Too many coaches and consultants start their businesses but struggle to grow their businesses online because they don’t have the right business foundations.

If the thought of spending money on your business is unsettling, you’re in the right place.

Starting a business can be expensive because there are so many things to pay for, and – you’re on a super tight budget. Not to mention terrified of spending money on something that might not work. I UNDERSTAND. When I started my business in 2008, I was hesitant about spending any money on anything.

But you know what I did? I picked up my credit card and paid a company $13k to build a website and do a two-camera video shoot to make a promo video. BEFORE I even knew what my business really was. Before I had any clue what I was doing, how I was going to do it, or where it would lead me.

Could I afford it? Hell no. Was it the right place to spend what little money I had? Nope, not at all (more on why in a second). Am I glad I did it? You bet!

• Because here’s the thing – investing in your business changes the game. BIG TIME. As soon as you fork over that money, good things happen. Energetically. And tangibly.
• Investing makes you pay attention. Commit harder. Work more effectively.
• Because there is nothing worse than spending money on something and getting nothing out of it.
• Investing makes you act like a professional business owner, even when your business feels anything but professional. BUT not all investments are created equal.

I know you want to do your business the RIGHT way.

Your first stop when you first start out may be to consult your accountant and meet with a business attorney to set up your business entity. Then you’ll want to determine what platform you will use to create invoices and take payments.

Your next steps after that might be a lot less clear. It’s easy to fall into a trap of doing things that feel like progress, but they don’t really get you anywhere. To help you prioritize your time and resources, here is the sequence for what you should invest in to create a solid business foundation.  

FOUNDATION 1: CLARITY

I once met a woman who had an abundance of letters after her name and she was enrolling in another accredited program. The kicker? She didn’t yet have any clients. It’s tempting to think you need more education before you launch your business, and the truth is, you don’t. You have all the experience you need at this moment in time. Hiding behind another credential is FAKE PROGRESS.

What you do need is CLARITY!

Get help strategically defining your message and knowing who your ideal clients are. Not wanting to leave anyone out with your offers is a recipe for failure, so do the work to understand your ideal avatar, and their biggest pain points.

Once you know that, ask,

• What is the unseen need your ideal clients have that isn’t being met?
• What does the ideal solution look like to them?

Yes, it’s work but it’s worth it because It’s way more lucrative to be a big fish in a small pond than trying to appeal to everyone in the pond.

Figuring out what makes you different from everyone else who sells what you sell and understanding how to package up and price your offer is a must. Without this, every other business investment is a waste of money. And without the confidence that clarity brings, you will have a hard time selling anything, forever. Best to get these cleared up right from the get-go.

FOUNDATION 2: ONLINE PRESENCE

As soon as you are clear (and confident), you must look good online because potential clients make split-second decisions when they find your website or one of your social media profiles. But spending a LOT of money on this right away – not a good idea (hence why I said that spending $13k on website and promo video right away in my business wasn’t the best place I could have invested. It all changed within the first year of my business and I had to continuously change it).

Start with your social media profiles. This will cost you time but it’s the easiest way to position you quickly. Start by choosing one or two platforms your target audience spends the most time on. Upload a current headshot and craft a compelling bio with a clear call to action. 

Not that you have to invest a ton of money right away, but a great WordPress or Squarespace theme and a few hundred dollars for some tweaking with help from a professional are well worth it to get you up and running.

Good copy is so important because unless your ideal client sees that you are the ideal expert to help them solve their problem, your message is missing the mark. Not investing in good copy is a mistake that will cost you time and money.

FOUNDATION 3: CREATING PROCESSES

Your 3rd foundation is creating PROCESSES. This is a great investment because a little upfront work will save you time and money in the long run.

Look at the things you are doing on a regular basis. It could be content creation or promoting a free workshop that leads to your paid offer.

TIP: Create a spreadsheet in Google Drive and map out your processes.

• If you’re not sure where to start then just add the action item.
• You can fill in all the steps as you go in no particular order.
• The KEY is to reverse engineer each step with a timeline. That way, you can begin to see what needs to be completed and when and if there are any steps you can delegate or outsource.

Having processes in place will help you see where you need help right now and also help you onboard a new team member in record time.

Once you’re up and running and things are going smoothly, you will get to a point where doing everything yourself feels like pure hell, and you’d rather stick a rusty nail in your eyeball repeatedly than have to learn yet another platform or piece of technology. This is the point when hiring some of your tasks out to an assistant or other contractors and experts is WELL worth the investment. 

Are there other places to spend money on your foundations?

Specialized training is one of those. Learning new skills that will help improve your business – learning how to sell, new ways of using social media – programs that are specific to what you need now in business; now that you have the clarity, you have validated your ideas and tested your offers, and you have paying clients coming in. Beware of bright shiny object syndrome, or you’ll get overwhelmed

Investments in your business are endless as you grow, and you should always be putting money back in to get more money back out.

Amazing things are possible when you take the time to do the work on the foundation of your business because it builds you a more solid, sustainable business in the future.

With that – I truly believe that every entrepreneur can’t afford NOT to invest.

Ask yourself….

How much money is it costing you NOT to create the foundations in your business? How many months have you spent staring at blank screens, downloading one more freebie, posting random content, and going in circles being frustrated that you’re not getting anywhere and you are still unsure about what you’re doing?

And how much money have you NOT made because you can’t figure things out? Assume $2000/month for what, 3? 6? 12? months of not making much progress…

Do some of the math… and tell me that you can’t afford to invest in your business foundations.

The business foundations are just the start of growth. The year is flying by so want a proven process that dives into short-term and long-term goals along with sharing how to use your mind to achieve bolder goals, grab the Planning Success Guide (free) below!Yes, I WANT THE FREE PLANNER!