The Only Investments I've Made In My Business This Year
You know I love a good behind the scenes episode!
I love getting a sneak peek into the back end of other people’s businesses. I wanna know the nuts and bolts of how everything works, how other people do things and make key decisions in their business.
I nerd out on this stuff and I know that I find it super helpful – so today on the Feminine Fire Podcast I want to take you behind the scenes of MY process for how I make investment decisions in my business. I’ll be sharing with you where I’m spending my money right now and why.
To set the scene for you, I’ll first share the one key area I’ve made a conscious decision NOT to invest in this year and then dive into the 3 investments I’ve made in my business in 2023.
So let’s get into it.
What drives my decision-making process
Right now, in this season of life as a full-time mama of 2, a lot of my investment decisions, and my business decisions more broadly, are driven by the need and desire to create more TIME in my life and business.
If there’s something I can invest in to make things quicker, to get things done, to take things off my hands – then I’m very VERY interested.
SO that’s a big driver in my investment decisions right now. I ask questions like:
Is this going to save me time?
Is this going to make me more efficient?
Is this making my life and business easier right now?
If the answer is yes to those questions – then I’m much more likely to seriously look at making that investment.
If the answer is no – then it's probably not going to be a priority for me right now.
Which brings me to the one area that I decided NOT to invest in this year…
And that was in training and courses.
Not because I don’t want to learn new things – but because I just don't have the time to dedicate to it right now and it's not a priority for me.
And sometimes, as a CEO – you’ve gotta put your CEO hat on and make the hard decisions.
While there are a few trainings I’d LOVE to take in the future, I’ve put those in the “future Bec” basket because my time and money is better spent elsewhere right now. And I’m okay with that – it’s not that it’ll never happen, it’s just not right now. And if there’s anything that becoming a parent has taught me, it’s patience.
So this year I made the very intentional decision to NOT invest in training and courses.
I’ve instead focused only on 3 non-negotiable areas in my business.
These are the 3 areas of my business that I have invested in consistently over the last 3+ years and will continue to do so because they are fundamental to my business growth, sustainability AND my lifestyle.
I’ve very consciously designed my business in a way that means I can show up for my business, support my clients AND have the time to be a present mum to my boys – and the way that I invest in my business reflects these things. I know what's important to me in this season and I invest accordingly.
The 3 areas of business I invest in consistently…
1: Team
Let’s start with the biggest expense in my business – the investment I make in my TEAM.
For me this looks like a VA, a content manager and a podcast editor. And this investment is absolutely essential. It’s the number one reason why I’m able to run my business in the small amount of time that I have to work each week (which is about 10-12 hours on average).
When it comes to the question of whether to outsource – it’s often about the trade off between time and money.
In this day and age, there are lots of things you CAN do yourself as a business owner that don’t cost you much (or any) money BUT when you do them yourself, they cost you time.
So when looking at investments in your business – think about time versus money.
Do you have the time right now to invest?
OR do you have the money?
Often in the early days of your business, you might choose to invest more of your own time to save some money upfront. As you progress, you might choose to invest more money to free up your time. There is no right or wrong here – it’s about making an intentional, conscious decision that makes sense for you.
Right now for me, the investments I’m making in my business are very much about freeing up my time which is why investing in my team is an absolute non-negotiable for me.
When people ask me “how do you do it all?” – the answer is “I don’t, I have a team that support me”
They do the things that I don’t have time for and that, if I were to do them, would take me wayyyy longer because they’re not my wheelhouse.
This frees up the time that I do have to either be coaching clients OR focusing on the high impact tasks that actually grow the business and keep me moving towards my goals.
Which brings me to the next area of investment…
2: Ongoing Mentorship
I wanna make sure that the little time that I do have to work in the business is being put to good use. I don’t have the time to faff around with tasks and actions that just aren’t important. And let’s be honest, there can be a lot of time wasters in business. I need to stay on track and laser focused on the things that are actually going to move the needle forward.
And one of the ways I make sure I do that is by having a long term mentor to support me.
Someone who knows my business inside and out, and can provide that strategic support and accountability so that I’m not wasting my time trying to work everything out on my own. I’ve got that sounding board and trusted advisor in the business.
I’m a big fan of long term mentorship for this reason. It’s my preferred way of working with clients AND of working with my own coach and mentor.
I’ve been working with my coach Ellie for the last 4 years now inside one of her high level masterminds. And one of the reasons why I continue to invest in her support again comes down to TIME – we have an established relationship, she knows my business, we are super aligned in our values and approach AND if you’re constantly hopping from coach to coach, you are constantly having to build a relationship with someone new and that takes precious precious time that I just simply don’t have. Long term mentorship is where it’s at.
Which is why it’s the second biggest investment in my business and an absolute non negotiable for me. I don’t have a lot of time and in the time that I do have, I wanna make sure I’m focused on the things that matter.
3: Marketing
The third and final non-negotiable investment I’ve made this year in my business is in my MARKETING.
That looked like a small but strategic investment in paid ads on Facebook and Instagram as well as doubling down on my content marketing with the support of my incredible content manager, Tahryn.
This is a non negotiable for me because I know that if I’m not consistently attracting and warming up leads, and nurturing my community and offering them epic value through my free content – then I’m not going to have a business.
Marketing is how I bring clients into my offers. No clients = no business.
So I prioritise my pipeline and I invest in content marketing.
And I think this is something that people are way too short sighted about in their business. People don’t think long term enough about how they are attracting and nurturing clients at every stage of that pipeline.
It’s not just about getting clients and customers in today, it’s about building relationships and nurturing potential clients for down the track too. It's about showing up for your people, providing value, and building trust over time. Because that trust is what ultimately converts your audience into paying clients.
So having a long term vision for your marketing is so key and is one of the reasons why marketing is one of the 3 investments I’ve made this year in my business, alongside team and ongoing mentorship.
So that’s me, but what does this all mean for you?
What I recommend when thinking about making investments in your business is to first get really clear on what’s important to you right now – particularly on that question of time versus money.
You also want to consider where you’re at in your business journey right now and what your goals are. For example, your investment decisions are going to look different during those times when you're actively scaling and growing your business compared to when you’re not.
Remember that when you invest in your business, it’s also about doing so with a view to get a return on your investment. So knowing all that:
What's important to you?
What are your needs right now in the business?
What's going to have the greatest return on investment?
In my experience, trying to do everything on your own, in the long term, will only slow you down.
And I know I sound biased, but I would always recommend having a business coach in your corner. Someone who can support you to make sure you’re not faffing about with shit that doesn’t matter but instead are focused on the things that are going to propel you forward.
Join the Spiritual Business Mistressmind
If you’re ready for a mentor and coach to support you with the accountability, strategy, mindset, the day to day of building and scaling your business – my 6 month mastermind, the Spiritual Business Mistressmind is for you.
Inside this container, I share with you the strategies, tools, resources and practices, everything you need, to build and scale an abundant, sustainable business that you love.
It includes both 1:1 and intimate group coaching so super high touch, I’m there with you every step of the way and so are your Mistressmind sisters.
To find out more, head to www.beccuzzillo.com/mistressmind
