WHAT TO INVEST IN AT EACH STAGE IN YOUR BUSINESS…

Knowing what to invest in, and when, can be a huge challenge for business owners throughout their journey.

With so many people vying for your attention – all offering something slightly different and all promising to hold the answer for your success, it can be incredibly confusing and overwhelming.

Sadly there are a lot of people out there who will sell you anything you are willing to buy – whether they think it’s the thing that will benefit you most or not.

Be wary of any off-the-shelf one-size-fits-all solution – these tend to be dangerous time and money wasters.

In this blog I’m gonna focus on three areas of investment:

• One-to-one coaching
• Group programmes
• Memberships

This is because these are things I actually offer, and I’ve taken the time to really understand the value each delivers, and also who gets the most value from of each of these services.

Here’s my guide on what to invest in and when:

ONE-TO-ONE COACHING

START-UP

This isn’t going to go down too well, because one-to-one coaching is, if you go to someone who knows their beans, going to be a big investment.

BUT – this is what you need most at the start of your business journey.

Yes I know, it doesn’t seem fair does it? The most expensive thing is what you need to invest in before you’ve started making any real money.

Damn it.

I’m sorry, but it’s true.

This early stage of your business journey is when you probably know the least about what you are getting in to – the mental resilience, strategies and techniques needed to start a business from scratch can come as a bit of a shock to new business owners.

This is one of the reasons a lot of new businesses don’t ever get off the ground, or sadly fail within their first year – the grasp of business, marketing and mindset just isn’t there.

Going with a coach on a one-to-one basis at this early stage will not only prepare you mentally and emotionally for what’s to come, it can also empower you to build such solid business foundations that you’ll actually succeed quicker and reach levels of financial reward you didn’t dare dream were possible.

Put simply – it is the most effective way to start a sustainably successful business.

Working with a coach one-to-one means that everything is focussed 100% on you and your business – meaning that it’s all totally bespoke. You just don’t get that from any group programme or membership.

PIVOT

Sound familiar…

• Feel a change coming on?
• Things getting a bit stale?
• Business just isn’t working / making enough money?
• Not sure you are really living your purpose?
• Business not fulfilling you and bringing light and joy to your life anymore?

These are all signs that a pivot is needed.

This is a very crucial time for you and your business, and a time when working with a coach on a one-to-one basis will make everything so much easier for you.

Change can be scary, painful and confusing.

Working with a coach one-to-one will give you the time and space you need to understand where the change is coming from, why it’s necessary, how to prepare for it, and how to implement it in the best possible way for you and your business.

A coach will help you map out and plan for the change, and also guide you through the transition.

I pivoted my business alone.

I went from a Business and Marketing Consultant to a Business and Marketing Coach.

It took over 6 months of incredible struggle, learning, hard work, confidence, mental resilience, stress, anxiety…guys I’m telling you – it wasn’t pretty!

I got here in the end because of my business and marketing background – the fact I’ve studied psychology and did LOADS of mindset work helped too – but I genuinely wouldn’t recommend this route to anyone.

GROUP PROGRAMMES

Approach group programmes with caution:

In my experience, the only group programmes that actually work are those that include an element of live training and one-to-one interaction with the programme provider.

Without this, even people who are more experienced in business can struggle to maintain the commitment and momentum required to get the most out of a programme.

BUSINESS ISN’T QUITE WORKING

I can’t think if a more succinct way to say this – but group programmes are for all business owners who’ve been in business for a while and, for whatever reason, the business is no longer working.

Businesses stop working for a range of factors, for example:

External Forces

• Industry / Sector Changes
• Technology Developments
• Change of Consumer Need

Internal Forces

• Systems / Processes not keeping up with today’s world
• Mindset blocks getting in the way
• Basic Marketing Strategy is wrong

What is going wrong does largely dictate what will work to fix it, but generally I believe that people who’ve run their own businesses for a while are the ones who are switched-on enough to enrol in a group programme and take from it what they need.

Group programmes are generally only really effective if you have some business experience, are able to pick and choose bits that will have the biggest impact, and are good at implementing strategy alone.

New business owners who enrol on programmes will learn some cool stuff, but will often lack the experience and ability to implement what they’ve learned effectively – so often feel let-down by the experience and like they haven’t ‘got enough out of it’.

This is a good example of why new business owners should STOP spending loads of money on group programmes and memberships, and save up to work with a coach!

Again though, if you want a quicker and much easier route to fix what’s broken, work with a coach one-to-one.

HIGHLY MOTIVATED, COMMITTED AND DISCIPLINED BUSINESS OWNERS

If you are the type of person who can self-motivate, get stuff done, are totally committed and have the discipline to work through a group programme until the end – go for it!

In my experience – people who are able to maintain the levels of enthusiasm required to fully complete most programmes are few and far between.

As mentioned in the caution above – if a group programme is what you feel is right for you go for one that has lots of live, one-to-one encouragement and accountability throughout as this will help you maximise it’s benefits.

MEMBERSHIPS

These are sprouting up everywhere aren’t they!

With memberships it largely depends on YOU – what you want or need to get out of them.

On the whole, I’d say COMMUNITY and DEVELOPMENT are where memberships shine.

If you are an established business owner looking to be part of a community of like-minded souls, build your network, and continue your personal and professional development by learning new techniques and strategies along the way – memberships are awesome!

If you are a new business owner, the community element will be excellent for you – cause it can be really lonely at the start. It will also be a fab way for you to learn some of the leading strategies BUT, it may leave you feeling confused and overwhelmed.

By their very nature, memberships are in a constant state of flux – new people are leaving and joining all the time. There may be an eleement of ‘start here’ but for the most part information will be chucked at you in no particular order, and that may actually be detrimental to your ability to move forward.

This really isn’t to say new business owners shouldn’t join memberships, but that they should be realistic about what they’ll get out of them and the major benefit will be in becoming part of a business community and the camaraderie and support that brings – as opposed to ‘this is the answer to help me start my business’.

I hope that’s helped clear it all up a bit for you.

At the end of the day, you need to do what feels right for you, and the only reason I’ve written this blog is to give you a better idea of what you’ll get from each offering to help you make a more informed decision.

Go forth and prosper my friends

Sally xxx