Are You Afraid To Spend Money On Your Business?
Jesse had a dream
Jesse had a dream. A dream to become a professional life coach and positively impact the lives of others. So she went for coach training, set up her website, started finding friends on Facebook, started her ezine along with all of the other tasks associated with starting a new business.But not much was happening in the way of revenue generation and she knew that she was going to have to do something - and fast! She only put enough money away for 6 months of living without income from her new venture. So she started looking around at options that would help her meet more people and generate potential clients.
One day a friend told her about a networking group that she could join that would help her meet new people, so Jesse attended as a guest and really liked it. When the organizers of the group presented her with the membership information, Jesse excitedly took it home and read through the entire packet. Her excitement turned to fear when she read the membership fee. The four hundred dollar a year fee was not in her budget. In fact, nothing much had been placed in her business start up budget at all. She had already blown through the money she thought she would need, spending it all on a website.
Jesse made a critical mistake that too many small business owners make by not having a clear picture of inevitable expenses that come along with running a successful small business. So here she was, faced with a big dilemma. She needed to make more money, but she was afraid to spend money by joining the networking group that could help her meet those potential clients she so needed. Uh oh.
Unfortunately, Jesse didn't join the networking group because of her fear of making an investment in her business - and she's not alone. This happens all over the world, every single day. So if you are struggling to spend money on your own business, it's time to ask yourself some important questions.
1. What's behind the fear? Is there a deeper issue at hand, such as a fear that the investment will be lost due to a firm lack of belief in your ability to be successful as a business owner? If this is the case, you must either let go of the beliefs that are holding you back - or you will surely be letting go of your business whether you intend to or not. These limiting beliefs are business bankruptors and you must get honest with yourself as to what they are and then make them a part of your past.
2. What's the cost of not making the investment? Calculate a reasonable potential Return on Investment for the item you are thinking about and compare it to the "expense." For example: if Jesse had enlisted 4 new clients as a result of joining this networking group, she would have made $12,000 - what an ROI for a mere $400 investment!
3. Spend some time looking at common business expenses and calculate a budget. Consider marketing as a primary area - especially if your business is in its infancy. And don't forget to account for a professional coach. Having a strategic thinking partner, motivator and accountability person on your team is an invaluable investment in ensuring your future success.
So many people have so much on the line right now. They are desperately trying to avoid a return to Corporate America and trying to make their business work, but they are going about it without a realistic view of what it takes to succeed. If you are in this situation, I urge you to take an honest, hard look at what's going on in your business - and if you have the beliefs to support your long-term success. If not, you must do something about it right away or else you could end up like Jesse, whose fear came true - she's back working for someone else, struggling through each day and looking at her business with hindsight, wishing she had been more realistic about what all was involved in being successful.
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