party will soon be over.
DIY – Do It Yourself: Lessons from Building a Kitchen
When we visited our current offices for the first time, we were thrilled. We took over the office without a kitchen. My business partner wanted to organize a craftsman to install the kitchen. I was of a different opinion. We could put that money to better use. My pride as a craftsman made itself felt "You can install a kitchen on your own; do your thing...". I planned the whole thing properly. Together with Dr. Google, I found the right supplier and selected the kitchen. After a day's work, everything looked tip-top. Only the dishwasher didn't want to work properly, the front cover was slanted and the joints at the back of the drain had to be sealed somehow.
The next morning I had to decide. Do it yourself (DIY) and invest another eight hours without the certainty that everything will work. Or put your ego on hold. A special colleague once said: "Fuck pride... Pride only hurts, but it never helps." In most situations in life, I don't share this view. But in relation to my "craftsman's pride" it was true. When I asked a specialist for help, I only felt a slight twinge. In the end, we invested another eight hours together until everything was working smoothly. We had to rebuild the whole kitchen because I made a mistake at the beginning.
Conclusion: Striking the Right Balance Between DIY and Expertise
The question of doing it yourself, doing it together with a specialist or delegating the entire activity arises again and again in the life of an entrepreneur. Especially at the beginning of a business idea, you want to do everything yourself if possible and save costs. However, the more complex a task is, the more worthwhile it is to bring in specialist knowledge.
