Why it is Important to Invest in Your Business

Investing in your business is one of the most important things you will ever do for it.  How you invest in your business may not be the same as everyone else but the key is to make sure that you are always putting something back into your business no matter its size or how much money you make.

I get it, when you are just starting out with a business, it may be hard to find the money for the basics let alone extra things whether they are helpful or not.   I’ve been there, but as my business has grown, I am finding that making some investments in how i run my company, the tools I am using, paying for good employees, etc. is essential and worth the investment!

I cannot tell you how many times I see in Facebook groups, in forums or even on Etsy, people claiming they can’t afford to use paid services, can’t buy their own domain or spend money on anything for their business because they don’t make enough money yet.  While it may be difficult to spend a lot of money on your business when you aren’t making anything, it’s also important to start training your brain early to see the value and importance of investing back into your business even if it isn’t a lot at first.  My goal today is to give you some good reasons why this is important because it will be the foundation for many future posts I’ll be sharing about growing your business.

Before I get into the whys, I want to point out that Investing in your business starts with a mental shift.  While it’s easy to use the excuse that you can’t afford to spend money on your business because you aren’t making enough money, the truth is you will never make enough.  Whether you make $5000 or $500,000 a year, you need to get in the habit from the start of always taking some of your earnings and putting it back into your business.  

There are a plethora of amazing free tools out there to help you organize and run your business more efficiently.  From note taking on Evernote to task management on Asana, even the free versions are powerful enough for growing businesses.  As your business begins to grow and you find that some of your free tools no longer meet all your needs, don’t be afraid to try more robust tools that cost a yearly or monthly subscription fee.  You’ll be amazed at how little you notice those costs when things are running smoothly, you are able to do more in less time.

I’ve had some major setbacks over the past year when it comes to good employees.  As a business owner, there is no guarantee that your best employees will stay so the only thing you can do is invest in them while you have them.  Whether it’s training, regular raises, promotions, more responsibility, etc.; keeping them happy and engaged will make them more likely to want to stay.

Depending on the kind of work you do, continuing education may be a requirement but even if it isn’t, don’t allow yourself to sit back and think everything stays the same.  Whether it’s marketing, social media, technology, industry trends or any other thing, nothing stands still.  Whether it’s reading blogs, articles, watching webinars, attending classes or reading a book, making financial and time investments into constantly learning with move you forward and put you ahead of much of your competition.

Last year at this time I was starting to seriously look at investing in a larger space for my business.  The added space would have allowed us to add services, dedicate space for certain tasks and give us room to continue to grow. With staff changes,I ultimately decided the timing wasn’t right but the right space can do wonders for a growing business.  Whether you are looking to simply move your work away from home or looking to add more people or services, investing in the right space for your business is important when it’s right.

Regardless of where you are with your business, even the small investments you make early can move you a long way toward reaching your goals.  The key is to get in the mindset early that investing even small amounts is something you need to do regularly.