How do you invest? Should you invest more in ____? What are investments? I’m going to be honest with you; it took me a while to fully understand the power of investing in my business, let alone what investing really meant. For me, this whole journey started with event decor. I saw event designers like Lisa Vorce and immediately had this dream of being a successful event designer. My biggest problem was that I had this wild notion that I could just take $5,000, buy all the things that I thought looked pretty, and BAM! I would make all my money back and then some. The clients were going to come pouring in…..right? WRONG!
You see the problem is that I was buying a ton of stuff without doing any research and I just loved shopping sales! But nobody was asking for the silver centerpieces that were 50% off at Michaels. I was making investments and seeing no return….or so I thought. The problem was that I had a broke-mindset.
Having this broke-mindset kept my business in a vicious cycle of spending too much time and money on the wrong things and having none left over for what really mattered. A broke-mindset also kept me in constant fear of not having enough or running out of what I needed. The business stress was unreal. I was getting so frustrated that I almost gave up on my whole journey.
Now, obviously, I didn’t give up…so what changed? What turned everything around?
I started making small investments and quickly saw how it made major shifts in my business. Bits and pieces of my business began to break out of the cycle, but it hadn’t made the full 360 yet. Why? Because part of me was still penny-pinching. I was only letting a small bit of my income go to investing in my company, and so I was only seeing a small return. In addition to this, I really didn’t know how to invest.
You see at this point, I had two problems. Number one, I hadn’t found my niche. I was still swimming in this big sea of “event designers” which (I can personally say) has A LOT of fish! Number two, I used to think of investments only as spending money on new equipment. You see, I hadn’t really considered investing in myself as worth it so I just saved my money for new centerpieces instead.
Right around this time is when I fell in love with draping. Oh my goodness! It was magical. I said if it makes me feel like this, I am sure it is a must-have for others right? But yall know me…. I tried everything in my power to learn on my own. First, I asked other designers my questions and we all know where that got me. Then, I watched all the Youtube videos I could find. I even tried to mimic other pictures but it wasn’t working. Needless to say, I was frustrated again!
I tried to hold out for too long on not spending over $4000 to get trained by the professionals because I didn’t think it was worth it. Why would spending that money on classes is worth more than spending it on inventory? Business cards? Websites? But now I can honestly say that it was one of the best investments I made and it was just the beginning. I was finally beginning to understand how to properly invest in my business.
At that moment I learned that if there were things holding me back from success that I could invest in myself and my business to overcome them. If there were skills I needed to learn, I was going to pay time and money to learn them. If there was equipment that I needed, I was going to research and buy the best of the best. I was throwing out my broke-mindset once and for all. If you are ready to do the same, these are some of the things that I suggest investing in.
Tech Equipment:
Since my start, I have invested and upgraded all my tech equipment and switched over to Apple everything. MacBook, iMac, 2 Iphones, Ipad, and 2 additional monitors for multitasking. I merged everything over because I needed everything to sync and you know how Apple is. Once you buy one product, they sucker you in. So, if your business is going to rely on tech, you really need to invest in the good stuff. I personally trust Apple with everything and it has worked out well for me.
Camera Equipment:
Throughout my time as a business owner, I have bought so much recording equipment. It is ridiculous. I cannot tell you how many items I wasted money on because the price tag was a little cheaper! When it comes to electronics, you really need to think long and hard before you chance it with an off-brand! That $40 in savings is great until you have to throw the whole thing away because it stopped working after two tries. Since then, I purchased a few sets of lightboxes, 2 DSLR cameras, USB, and wireless microphones too.
Advisory Team:
All of this was useless if I wasn’t going to deal with my broke mindset and break free, so I hired an advisory team that consisted of an attorney because I wasn’t for no one trying to take my coins…… A CPA (certified public accountant) because I didn’t want my old ways of wheeling and dealing to be apart of my new experience and an Insurance agent because I just felt like I was gonna mess something up. Trust me when I say that hiring an advisory team will not only keep you out of trouble but also help you to make better decisions.
Strategy:
The key reason I was failing is not that I had a poor work ethic. It wasn’t because I had weak brand or marketing skills. It was because I had no clue what the next step for myself and my company was. What I was missing was a plan and for that…I needed a business coach. Since then, I have invested in some of the best and WORST coaches, but I must say it all was a part of my learning curve. The good parts helped get me to places I couldn’t get to alone and the bad experiences taught me how NOT to be as a coach myself! All in all, it was all worth it. If you are stuck on what to do next and/or you are looking to become a coach…I would highly suggest you invest in some coaching for yourself!
Business Necessities:
When it comes to a company, there are things that you absolutely need to be successful. So, I took inventory of all the things I knew I needed and I mapped out a plan to make those purchases. Did I go out and buy it all at once? Heck no! I broke things down into phases. I took note of everything I needed and put it in order of importance so that I could buy one step at a time (and not go bankrupt!). This consisted of outsourcing to a team, specific contractors for certain things such as launches, software that helped my business run smoother, and a lot more. I suggest that you make a list of everything you need, order it by importance, and make a plan to save up for each wave of necessities.
Now I am sure my investments are nowhere near over. In fact, they probably never will be complete. But, I am here to tell you that until you take your business seriously, it will not return serious results.
If you’d like to learn my exact step by step process on how I went from 30k a year to 30k months, book a discovery session to learn how I can help you! In the meantime, make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel where I post videos every week on how to be a boss business owner!
Awesome advice, Mrs. Precious!!!!
I definitely appreciate all of your honest candor. We (creatives) need this. I NEEDED THIS. I am still working on niching down, but I do enjoy creating a lot of things, like creating custom pieces for events.
Thank you so much for continuing to inspire and excite us to grow.