Have you ever thought about making an investment in yourself in order to grow your business? Perhaps you’ve considered this, but you’ve been scared to do so. Or, maybe you’ve made investments that have ended up being the wrong ones for you.
Have you ever thought about making an investment in yourself in order to grow your business? Perhaps you’ve considered this, but you’ve been scared to do so. Or, maybe you’ve made investments that have ended up being the wrong ones for you.
In this episode, I’m going to give you a behind-the-scenes look at my first 3 months of business. I’m sharing real numbers (that I’ve never shared before publicly) and telling you about my first big business investment.
I’ll share with you what this investment was, why I made it, and how it changed the game for me. I’ll also share one key to your success when you make an investment in your business.
Before I dive into this issue, I’m also sharing with you an update on my business in 2021, including my vision for how I want to support you even more in this coming year.
My Business Update
I’m excited to share that, moving into 2021, I have sensed God leading me to step into more of a focus on serving Christian women business owners. Specifically, I will be stepping into more coaching and mentoring, specifically around growing your business online through digital marketing.
That means that in addition to this podcast, my Facebook group, and the strategy sessions I currently offer, I will also be having some new ways for us to work together. So keep your ears open for more details! In the meantime, if you’d like to learn about working together right now, shoot me an email: business (at) estherlittlefield.com.
A lot of this comes from my own experience earlier in my business journey when I was searching for a mentor or coach who could help me grow my business AND shared the same faith and values. It was a challenge to find someone like this, so it’s my hope and prayer to be that for those who may be at a similar place I was a few years ago.
All About My First Big Business Investment
In 2015 & 2016, when I was building my blog and trying to grow an email list and create a course, I was really operating in a DIY mindset. I did a lot on my own, and while I did invest in a course or two, I did not invest in any help beyond that. I was determined to figure this out on my own, and I wasn’t sure that I could make my money back if I invested in something.
But when I started my business as a service provider in January 2017, I made a mental switch. I decided that I wasn’t going to be afraid to invest in myself or the help I needed to reach my goals. And this is one thing that transformed my ability to move forward quickly.
Two investments I made:
- I brought on 2 team members within my first 2 months of business. Having these subcontractors helped me to take on more clients and still complete the work that was needed.
- I made a significant investment into a group coaching program that seemed really scary at the time.
What happened?
Within my first 3 months of my business, I was able to double my original revenue goals. I have never shared numbers before, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do so on this podcast. I never want this to result in comparison or someone feeling like they are doing something wrong if they don’t hit these numbers. But I do believe it’s helpful to have real life examples, which is why I decided to share specifics in this episode.
In month one of my business, I was able to earn over $1800. In month 2, it was $3900, and in month 3, it was $3300. So over the course of those 3 months, I averaged over $3,000 per month which is double what my original goal was.
In month 2, when I was still a baby business, I invested $2500 in the group program. Was I scared? Absolutely! Was I totally ready for the level of training? Probably not! But, did it make a huge difference for me? Yes it did.
And here’s the truth: the biggest difference it made for me was in my mindset.
I started to actually believe that I could really use the gifts and skills God had given me, as well as the ones I had learned through my own DIYing and determination… and that I could bring value to my clients.
My mindset switched during those 8 weeks from feeling like I wasn’t sure if I could really offer anything to recognizing that I did know stuff, and that I could really use what I knew to help others.
And the rest of that year? My income continued to grow, as did my confidence in how I could show up for my clients.
Making this investment was certainly not the only factor in why my business continued to grow that year. But I do believe that if I hadn’t taken that leap to invest. If I hadn’t decided to treat this like a real business and instead just kept trying to DIY stuff, I don’t think I would have grown as quickly as I did.
And here’s one important key about this issue: investing in yourself and your business requires you to be coachable. It requires you to continue to recognize that you need help, even if you’ve got a lot figured out.
And it requires trusting God… that’s weird to say, but when I made that decision to invest, I was also trusting God that I was making a wise decision and that He would guide me to the next step.
I hope this episode has helped you to see the value in making an investment in your own business. In the next episode, I will be sharing some thoughts about how to determine which investments are right for you and at what point in your business you should make them.
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