Investing in your small business can be so hard, and the absolute most challenging part is spending money on the right things that will actually help you improve and grow in return.
I’ve been there. I was scared to invest my hard-earned money back into my business. I couldn’t think of anything I could not do myself, but I quickly learned that I didn’t have all the time in the world to improve everything and see results quickly. Then I found simple things I could invest in without breaking the bank, which I’m sharing here!
In this blog post, I’m sharing the three low-cost ways I invested in my business to improve my performance and productivity. I’ll be covering the following:
- How I overcame the fear of investing in my business
- Benefits of using a project management system
- Optimizing your onboarding process
- How to streamline your content marketing
So if you’re afraid of investing in your business because you don’t want to spend too much money and not see significant changes, you’re in the right place! That feeling is about to change for the better!
How I Overcame The Fear Of Investing In My Business
I had a lot of time when I first started my business. I spent hours creating processes and learning different things. After getting my first client, that changed very fast. I was overloaded with so many tasks, calls, and emails. I didn’t have much time to focus on what I really wanted.
Although I was working a lot, money was tight, and the idea of investing in my business was very intimidating. I was desperate to improve my productivity because I wanted to bring in more clients. Still, I was so busy with my current client’s work and getting ready to move because of my husband’s job (military life) that I could not balance everything.
Until one day, I was absolutely fed up with working long hours and not earning enough, so I set out to figure out what was going on in my business and mindset that was causing me to get burnout and making it so freaking impossible to be more productive and get more leads.
I started doing tons of research on productivity, systems to automate tasks, and outsourcing. I finally learned easy ways to invest in my business that work to optimize my lead generation, client onboarding, and how to handle client work as efficiently as possible.
I’m not going to lie; when I finally decided to invest, I felt very uncomfortable and nervous. But I can confidently say that every single one of these investments has been a game-changer!
So here’s exactly what I did and how to implement it for your business. Here are the three ways to invest at a low cost and improve your business:
1. USE A PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
I’m a huge advocate for automating tasks in your business to optimize your routine. When done correctly, automating is a powerful tool that will help you stop doing repetitive tasks and save time.
There are several ways you can organize your work and improve your productivity. My business was all over the place when I decided to invest in a great project management software, like Click Up, that helped me get organized, automate tasks, eliminate repetition, and have everything I needed in one place. Don’t get me wrong, I still love writing things in my cute notebook with my soft pen, but a little bit of technology helps me focus and be more productive.
Initially, I felt a little overwhelmed with everything that Click Up offers. Still, after watching a couple of tutorials, I learned the basics and created a system for my business that changed everything!
You can try Click Up for free to keep things at work more organized, automate tasks, and have more time to work on your priorities. And if it works for you and your business, you can upgrade for a very affordable price! Get started here!
2. OPTIMIZE YOUR ONBOARDING PROCESS
One of the easiest ways to optimize your onboarding process is using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management). You can automate your onboarding workflow and make it easier and faster for your customers to communicate with you.
You can set up workflows with questionnaires, and canned emails, send proposals with combined invoices, and avoid overloading your client’s inbox with SO many emails—my favorite tool is Dubsado. You can try it out for free for up to three clients, and if you decide to upgrade in the future, you can get 20% off on your first month or year by clicking here!
3. STREAMLINE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING
One of the first lessons I learned as an entrepreneur is: It’s impossible to do everything alone. If you focus on too many things simultaneously, the chances of dropping the ball somewhere are huge. At some point, you will need to ask for help!
If you are just starting and struggling to get your content marketing going, joining a membership program is one of the most affordable ways to gain more knowledge, clarity, and guidance. I recommend you check out the Content Catalyst by Marissa Pané (this is not an affiliate, but I really like her. She is fantastic at what she does). You can learn so much and have access to SO many great resources.
If you’re not ready to commit to a membership program, enhancing your brand message and visuals is another affordable way to improve your content marketing. I like the Instagram caption templates, also by Marissa Pané. I’m very good at designing social media graphics, but sometimes I like to explore what other creators have to offer, and it’s also good to save time so I can dedicate myself to bigger projects. I recently bought a few Canva templates by Jessica Gingrich, and I’m blown away! (Again, not an affiliate, but I admire her work, and she’s one of my favorite web designers & marketing strategists).
We all know that marketing is crucial in putting your business out there and attracting more leads. Improving your content marketing strategy, and having tools & resources at your disposal, will increase your chances of getting more clients!
Wrapping up
Investing in your business for the first time can seem terrifying and uncomfortable. I felt that way too. But if you want to grow, making smart investments is the way. You won’t know if you don’t try it! In my case, it made all the difference and didn’t cost me thousands of dollars! I wish you all the success in your investments!
Feel free to share in the comments below what was your first investment in your business and how it helped you. I’ll be happy to hear from you! 🙂
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to purchase through my links at no cost to you. I only recommend products or services I use and believe will benefit you!
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