Have you ever heard the saying, “you have to spend money to make money?” Well, that’s not entirely true, especially with the way successful online businesses are run today. If you’re a solo entrepreneur like me (or solopreneur if you wanna get fancy), you’re not typically going to have much money to spend on advertising your products or services. Usually when you’re at the “side hustle” stage of your business, you can’t afford to hire someone just yet, so you have to figure out how to do it yourself.
But here’s the thing: you STILL need to invest in your business to make it grow. That’s right. There’s really no way to get around that if you’re serious about achieving financial freedom.
When you’re just starting out, the best investments you can make in your business aren’t the huge ones like renting out office space or hiring staff. No ma’am! The best thing you can do for your budding biz right now is to make micro-investments – smaller commitments of time and money in five key areas:
- Technology
- a reliable computer (I love my 2 HP laptops)
- Skype (great for conference calls and online coaching)
- Flip video camera
(perfect for your YouTube marketing videos – mine is so easy to use!)
- a reliable computer (I love my 2 HP laptops)
- Online marketing
- domain name (yes, you need a dot com!)
- logo (I used this company to design my Thurman Consulting logo for less than $100)
- blogging software (WordPress is QUEEN, baby)
- web hosting (so necessary for a professional web presence)
- Offline marketing
- business cards (check out Moo Cards and Vistaprint for great options that won’t break the bank)
- Training
- check out my blog training membership program for beginning bloggers: The Blogging School
- Coaching
- check out my affordable business coaching programs
- consider purchasing my Blog Starter Kit if you need someone to set up a site for you – I can have you blogging in less than 72 hours!
What investments have you made so far in your budding business? If you haven’t shelled out any cash yet, why not? What’s holding you back from investing in your dream?
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Hi
I liked your post. I think it’s full of commonsense advice for a small business and the best investment we can make is in ourselves.
successful living handbook
According to your list I am right on track. Some of my equipment may be old but as long as it still working with no major problems, I’m good. I just updated my Hire Me Page, adding the tungle.me widget to allow clients to schedule a meeting with me. I will be adding skype as soon as I can figure out how to used it. I still working on making my back-end run as smoothly as possible so I can focus on doing the work I love to do.
Read my latest blog post…Resources and Links for Creative Professionals
I LOVE your hire me page! Looks amazing. Hope you don’t mind if I use it as a model in one of my next trainings
As for Skype, it has been a great way for me to work with my coaching clients, especially ones who are not in the U.S.!
Thank you so much. Go right ahead, I don’t mind you using it.
Read my latest blog post…Resources and Links for Creative Professionals
I like the idea of adding tungle.me to the hire me page. I’ve had it for a while, but don’t use it much. This is a good use for it. Thanks for the idea.
Read my latest blog post…social business tip- you don’t have to be everywhere!
Hey Rosetta!
I’m loving the new look and feel of your blog.
This is such solid advice. I think so many people fail to realize that they already have half the things they need to get their side hustle moving. With these tools and your help, they’ll be well on their way!
Read my latest blog post…The Entrepreneurial Economy- Why you must cultivate the entrepreneur within
Yup – people seem to get daunted at the beginning, but it really doesn’t take much to get going! Thanks for stopping by
I’m saving up for a nice office suite. I’m also putting money on renter’s insurance. I looked into it because of my daughter’s instruments, but I can get a small business rider, too. Thanks for the advice!
Read my latest blog post…youngshay112- RT @tuckfwitter- Still seeing ignorancea lot of you just dont get it- do you Please save your oh Im just saying comments to your
Great point about insurance! I’ve yet to invest in that for my biz, but now I plan to check out whether I can add on to my renter’s insurance as well. Can’t wait to see your new office digs
Update! I’m bartering with a client for a newer laptop and printer. She said I do so much of her work she might as well give it to me. I set the stuff up for her, and it all works well. Very excited.
Read my latest blog post…shayrunsthecity- Im working on a natural science assignment- for a social work major Whats the most irrelevant class youve ever taken