Quick Summary
TL;DR: Founders who edit their own video quietly lose 20+ hours a week to importing footage, cutting, captioning, revising and exporting – time worth far more spent on sales, product and strategy. Outsourcing video editing to a subscription partner like ShortVids buys those hours back for a flat monthly fee, with 24-48 hour turnaround and no hiring overhead. #tldr
Buy back your week – stop editing, start leading!
Most founders do not realise how much time video eats until they add it up. A single polished long-form video plus its short-form cuts can swallow an entire working day – and if you publish weekly, that is a part-time job you never agreed to.
The demand is not slowing down either. 91% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool, and 38% of marketers say lack of time is their single biggest video challenge. (Source: Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2026) This is exactly why outsourcing video editing has become one of the highest-leverage decisions a founder can make.
How Much Time Does Editing Actually Take?
Outsourcing video editing saves a founder roughly 20 or more hours a week because a single weekly long-form video plus its short-form clips typically consumes 15-25 hours across importing, rough cuts, captions, revisions and exports – work a dedicated editing team absorbs entirely so you only spend minutes briefing and approving.
| The hidden cost of DIY editing is not the software – it is the founder-hours it quietly consumes.
Here is where the week actually goes when you edit one long-form video and repurpose it:
| Task | DIY time / week | With ShortVids |
|---|---|---|
| Importing & organising footage | 1-2 hours | 0 (you upload once) |
| Rough cut & story edit | 4-6 hours | 0 |
| Captions, graphics & branding | 3-4 hours | 0 |
| Repurposing into 5-10 Shorts | 4-6 hours | 0 (included) |
| Revisions & re-exports | 2-4 hours | 0 |
| Briefing & approving | – | ~30-45 min |
| Total founder time | 15-25 hrs | Under 1 hr |
See how many hours you would reclaim!
What Those 20 Hours Are Really Worth
Time is the one resource a founder cannot buy more of – so the real question is not “what does editing cost?” but “what is my hour worth doing something only I can do?”
- Sales you did not make: 20 hours is a full pipeline of discovery calls, follow-ups and proposals.
- Product and strategy: the deep work that actually grows the company rarely happens at 11pm after an export finishes.
- Burnout tax: editing is the task founders resent most, and resentment quietly kills publishing consistency.
Even valued modestly at $100/hour, 20 reclaimed hours a week is worth roughly $8,000/month of founder time – against a ShortVids plan that starts at $999. The math is not close.
Why a Subscription Beats Hiring or Freelancing
Founders usually consider three options. Only one actually gives the time back without creating a new management job:
- Hire in-house: $4,000-$6,000+/month plus recruiting, software and managing someone – you swap editing hours for management hours.
- Chase freelancers: cheaper per project, but sourcing, briefing and quality-checking eats the very time you were trying to save.
- Subscription editing: a dedicated team, flat monthly fee, unlimited requests and 24-48 hour turnaround – you brief and approve, nothing else. See how the model works.
ShortVids clients feel this immediately: one founder-led brand, Gene Slade, scaled from 50 to 150+ videos a month without hiring a single editor – because the production time moved off their plate entirely.
Your Takeaway!
Editing your own video is one of the most expensive things a founder can do with their time. Hand it to a dedicated team and you reclaim 20+ hours a week to sell, build and lead – for less than the cost of a part-time hire. Ready to buy your week back? Book a free strategy call →
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time does outsourcing video editing actually save?
For a founder publishing one weekly long-form video plus short-form clips, outsourcing typically saves 15-25 hours a week. You spend under an hour briefing and approving; the editing team handles everything else.
Is outsourcing editing cheaper than hiring an in-house editor?
Usually yes. An in-house editor costs $4,000-$6,000+ monthly plus management overhead. A ShortVids subscription starts at $999/month with no recruiting, software or supervision required.
How fast is the turnaround?
24-48 hours per request with unlimited revisions until approval, so a weekly publishing schedule stays on track without you touching the timeline.
Do I still control the creative direction?
Yes. You brief the vision and approve the final cut. The team executes to your brand guidelines – you keep the direction, you just stop doing the manual work.
