Time to make a list - business investments, day 1!
“I have a problem with too much money. I can’t reinvest it fast enough, and because I reinvest it, more money comes in. Yes, the rich do get richer.” Robert Kyosaki – author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad
OK, I know that the title sounds kind of spammy, but I promise you won’t find any get-rich quick concepts in this post. There are no silver bullets or success-in-a-box secrets. Today, we’re going to talk about business investments and this post is the first in a series of four that will run over the next two weeks. We’ll have action items each day and you’ll need those action items for the next installment. It’s like, learning! Ready? Set – GO!
Business investments are intellectual, emotional and monetary. On the intellectual side, it’s the hows of running your business on a daily basis. The knowledge YOU bring to the table to make your business world go round. This can be years of schooling or just knowing what it feels like to be “schooled” and sharing that knowledge with your audience. It’s what gives you authority, or the right and mettle to speak about what it is you know and love.
Business investments can also me emotional. There’s no shame in loving what we do. We feel joy when sales are up and get down in the dumps when sales go south. We connect with our employees and share in their personal struggles and successes. It’s part of what makes a company great to work for: the emotional investment that ownership and management have in their team.
And we all know that business investments can be monetary. This is the one we likely think about most often. It’s the life savings we’ve put into our startup, the money we spend on learning about both ourselves and our industry. It’s everything from payroll to taxes and all we can worry about at 3 AM in between.
To start your week, we’ll start with ACTION. I’m a big fan of lists, so today, we’re going to sit down and make one about your business investments. Grab a laptop or pen and paper – here we go!
Intellectual Investment: On this list, you’re going to list everything that establishes you as an authority on your line of work. School, hard knocks, experience – they all go on the list!
Emotional Investment: Make a list of how you feel about your business. When things go right, when things go wrong, what makes you happy each day at work and what causes you stress.
Monetary Investment: Where does your business’ money go? Take a few minutes and make a list of where you’re spending your business income and where you’re investing your business income (the two are VERY different!).
Now – hang tight to this list because on Thursday this week, we’re going to revisit that list and talk about some common pitfalls and simple things you can do to balance your business investment budget! Make your list, grab a magnet, put it on your fridge. We’ll see you back here on Thursday where we’re going to explore STEP 2 in The Best Business Investment You Can Make series.
