15 Sep 5 questions to decide where you should be investing to grow your business
As a business owner, there are so many things that you could be spending your money on, right? Wherever you go, someone has a great service or product to offer you that is going to change your business!
But how do you make the decision on what to invest your money in, and what to say no to?
Well, I’m going to share with you the questions you need to answer to understand exactly what you need to invest in and where you should be getting it from.
I’m a big believer that you need to invest in yourself in order to grow your business and achieve your vision, and, if you’ve been following me for a little while, you know I walk the talk where this is concerned. My own personal development is a big part of my outgoing business expenses each month.
But, I also know that I can be a bit of a ‘learning junkie’, and if I’m not careful I get my head turned by the latest course here and the new programme there, and I’m signing up to too many things that I’m just not seeing a return on.
You may be the opposite to me – you don’t see the point in investing in yourself and find it much easier to invest in more tangible objects that you can see and hold. Maybe you love to get your hands on the latest gadgets, or have the swish office that no-one really sees, but you feel you ‘should’ have it to show you’re a serious business owner.
Whether you’re like me or not, these questions will guide you to understand exactly where you should be investing your money to get the biggest return back. Grab a pen and paper now and scribble down the answers to them.
1. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Not in the business as a whole, but your personal strengths and weaknesses as a business owner. Maybe your technical knowledge is fantastic, but you know you try and do too much yourself and you struggle to delegate. Maybe you are really creative and amazing at coming up with new ideas, but you struggle to keep your focus and take action to turn these ideas into a reality.
2. Which areas of the business do you most want to improve? Do you want to get more customers? Do you want to be able to work less hours but still make the same or more profit? Do you want to bring new services to market? Do you want to grow and strengthen your team?
3. How do you learn most effectively? Are you happy to learn via online courses that you can fit in when you want to? Do you prefer to work one to one directly with somebody to teach and guide you? Or do you prefer to learn in a group, with like-minded individuals?
4. How much can you invest? I mean really afford to invest? To figure this out you need to know your ‘breakeven’ point. In other words, what results does this investment need to deliver for it to be worth your while? I always look at any investment in terms of ‘how many additional clients do I need to get to able to justify this?’ For example, would you rather invest £250 in something that is likely to bring in an additional £500 to your business, or £1000 in something that is going to bring in an additional £15,000?
5. Who do you want to work with? Who is going to be teaching you, or coaching you? Why are they qualified to do this? What experience do they have? Have you seen testimonials? And, most importantly, do you trust them and respect them and think they will get the best from you?
So, now you have the answers to these questions, you should have a much clearer idea of exactly what you should be investing in to move you closer to your vision of success in your business.
Alison Bradford
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