The 9 Biggest Business Investment Secrets of 2018
The internet is rife with content—too much, in fact. Sadly, much of it can lead you astray. At the very least, it becomes an entertaining, but unproductive time suck (we’re looking at you, Fail Blog).
That’s why ETR has curated proven, actionable advice from entrepreneurial thought leaders across multiple industries to give you immediate insight into what you should do in your business to grow exponentially.
We’re featuring several of these “thought leader roundups,” but this week we’re focusing on business investment.
Success is sometimes as much of a burden as it is a joy. For business owners, that burden often comes in the form of a very difficult question: With all of the revenue, how do I know how (and how much) to invest in my business?
We’ll let the experts answer that. So without further ado, here’s the insight on how best to invest in your business from industry’s most successful movers and shakers:
Sharí Alexander, Persuasiveness Coach and “Dark Arts” Influencer
If you’re an entrepreneur, investing in your business means investing in the actual business, investing in yourself, and investing in your future. You should be making budgets for growth. What would help you expand and improve your marketing and sales? Quarterly reviews are important here. Then, you still need to invest in yourself—your physical and emotional health are mission critical for your business. If you break, chances are your business breaks. Personal trainers, therapists, etc. are just as important to helping you grow as they are to helping your business grow. PLEASE don’t overlook this. I’ve seen so many entrepreneurs ignore this part and then end up spending a BUNCH of money to try to get their health back after a heart attack or a marriage failure. Better to invest sooner than later. Lastly, you have to set aside money for your future. Sure, you probably don’t plan on “retiring” like most people, but you sure don’t want to HAVE to work in your 60s either, do you? Choose a percentage of your income to go into savings or whatever investment plan you’re comfortable with.
Zander Fryer, High Impact Coach
We learn from success and failure in our businesses. What most people don’t realize is you don’t have to learn from just your success and failures. When you learn from others you can save money, headaches, and time and having a good mentor, coach, or advisor can expedite your learning curve drastically. The first place to invest in is good mentorship and coaching.
Carrie Wilkerson, Speaker, Author, and Business Consultant
Invest wisely in what quickly replicates your effort or can increase your return. Because I’ve always taken my “shareholders'” profit very seriously (my family members), my goal has always been to say, “If I invest in this, my goal is to make it back before the credit card comes due.” That has kept me from taking on too much or spending in speculation that “someday” would be worth it. I didn’t invest in more than I could implement quickly.
Lewis Howes, Speaker, Author, and Former NFL Athlete
Invest in yourself if you want your business to take off. The more that I invest in my own growth—through coaching, workshops, masterminds, friendships, etc.—the more I increase my ability to handle my business. I am constantly overcoming limiting beliefs that are holding me back in business and the best way I’ve found to do that is through investing in my own growth. Don’t discount how valuable it is to keep growing as a person.
Kevin Kruse, Leadership and Management Expert, founder of LEADx
Don’t be cheap when it comes to hiring talent. Cash will always be tight, but hiring young, inexperienced, or mediocre talent is the wrong way to save it. You have to realize that salary and the correlation to talent isn’t linear. In other words, if you up your pay range by 30%, you can often get someone 100% better.
Sharran Srivatsaa, Real Estate and Finance Expert, CEO of Kingston Lane
Think of your “only” statement. What if you could walk into a client meeting and say “We are the ONLY company in the world that can do XYZ.” Isn’t that powerful? Invest in anything that will give you that “only” statement for your business, because once you have that, you have a story that nobody can match and will make you stand out. Once you have the “only” statement, everything else becomes very easy. Before investing, ask yourself, “Does this get me closer to my ‘only’ statement?”
Noah St. John, Speaker, Author, and Business Consultant
Ben Franklin said, “The best investment you can make is to pour your purse into your head, because then you can use your head to fill your purse.” I continually invest in my own education, because that enables me to stay current on marketing and business trends, as well as discover new ways to serve our clients and customers.
Bob Burg, Speaker and Author of the “Go-Giver” Book Series
Invest your money into that which will create the (infra)structure needed so that you’re able to market, sell, produce, and provide an exceptional customer experience. Invest your time and energy into finding the right partners (employees, contractors, etc.) who will help you to do that one thing in which you’ve invested your money.
Bedros Keuilian, Founder of Fit Body Boot Camp, Author, and Coach
Invest in your own leadership skills first. Buy and read books. Go to seminars. Get a mentor, even if that means paying for coaching. Leadership is always the problem and leadership is always the solution, so if you master that first you’ll avoid the biggest pitfalls and reach growth and profits faster.
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What business investment wisdom do you have to share? If you’ve used any of these secrets in your own business, what was the outcome? Share your stories in the comments below!
Ready to apply this investment wisdom to your business for 10x results?
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Jeff Steen
Jeff Steen is the Associate Editor of Early to Rise. Previously, he worked in food and hospitality journalism, but is currently focused on bringing unique, insightful content to the ETR world.