Building vs. Outsourcing: Lessons from a Bathroom Remodel 🏗️🛁

Deciding when to outsource product development work is always a challenge. 

We’ve been using a recent bathroom remodel project as an analog for a development program, and discussing reasons to say Yes or No to hiring outside help.

Here are a few real examples, and the reasons behind each choice:

Design / Layout - No

I love designing stuff. Researching options, understanding the customer’s wants and needs (my wife this time ☺️), and putting it all together into something well thought out and special brings me joy. And this project was small enough that it was fun to learn a new design language.

Demolition - Yes to a helper

Tearing everything out doesn’t take much experience, but it does take time. In this case, I hired a young helper to work alongside me, helping him gain some experience, and helping me parallel path by starting framing while demo was still underway.

Drywall - Yes, 100% outsourced

I’ve never been good at drywall. I don’t really want to be good at drywall. There was a lot of drywall work to be done. I know a good drywall guy that I’ve worked with before and I trust to do a good job. This was a no brainer. He did the work (quite well!), and I got a couple days of my life back.

Tile - Yes, coworker / trainer

I severely underestimated the amount of time the wall and floor tile would take - I’m inexperienced, so not surprising! I started into it myself, focusing on the parts that I cared about the most, like the envelope cuts in large format tile for the shower pan that I’d designed in CAD 😄. I soon realized I wasn’t moving fast enough to stay on a reasonable schedule, so started looking for help. Eventually, I found a great guy who was willing to work with me, sharing his experience with me while still letting me contribute to the project. Another win-win scenario. I learned a lot from him. He made good money helping me and carrying a lot of the workload. I ended up with a great product that I still feel ownership over.

Deciding when to outsource product development work is always a challenge, and my recent bathroom remodel provided a perfect analogy. Here's a quick rundown of the choices I made:

• Design/Layout - No: I enjoy the process of designing and research, especially when it’s a small, hands-on project.

• Demolition - Yes: It’s low-skill, but time-consuming. I hired a helper to speed things up and help them gain experience.

• Drywall - Yes, 100% outsourced: I know my limits here. I hired a pro to save time and get a great result.

• Tile - Yes, coworker/trainer: I underestimated the complexity, so I found a skilled coworker who helped me learn while still letting me contribute.

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In all cases, it was about leveraging my time and expertise where it mattered most. The parallels to product development are clear: focus on what you do best, bring in experts where needed, and don’t be afraid to learn and collaborate along the way.

-Brian Schoolcraft