Sometimes the question isn't whether you can do something, it's whether you should. As a developer, I know I can build just about any software I need if I throw enough time at it. The real question is: how much time is it going to take, and is that time worth it? Sometimes it makes more sense to just buy something off the shelf and move on with your life.
Case in point: a little while ago I bought some color-changing LED lights for the outside of my house. I wanted to be able to dim them, and maybe set orange for Halloween or red and green for Christmas. Simple idea. I've got eight white lights out there, so I thought, no problem. I got out the ladder, climbed up, and did the first one. And that's when I realized it was a big pain in the ass. To do seven more of them would take me all day. Not to mention I only have vision in one eye, so I'm not exactly comfortable up on a ladder. My balance isn't great, and I'd prefer not to break a hip in the name of festive lighting. I love holiday spirit, but not enough to spend it in a neck brace. I already had cuts and scrapes on my hands from the sharp aluminum under the soffit where the lights were mounted after doing just one. That's when I decided to call in help. Sure, I could do it myself, but my time (and my delicate piano hands) are worth more than that. (1)
It's the same with plumbing. I can fix a simple clog or swap out a faucet, but if the problem is something deep in the pipes, I'm calling a plumber. Could I take apart the toilet, figure it out, and fix it myself? Probably. But it would take me the entire day, and honestly, I don't care enough about plumbing to want that skill in my toolbox. If a plumber can show up and fix it in twenty minutes for a hundred bucks, that's money well spent. When I was younger and broke, I had more time than money, so I'd tackle those jobs myself. Now my time is worth more, and I'd rather spend it doing something productive or enjoyable instead of learning how to snake a drain. Besides, once you've seen what comes out of those pipes, you can't unsee it. Also, I wouldn't want to accidentally scar my wife for life if she catches sight of my plumber butt.
This same logic applies to software. Just because you can build something doesn't always mean you should. I've seen plenty of business owners start out wanting to build their own Microsoft Access database. And that's great - if you want to learn it, if building databases excites you, if you enjoy the challenge, then by all means go for it. That's why I teach this stuff. But there comes a point when some people realize they'd rather spend their time running their business than writing VBA code and fixing bugs. That's when it might make sense to hire someone from my Developer Network to help.
Even then, though, I always encourage people to learn the fundamentals. Understand how tables, queries, and relationships work. Maybe dabble a bit in VBA. That way, if something goes wrong, you're not dead in the water. You'll also be able to talk to your developer in their language. Instead of saying, "I want a screen that shows stuff," you can say, "I need a cross-tab query that summarizes sales by month." That makes everyone's life easier.
Businessman Sy Syms once said, "An educated consumer is our best customer." The same applies here - an educated Access user is a developer's best client. If you know the basics, you'll get better results and you'll appreciate the work that goes into it. The same principle holds true in any field. If you're talking to a lawyer, it helps if you understand a few legal terms. If you're dealing with an electrician, it helps to know what a breaker is. And if you're dealing with a developer, it helps if you understand Access.
In business, it's always about time versus money. When you're just starting out, you usually do everything yourself. You handle your own bookkeeping, run payroll in Excel, answer every customer email, design your own marketing materials, and maybe even manage your own inventory. That makes sense when you're small and cash is tight. But as your business grows, your time becomes more valuable. Eventually, you realize it's worth paying for a service like Paychex, hiring an accountant, outsourcing customer service, or bringing in a marketing agency so you can focus on running and expanding your business instead of juggling all the little pieces yourself.
When I first started 599CD, I used to literally make my own CDs by hand. I burned them one by one, printed the labels, slipped them into envelopes, and drove them to the post office. It was time-consuming, but I was young, broke, and excited to be doing it. That was the scrappy startup phase. As things grew, I eventually realized it was worth outsourcing duplication and fulfillment to a professional service. Sure, I could still do it myself, but that time was better spent creating new lessons instead of standing in line at the post office. (2)
I used to build my own computers back in the 90s. It made perfect sense then. You could save a few hundred bucks by buying all the components yourself and assembling the machine piece by piece. When a good computer cost around $2000, that savings really mattered. Plus, there was some pride in booting up a system you built with your own hands. But times have changed. These days, buying a computer is like buying a toaster. Even I don't bother building them anymore. I just pick up a laptop and get to work. The only people who still build their own machines are gamers or hardcore enthusiasts who genuinely enjoy tweaking every little nook and cranny of what's inside the case. And that's great, because they're doing it for the passion, not just the savings. For me, hardware was never the fun part. I've always been more interested in what makes the thing tick once it's running. Plus building computers, once again, can be rough on the piano hands. So many sharp edges inside those cases.
In fitness, it's the same story. When I first decided to get serious about health back in my 30s, I was young and broke, and the idea of paying a personal trainer was laughable. I also hated going to the gym. I've never liked working out around other people, so I built my own home gym in the garage and did everything myself. This was before the internet was packed with fitness influencers, so I hit the bookstores instead. I read every book and magazine I could find on nutrition, weight training, and metabolism. I studied how the body works and how to eat properly. It took a lot of time, but it paid off. I built the knowledge from the ground up, and that was a valuable skill to learn.
The fact that I let myself go in my 40s wasn't because I didn't know better - it was because I moved to Florida and got lazy. Now that I'm back on track, I'm applying all that knowledge again. The difference today is that there's so much information online, and you have to be careful about what you follow. There are legitimate experts out there, but there's also a lot of nonsense. So before you let someone tell you that seed oils are evil or diet soda is toxic, check their credentials. Nutrition science is clear: seed oils aren't going to kill you, fats don't automatically make you fat, and the secret to weight loss isn't magic - it's calories. Measure your intake, move your body, eat real food, and stay consistent. It's not rocket surgery.
And if you don't want to spend months (years!) learning all that yourself, that's fine too. You can hire a personal trainer to teach you how to lift properly and a registered nutritionist to set up a plan for you. Just make sure they're actually qualified and not just someone who looks good in gym selfies. Whether you do it yourself or pay for expert guidance, the key is finding what works for you and actually sticking with it.
Philosophically, it's about deciding which skills you actually want to learn and which ones you're fine letting someone else handle. But there are some things you should never outsource, and thinking is one of them. You can hire someone to fix your plumbing, build your software, or run your payroll, but you can't delegate your worldview. Too many people just download their beliefs like a piece of off-the-shelf software and never question where it came from. Whether it's politics, religion, or whatever's trending on social media, it's easy to let someone else do the thinking for you. Don't just scroll to the end of the software agreement and click "I agree."
That doesn't mean you should ignore the experts, though. Quite the opposite. Trusting experts isn't blind faith - it's recognizing that they've spent their lives studying things you haven't. My electrician understands wiring better than I ever will, and my plumber knows how to fix things I'd probably just break worse. The same goes for virologists, immunologists, and astronomers. You could spend twenty years learning all of that yourself, or you could rely on the people who already have. The difference between science and dogma is that scientists constantly challenge each other. They don't protect bad ideas - they tear them apart. Believe me, I've seen that same instinct in Access developers. If one of us posts bad code or a wrong tutorial online, the rest of us are quick to call it out. Experts love catching other experts being wrong. That's how progress happens. You've seen me critique other bad articles, websites, and videos before.
So yes, build your own worldview, but use good tools and solid data while you do it. You don't have to reinvent the wheel every time, but you should at least understand how it turns. Think for yourself, question what you hear, but don't assume every expert is part of some grand conspiracy. Most of them are just people like me - nerds who care deeply about getting it right.
I still like hands-on projects when they're fun or I'll learn something from them. I installed a ceiling lifter in my garage - took me forever, but it was a good challenge. Would I do it again? No way. I'd hire it out. Same with assembling my home gym. It's all about whether I consider it work or play. If I enjoy it, I'll do it. If it feels like work, I'll gladly pay someone else.
Even in Star Trek, the same principle applies. In the Next Generation episode Booby Trap, Geordi La Forge nearly burns himself out trying to free the Enterprise from an energy-draining snare. He's brilliant, and given enough time he probably could solve the problem, but instead he does something smarter: he creates a holographic version of Dr. Leah Brahms, the engineer who originally designed the ship's engines. With her help, they find the solution together. Geordi could have kept struggling on his own for days - or years - and maybe never found the answer. The point is, even the best engineers know when to call in an expert. You don't always have to prove you can do it yourself. (3)
Sometimes the smartest thing you can build isn't software or hardware - it's free time. In the end, that's the only currency we really have that's worth anything.
LLAP
RR
(1) Side note: don't call an electrician for something a handyman can do. I probably paid three times as much because I didn't think that through. Lesson learned.
(2) I am so happy that everyone can stream video online now. Because shipping those CDs was a major pain and a huge time waste. And even after I was able to outsource it to a company that did that for me, you still got to deal with returns and broken disks, and it was just a nightmare.
(3) And yes, before anyone points it out, when the real Dr. Leah Brahms shows up later, she's understandably not thrilled to find out Geordi built a holographic version of her and spent a little too much time with it. Let's just say that episode didn't age well in today's HR environment.
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