Are you the chicken or the egg?
We’ve all heard the question “What comes first, the chicken or the egg?”, right? No where do I see this expression more relevant than when it comes to investing in yourself and your business.
I get it….perhaps you are just starting your business and there’s no cash coming in the door. You know you need systems, tools, and yes, a coach, but you ask yourself how you can justify spending when you aren’t generating an income yet?
Or maybe you’ve been in business for a while and you know that to get to the next level you get to up your game, invest in learning new skills, add a team member, or hire a mentor to kick your butt and keep you going. Yet you have the constant conversation with yourself….”When I just (fill in the blank) I’ll invest in that.”
Sound familiar?
So what comes first, creating cash flow (or some other made up benchmark) or investing in your success….the chicken or the egg?
In 16 years growing three small businesses, generating 6 and 7 figures, I’ve had this conversation with myself more than once. Yet I’ve always known that when I invest in myself it always pays off, in cash flow, in skill development, and in how I feel about the results I’m creating.
It’s the times when I’ve tried to do it all myself, struggling with the how tos and the limiting beliefs and taking one step forward and two steps back that I’ve NOT created the results, and certainly haven’t enjoyed the journey.
So how do you change this internal conversation that is quite likely holding you back? Here are my top three re-frames to consider…
- INVEST in yourself and your business, don’t SPEND money on it. If you feel like every penny you put out is gone, never to return again, you are setting yourself up for failure. You must have an inner knowing that you are going to create a return on the investment for every penny you invest in your business. And who is responsible for creating the return? YOU ARE!
I’ve never invested in a tool, software, event, training or online course that hasn’t created a return on my investment. Because I go in with the intention of finding the gold. It might be the connections with new people, the skills I learn that I can then monetize, or the breakthroughs in limiting beliefs I have being in the environment. Or all three! Or, it might be the knowledge that a tool or approach is not right for me, and that’s a huge ROI too.
- Treat your business as a business, from the start. The simple fact is it takes money to run a business. Tools, software, creating a website, buying your domain name…they all cost money. Not to mention larger investments like hiring an assistant or a coach.
Establish a budget for your expenses from the start, and be sure you set yourself up for success. For a service based business, I tell my clients that they can assume a start-up budget of $2,000 – $3,000 a month to cover the basics of the Six Business Systems every business owner must have in place (email me if you want to learn more about this), hiring a mentor or coach, and covering basic travel to get started. And at the same time, set clear objectives on the results you will create when you make the investment. One doesn’t work without the other.
If you are gasping at the notion of the investment, take a look at that. How is your current thinking supporting you or holding you back? What aren’t you doing in your business because you haven’t planned for the investment (or are afraid of the risk)? What would be possible if you did have a strategy to catapult your business to the next level by investing in the tools to make it happen?
- Stop “next monthing” yourself to death! I’ve worked with business owners that have been “trying” to start their business for five or more years. They’ve “tried” everything in the book to get that first client, or get enough clients to make it even feel like they have a business versus a hobby. And they haven’t created a cash flow that allows them to pay their bills, let alone live the lifestyle they want. They tell themselves they’ll get support “next month”. And next month keeps coming.
If you find yourself saying things like “When I get my first client I’ll hire a coach.” Or “When I feel like I have a steady cash flow I’ll invest in an assistant.”, ask yourself the price you are paying to wait. How much more revenue could you create if you had an assistant to take the routine tasks off your plate? How much more quickly could you get that first client if you had a coach that’s done it over and over again to support you?
What is it worth to you to do it now?
It’s scary out there on those skinny branches. And as entrepreneurs, that’s exactly where we play best. Learn to love risk, calculated risk, because you know that you are betting on yourself. And I’m betting on you too!
