If You’re Looking for Growth, It’s Time to Invest

You go into business because you want to make a financial impact on your family, share a skill you have and fulfill a passion for serving a specific group of people. This is your motivation: the impact and passion.

When you get deeper into business, that passion is what gets you up in the morning. But to have a competitive advantage, to stay relevant in the grand scheme of things, you need something more.

There are skills and knowledge that aren’t necessarily innate–but you need them to grow a business.

And often that comes down to needing to invest in professional and personal growth.

Investing is hard to do because you really need the capital and time to be able to do it. And sometimes, business owners just don’t have it in their budgets or calendars. Especially if you’re new to the game.

You’re so busy making the money that you don’t have the time or space to take the next, necessary step.

Honestly though, investing in yourself is a non-negotiable. You need to keep growing, both in your business and personally. Think about the joy you see in your child’s face when they learn something new. We tend to lose the drive to learn and grow as we get older.

We should never lose that.

You’ve Already Taken the Risk

Business in general is a risk. When you opened shop–even if it’s a side hustle–you took a risk. It might have been a financial risk, or it might just have been the risk of putting yourself out there.

While investing in yourself is a risk, you’ve already taken the first big step by starting your business in the first place. It’s time to take the risk of investing. Otherwise, are you really fulfilling the reason you went into business in the first place?

What to Ask Before Investing

In the true spirit of entrepreneurship, what you’re doing now is likely not the only gig you’ll have in your career as a business owner. So if you’re investing in yourself (or your business), look at what will serve you in a wide variety of ways rather than narrowly.

Ask yourself:

Worst case scenario, will this professional development, therapist, financial planner help me even if I wasn’t doing this business anymore?

If your investment is too narrowly focused, it might not be the right thing to do at this time, especially if you’re struggling with the capital you need to invest.

Where to Start Investing

No matter what your goals are for your business, it’s important to always be growing as a business owner and a person. Personal and professional growth serves you as a 7-figure business owner and as a side hustler. It gives us joy and makes us feel whole, complete, and like we’re contributing to the greater good. No matter what we’re doing.

When you’re looking at investing in yourself and your business, ask yourself this question:

Do I need this TODAY in my business?

If the answer is yes, it’s time for that investment.

It could look like a mastermind, coach, consultant or team members. It could look like personal development in the form of a life coach to help you get over mindset blocks. Think about what will help you today and also serve you in the future.

When Capital is a Challenge

Investing in yourself and your business doesn’t have to be expensive. It can be investing time in a biz bestie who truly understands your business and where you want to go. If you have a record for making poor decisions when investing (you know, like buying all the courses and then not taking the time to work through the course), your biz bestie can act as your sounding board before you buy.

There is also so much free content available out there from incredibly smart and talented experts. Find ways to learn and grow using free information–blogs, videos, downloadables, webinars–and get to know the people you’ll eventually pay to learn from. Just resist the temptation to buy the thing that you’ll eventually be pitched.

If you’re ready for growth, find ways to invest in yourself first. When you’re growing personally and professionally, the business growth will come too.