E90 – Investing In Your Business

[00:00:00] Welcome to the 100 Degrees of Entrepreneurship Podcast, the show for purpose driven entrepreneurs who wanna get inspired to step outside of your comfort zone, expanded to your purpose, and grow your business in a big way. I’m your host Stephanie Kowski, a globe TRO cfo, whose mission is to empower leaders to better understand their numbers, to grow their impact and their income.

Let’s dive in.

Hey everybody. Welcome back to the show. I am Stephanie. You know that already though, and I’m talking to you today about where to invest and not invest in your business. So, . I have another episode earlier in the show about how I spend money in my business. It’s episode number 13 from May of 2021. If you wanna go check that out.

And I shared about, you know, really the way I spend money in my business. [00:01:00] And you’ll, if you go listen to the episode, you’ll hear, I spend it on people and professional development. And that’s pretty much it. And taxes. So I break that all down for you. But today I wanna talk about where to invest and not invest in your business because Black Friday is coming up and we are probably all feeling a little like credit card.

Happy. I know. I have definitely done that. Every single entrepreneur that you know that I know is probably gonna be offering a Black Friday deal of some sort. Maybe you included, maybe me included, I don’t know. But I don’t want you to get caught up in the trap of investing in all the things, only to not use them and.

I don’t know about you. I’ve definitely overtreated myself in my business. I’ve bought every $997 course, every $99 course bundle, because who cares? It’s only a hundred bucks every $27 template because, uh, I kind of don’t really even need the template. But it’s only 27 bucks every [00:02:00] $197 per month membership and $9,997 Mastermind or actually make that.

How about $29,997 Mastermind that came across your inbox and or your Instagram feed? It’s a little bit of fomo. We don’t wanna miss out. This person is a really good marketer and they’re making us feel like we are going to miss out, and that’s exactly their goal. And we know that yet somehow, somehow we still do it.

We still buy it anyway. Right? So, It’s a combination of fomo plus you don’t actually know what you need in your business, and you don’t actually know what works in your business, right? So we’re just throwing money at different solutions and trust me, I have done this myself. We’re throwing money at different solutions, but not really knowing if that’s the thing that we need.

So I bought a program, a $2,000 program a few years ago because it was something. First of all, it was like super highly rated. Their [00:03:00] testimonials were bananas and everything that was included in the program was bananas. It was, it just seems like a really good value and it was something I was kind of interested in and I, I had the money and so I spent the $2,000.

Well, guess what? I went through the content, but I never actually did the thing, so I learned something. I never actually made money from, you know, from doing this particular activity. And so that was kind of a bummer, right? I mean, essentially it was like, sure, I’ve built some skills and learned some things, and now I have this library of a whole bunch of different templates I can use for something.

But I never actually made any money, so, If you wanna keep more money in your bank account, first of all, actually, before we do that, I wanna tell you, I’m not telling you to be a Mir. I’m not telling you not to spend money on things, especially when it comes to like professional development and investing in your business.

I’m not telling you not to spend money. I am telling you to spend money strategically. So if you wanna keep more money in your bank account and [00:04:00] potentially even use that money that you’re spending to make more. The first thing you need to do is understand what is working right now in your business. You want to do more of what’s working and invest in what’s working, rather than throwing spaghetti at the wall, right.

Keep it simple. We don’t need to do all the new things because that new thing looks really fun. We need to keep doing more of what’s working. So you first need to understand the return on investment on different things that you’re doing right now and cut out what is not generating a return and add in more of whatever is generating a return.

So for example, in my business, I know that speaking. Is something that brings me money now. I don’t get paid for speaking, or at least I have not gotten paid very much money for speaking. So it’s not that. It’s that I know when I get on a stage and I speak in [00:05:00] front of an audience that will eventually, uh, Lead to business for us.

And so I have invested in speaking coaches and speaking programs and things like that because I know that there’s a return there because I know my numbers, right. So really understand what is working in your business. Maybe you’ve had a little bit of success on say, TikTok, and you’ve gotten some traction there.

You’ve gotten some virality, you’ve gotten a whole bunch of followers. Maybe you’ve even. Seeing the connection between new business and what you’re creating on TikTok. Okay, well maybe it makes sense then to invest in some sort of product or service that’s going to help you grow that. Right. On the flip side, if you’re me, who I don’t get my business from social media.

I’m probably not going to, or I probably shouldn’t buy a course or a program on TikTok. That’s not my area, right? So understand what worked in your business, invest more in things that work and [00:06:00] cut what isn’t, what’s not working. So the next piece of advice I have to really invest strategically and wisely in your business is to pick one thing at a time to go all in.

Oh my gosh. And you know, I tell you all these things because these are all mistakes I’ve made. So if you’re listening to pretty much any episode of the show, you will know if I’m giving you advice, it’s because I’ve done the opposite and learned my lesson, right? So pick one thing at a time to go all in on.

If you wanna launch a new service, put a hundred percent of your efforts there. That is what you should be investing in, not buying a course for this other random thing you think you might wanna do. It’s not the one thing that you’re going all in on at the moment. Right. I’ve, again, I’ve done this myself.

I’ve, you know, I’ve got my, our, our core business CFO and bookkeeping services, but then I’ve bought programs or joined masterminds about creating courses, but that’s not really what I should have been going all in on. And so I’m spending [00:07:00] money on something, but I’m not putting the effort there, so I’m not gonna get the return back, you know?

So figuring out what you’re going all in on and putting resources towards that is a sure fire way to really ensure success. Right. So don’t spend money on things that Yeah. That you’re not really, really going to focus on.

You hear me talk all the time about how important it is to know your numbers as a business owner, but you may be thinking, Well, how in the world do I do that? Where do I even begin? So I have a free resource for you. The Profit Playbook is an amazing template. You spend about 15 minutes getting it all set up and you can literally see into the future of your business.

Revenue expenses, cash flow, just like a crystal ball. It is a huge resource that will absolutely help you create a roadmap to reach your goals in your business. It is for free over [00:08:00] at 100 degrees consulting.com/profit.

And the third. Little tip I have for you is to look at your financial forecast when you’re making decisions and think of future you. So I think would CEO Stephanie a year from now be really excited that I hired a new graphic designer, or that I joined that mastermind, or that I hired this coach? Would I look back a year from now and be like, Oh my gosh, that was such a good decision.

I have really grown, My business has grown. I’ve, you know, had huge success, whatever it is. Like, do you have that confidence to say, So I know in some cases I definitely have. I have definitely been like, Yeah, I think future, Stephanie would be super proud of this investment. I’m gonna do it. And other times I’m like, Oh, future Stephanie would just like I’m doing [00:09:00] right now thinking about that program I bought for $2,000 and never did anything with, That’s Stephanie, me, today is rolling my eyes.

I pass Stephanie saying like, Ugh, you really shouldn’t have done bought that because you. That you weren’t gonna use that you knew you weren’t gonna go all in on that thing, right? So think about your future self when you’re making decisions. The other thing that I would say, you know, that I am all about the long term gains, right?

I’m in this for the long haul. That is not a flash in the pan business. This is a company, this is a legacy that I am building. And so I think about like, In terms of where to invest, I wanna invest in the foundational pieces of my business that are going to set me up for long term success. To be a $10 million company, maybe to be a hundred million dollar company one day.

So what? What am I going to invest in right now that will. Again, I mean, I guess that kind of goes back to like what future Stephanie is gonna [00:10:00] be really thankful for. I had a conversation recently with a client and with a friend, um, Sarah Wal Buser of Destination Legal, and she’s a trademark attorney and we got to talking.

Actually, she was a guest on the podcast back on episode 68 with me. And we talked about how to protect your business rights, and I kind of joked around with her on that episode that it was like using it as a free, you know, free consultation call with her. Anyway, we were talking recently about trademarks and we were talking about different assets in my business that I really need to get on trademarking, and I love the way that she talked about it because I was telling her.

You know, just being really honest, I’m like, honestly, I don’t really wanna spend money on this. Like, it just seems like, it seems like something, like when you buy new tires for your car, right? It’s super expensive and you know, it’s super important, but it’s not really a very satisfying purchase, you know?

It’s like, okay, great, I got new car tires on my car. I feel safe. That’s good. But it’s like, well it’s [00:11:00] not very flashy. It just doesn’t feel like, you know, going to buy a new pair of shoes or something. I likened it to that and she, and then I sort of likened it to the work that my company does, right? Like a lot of times our clients don’t really wanna spend money on.

A CFO or a bookkeeper or having somebody manage their financials because it just doesn’t feel fun and sexy. Whereas a new course or a new coach or, um, you know, a new program that feels way more fun, right? But one thing I have learned is that shoring up that foundation of your business, that’s what a real CEO does, right?

A real CEO has their intellectual property adequately protected. You know, you need to do that if you ever wanted to sell your business. So, I love what she had said. She’s like, You’re creating a portfolio of intellectual property assets. I’m like, Girl, you tell me about it in that way. And I’m like, Yes, I wanna create a portfolio of assets.

All right, let’s do this. We’re trademarking my stuff. [00:12:00] And so talking about investing in your business, that is something I would absolutely invest in. Same thing with, you know, managing your financials. It’s not really that exciting, but guess what? When tax time rolls around and you have a nice, neat and tidy profit and loss statement that you can give to your accountant, to your CPA to follow your taxes and you don’t owe a bunch of money and it’s not a surprise and you’re making more money every month, like yeah, it’s a pretty sound investment.

So I would also encourage you, as you’re thinking of like what to invest in, what not to invest in, in your business, you might not need. Another virtual assistant or another marketing person, another graphic designer, maybe what you need is assure up the, the foundation of your business so that you can grow to a million dollar company, a $10 million, a hundred million dollar company.

That stuff is really, really important, and that’s something that now that we have really grown, that’s what I’m focusing, I, I’m focusing on like, okay, what is $10 million business owner Stephanie need to be thinking about? [00:13:00] And it’s things like that. I hope this was helpful, um, because I know sometimes it can be just like, it’s a lot, there’s a lot thrown at us all the time.

But one tip I would give you is to unsubscribe from literally every single email, um, unsubscribe from all the marketers. I have done this multiple times before when I’m in a phase like I am right now. I know I don’t want anything, and I know I don’t need anything. I don’t want to buy a course. I don’t want to be in a mastermind.

I don’t want to have a business coach. I don’t want any of that right now. And so having sales emails coming into my inbox every single day is not hopeful. It’s distracting, and it’s going to pull me away from my main focus. And so I’ve unsubscribed from everything and I. Bad, honestly, because some things that I’ve unsubscribed from are like my friends that also own businesses, like good, good contacts.

And so I feel bad unsubscribing, but I’m like, You know what? I, I [00:14:00] can love them and also not read their emails. And I know I’ve seen people unsubscribe from our email list, and it’s probably the same thing. So I think we all know at this point is absolutely nothing personal. But if you need to remove temptation from your inbox because you’re susceptible to the fo.

Do it now so that you’re not starting to get Black Friday emails coming up. Um, very, very. And all the holidays and all that good stuff. So I don’t think I get any marketing emails in my inbox anymore, like at all. I’ve unsubscribed from literally everything and it’s so helpful because that way my inbox is real emails that are meant for me and um, yeah, and I can focus and I know what I need in my business because I know my numbers, right?

I know the direction that my business is going, so I’m not. Getting distracted by, Hey, buy my program to like, have you launch a this course and make a million dollars, or buy, you know, join my mastermind and you’ll make a million dollars like everybody else in my mastermind. [00:15:00] Right? I’m not, like, I don’t, I don’t need that right now.

So anyway, I know that we are gonna be inundated very soon, so that’s why I thought this episode was very time. So just to like recap a little bit, if you wanna keep more money in your bank account and invest in the right things, you wanna, first of all understand what works in your business and do more of what is already working and stop getting distracted by all the other things.

Number two, you wanna pick one thing at a time to go all in on and close your mind off to any distractions beyond that. And number three, you wanna think of your future self. Would your future self be really happy about the investment that you’re making today? And number four, Just to consider, you know, investing in the foundation of your business to take you from where you are to 1 million to 10 million to a hundred million, right?

And thinking of those, you know, like the tires for your car, what are those core things that are gonna keep your business running smoothly, that are super important? And for me, I’m really excited to start trademarking some of [00:16:00] the intellectual property and building my portfolio. Of ip. And again, that phrase is from my friend Sarah Wal Buser of Destination Legal.

So I’m not pretending that I made that up. So anyway, yeah, I hope this was helpful. I want y’all to stay strong during Black Friday during the holidays. Only invest in what is really going to make a difference in your business. All right, friends, I will talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to the 100 degrees of Entrepreneurship Podcast.

To access our show notes and bonus content, visit 100 degrees consulting.com/podcast. Make sure to snap a screenshot on your phone of this episode and tag me on Instagram at Stephanie dot s k r y and I’ll be sure to share. Thanks for being here, friends, and I’ll see you next time.