The Best Business Investments for Newbies

Hey, heart-centered lady. Are you at the start of your business and wanting some guidance on the best places to invest? Well, today we're talking about just that! If you don't approach this topic the right way, you can end with the same problem that I have when I go to Target without a shopping list - I end up coming home with way too many things that I didn't intend to buy. I don't know about you, but when I don't have a list, and I go into target, I end up coming home with all sorts of things that I didn't actually need. This is because target has great marketing and beautiful, shiny, wonderful things.

At the start of our business, we want to be really responsible with how we're spending our money so that we make sure that if it takes us a little bit of time to start creating profit and an income that we're not having to quit. We want to be sure we are setting ourselves up to be sustainable with our investments.

What is I would love for you to do is just sit, think through, and jot down what you need right now in your business. Before you look at what people have to offer or what sales are going on online, think through "What is it that I actually need? What is it that I’m wanting to invest in?” Then, go out there and look for it and intentionally, savvily - is that a word? - look to buy it.

Practical Guidance for Investing Early

If you want some practical guidance in this area, I’m going to tell you some of the key investments I made early in my business that I feel served me.

Photos:

One of the things I invested in early on was quality photos, photos that I feel like really helped up the professionalism of my website and my online presence. This is something that you can do. If you have a photographer friend, you can potentially do a swap of trades, but I really believe before you invest in a huge, epic website, having some professional photos can be helpful.

Business Coach:

Another thing that I invested in was a business coach. The first thing I bought was a single business coaching session, because I wasn't quite ready to commit to a full package. I felt like, "You know what? I'm going to see how it feels about this coach." I bought a single session, and then later on, I bought a month-long package, and after that, I invested in something even bigger.

Knowing for you, 'What is it that I need?' is so important.

For me, the reason I invested in that single session is because I knew I needed strategy, and at that time, I was having trouble picking my niche and message. I think I shared with you before, my biggest fear was picking the wrong thing and wasting time. So, I thought, "I’m going to invest in a single session with someone that can give me some strategy, so I can know that how I spend those 90 days - or committed period of time - pushing forward in my business is worth it." I'll know that I’m not wasting my time, because this is a strategy that I’ve discussed with someone who has had experience and knows what they're doing.

I feel like that was a really good strategy for me - investing in a single session with a business coach - because it really forced my mind to commit to my message and be consistent, which helped me to be profitable at the end of the day in my business.

Help Around the House:

Another thing I invested in was someone to help with laundry early in my business. I know; you're thinking, "Anna, how is that a business investment?" The reason it was so helpful for me is because housework was something that mentally kept me distracted, and when I didn't want to do the things in my business that I had to do to really move it forward, I’d be like "Oh! Well, there's a pile of laundry sitting there I have to do and a full sink of dishes to wash," and I found myself easily avoiding uncomfortable but necessary parts of my business. Investing in just few hours a week for someone to help me around the house really freed me up to put my mental energy toward my business. Also, I built my business while I was working a part-time job, so it allowed me to be present with my son in the times I wasn’t working. I no longer had to feel like I had to like split my attention between my son and housework. So, it was a really business investment that has served me so, so well.

What is Holding You Back in Your Business?

So, think outside the box too: what is it that's holding you back in your business? What is a weak point for you? What's keeping you from taking fierce action? Then, I would recommend investing in things moving forward.

Once your business is off the ground and profitable, then I think you can invest to a whole other level: bigger strategists and people that are going to help you move forward in your business. For me, an investment I recently made was branding; I really needed a clear brand, which definitely influences the professionalism of your web presence. But I feel like a lot of that isn't necessary from the get-go, because you're building relationships one-on-one, and you really don't need to invest in those bigger, leveraging-type things yet. Once your business is profitable, then you can begin to decide how you leverage your time and energy, and how you build relationships with multiple people at once - for example, using sales funnels or more fancy email sequences and the like. But, in the beginning, since you are just building it one-on-one, you should think through, "Okay, what investments are appropriate for me right now?" And then, like we discussed at the beginning of this video, once you have your list and you know what you need, then go out there and fiercely find it and invest it in your business! I think it's important to invest from the start, and every step along the way, ask yourself, "Okay, what does my business need most right now?"