The Best Investments We've Made
Running a small business comes with its fair share of challenges and uncertainties. As entrepreneurs, we're constantly seeking new ways to grow, innovate, and secure exciting opportunities. Amidst the ups and downs, one thing remains clear: strategic investments can be game-changers.
In this episode with Staci Millard, a fractional CFO and business mentor, we talk all about the best investments each of us has made in our own businesses, what implementations have made the greatest impact, and what you can think about before making your own investments. Read on to find out more about what can be learned from investment regrets and how to know why you’re investing in the first place.
Know Where Your Business Is At
The best investments are the incremental investments and changes you make. So many of us assume that an investment needs to be rooted in a five or six figure investment, when in actuality it comes down to the things that you can actually implement in your business and stick to. Magic can still happen via a $25 community, a freebie, or a networking event and we sometimes forget the impact that these smaller investments can have on our businesses.
To start, determine where your business is at. Oftentimes, we hear advice and see success from others, thinking we need to have what they have in order to achieve great things. However, these investments can actually be misaligned for us and pull us away from what we really need at the time.
Before making an investment, make sure that you also have the capacity or space to commit your time to it. You want to ensure that the skills you will be acquiring are what you want to be / should be focusing your time on. Play devil’s advocate and ask yourself: Is this a good investment for me? Does this align with my time? Will I be able to show up to a weekly call? Is this coach the mentor I want to be learning from right now? Am I outsourcing my success?
Feeling Unsure About A Potential Investment
Listen to your intuition on your investments. It’s okay for things to feel a bit scary or for them to stretch you a bit - however, things should not feel aggravating. When we make investments that make us feel bad, rarely do they pan out to become an incredible thing.
Don’t let someone else’s perception of your time or your schedule dictate what you can actually do. Ask yourself what season you’re in and confirm if this is something you can actually commit to. At the end of the day, you’re the only one who knows what’s best for you and your business.
We Invest For Different Reasons
There are so many reasons that we invest. You can invest to learn, to network, to take things off your plate…
Look at what budget these investments are coming out of - it could be a marketing investment or an educational investment. Then, determine how much money you are allocating to each.
For example, if you’re looking to learn something, determine what that thing is. Then you can start to make decisions around how valuable and beneficial this investment will be. When you become aware of why you’re investing, you show up differently.
Things To Consider When Investing In Mentorship or Coaching
If you’re thinking of investing in a mastermind or coaching program, conduct the “raving fan” test. Do these mentors and coaches have raving fans that stick with them over and over and over? This ultimately indicates that the quality of those rooms are excellent and worth the investment.
When you participate in these things, you surround yourself with other high-vibe people. What you learn from these experiences can be so valuable for you and your business, but also your relationships. The problem is that when we make such quality investments, the standard of those rooms becomes more and more scarce based on our exposure.
Kristina’s Best Investments
Kristina has found great value in investments that deliver on great mentorship and community:
Hina Khan’s Thinking Into Results Mastermind
Staci’s Best Investments
Staci has found great value in the things that uplevel her and her business versus acquiring tangible skills.
Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Habits Course
Maria’s Best Investments
Making Fiscally Responsible Investments
Any investment you make, in some way, is going to be a gamble. You can never know 100% what will come from it and what the ROI is going to be – personally or professionally. However, trying some of these things can teach you so much about what you actually need.
That being said, going all in on major investments with your last dollar will not save your business. You need to make investments that you can actually afford. The internet is so vast. There are likely many different ways and price points to learn what you want to learn or find community. You shouldn’t have to tap yourself out financially.
Reflecting After Making An Investment
Once you make these investments, look back at not only how you showed up, but also reflect on what you took away from the experience and what you wish you could have gotten out of it. These moments of reflection will impact how you choose to show up and connect with people, along with identifying what you’re going to look for and prioritize in the next room you show up in.