What order you should spend that moolah?
Thank you so much for all the amazing comments on my article on profit last week. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out here.
After last week’s article, many of you have been asking me – “Monica, what should I be spending my money on?” It’s a good question. I thought I’d make it simple this week with a priority list of what is important and in what order you should spend that moolah.
Of course, this is my opinion and comes directly from Monica World. So feel free to let me know in the comments how you prioritize spending your hard earned buckaroos.
1. Coaching. I’ve invested in a business coach for most of the time that I’ve been in business. And for the first couple of years, it was the largest expense in my budget. My first coach was $1900 a month and now I pay upwards of $6,500 a month in coaching.
I know that may sound insane for those of you that are new to this world. I totally get it. But I directly attribute two major results to my coaching. First, I’ve been able to double or triple my revenue every single year.
Second, I’ve built a fabulously powerful network of entrepreneurial friends whom I’ll have forever. You can’t pay enough money for that.
2. Business Technologies. There are certain technologies that you’ll need to spend money on. Technologies like a newsletter service, a 1-800 number, a teleseminar service, a project management system and CRM software. These will help you stay connected and organized. Most of you will need these systems in year one.
3. Team. The truth is that the number of tasks (to-dos) in a growing business never lessens. Yup, you read that right, it never goes down. With every new launch, new program and new event, there is more to do. So if you ever expect to have a life as a business owner, you’ve got to have a great team. That is the next expense to spend on.
When do you start to build a team? ASAP. I suggest that first team member should be someone who you pay $10-$15 an hour who comes one day a week and enters your cards and helps you keep your office organized. This can be a teenager, a college student or any young person who could use a little extra money.
Note how number one relates to number three – the more your coach shows you how to grow your revenue, the more team you can hire and the easier your life becomes.
4. Business Opportunities. The old adage of “you should spend money to make money” is true in many ways when it comes to taking advantage of business opportunities to get in front of your ideal clients. Items like events, sponsorships, speaking opportunities, advertising buys – will get you seen by more of your ideal clients and are worth the investment. In fact these investments can speed up the pace of your growth significantly.
However, buyer beware – not all opportunities are created equal and this is also a place of dangerous pitfall if you aren’t smart about when and how to invest. It is best to use your coach or mentor for advice on which opportunities to invest in for yourself as usually this person has invested before and can give you perspective.
Also, keep in mind that if you are just starting – you may want to focus on generating revenue and investing in items 1 and 2, so that you can start to build the revenue needed for item 4.
While this may all seem simple – I find that many entrepreneurs are spending huge amounts of money on other items first – like pricey websites, outrageous video shoots, expensive re-brands, and PR agents. While these items are important and necessary at different points in your business – they aren’t essential in the beginning. Often if you spend here – you end up unable to hire the team and coaching you need to generate significant revenue and building your business becomes an up-hill battle.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
