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Starting and growing your business doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money. Many early entrepreneurs make the mistake of misallocating their money and energy. 

Part of sustainably and successfully growing your business is developing an entrepreneurial mindset to better prioritize and structure your business needs for growth. 

Here are 3 tips for growing a small business to help you start making smart investments that will last for the long run. 

Create a healthy relationship with money

Before discussing how to invest in your business, it is important you think about your relationship with money. 

Whether you are creating a budget to quit corporate or have already quit, understanding how you relate to money is key. 

Take time to understand how your past or current experiences shape how you view money, including how you spend or want to spend your money. 

Understanding how you relate to money can help you create financial goals for your business, so you can more easily make decisions. 

1. Close your knowledge gap and get paid more

There are various ways to make money, but the key to getting paid consistently and well is mastering your skill and increasing your business knowledge. 

How you invest in the early years will differ from person to person, but the one thing every entrepreneur has in common is that they invest to close their knowledge gaps. What do you already know, and what do you need to know to make your business grow?

For example, if you already have a skillset you want to monetize, you are better off spending money on services that help you package your offers to get paid well– you can prioritize a brand or business coach. 

If you are pivoting and learning a new skill, you can minimize your expenses by doing free courses on educational platforms like Coursera, EdX, and Hubspot Academy. 

[Bonus Tip: If you choose to pivot and learn a new skill, you can leverage your current skills to make money while you learn the new skills]

Spend your time wisely

Your time and attention are as important as money when you are closing the knowledge gaps. How much time and energy you have will depend on various factors (e.g. if you still have a 9-5, if you have children, if you have caretaking obligations other than children, etc). 

Set aside time to deeply focus on your education. Whether it is learning a new skill that will pay more or learning about sales, this knowledge sets the foundation your business needs to grow. 

[Pro tip: Track your time with a tool like Toggl for 1-2 weeks. Also track your energy levels throughout the week to understand your energy flow. You will start to see how you can improve your time and energy management to work more effectively] 

It can seem boring to learn some of these skills, but having the right knowledge will help you build a sustainable business that consistently brings in money. 

And the better you understand how you operate, including what you enjoy doing and not doing, will help you decide how to delegate tasks later. You can then spend more time in your zone of genius and finding new ways to scale your business.

2. Get tools your business needs to move the needle

Don’t get caught up in the hype of logos and building a website. When you first start, spend money on the tools that are necessary for your business. 

Unless you are building an e-commerce business or a business around blogging, you don’t need to spend your money on a website.

Instead, spend money on tools that will set the foundation for your business like: 

• Necessary tech like a laptop
• Professional email. This will be useful to grow an email list. 
• Client management tools like Calendly or Honeybook. 
• Canva pro if you are building templates. If you’re not, you can start with the free version. (These customizable branded Canva templates can get your business off to an amazing start!)
• Website builders like Shopify if you sell products. 
• Tools for your wellness like the Vision Book I created, therapy, Calm, or mindset coaching because you are the person behind your business moves

There are many free tools like Google Meet for video calls or Clickup for project management. There are also many tools with free trials to help you decide whether a tool is right for you or not. 

As you grow, you can spend more money on more powerful tools, but don’t start overspending on fancy tools that don’t serve you. 

The key is to spend money on tools that help you streamline your workflow, so you can spend more time on money-making tasks or on enjoying life because if you are happy and energized, your business benefits from it. 

3. Build a brand that connects with potential clients

Building a brand can be a game changer and should come before content pillars or a beautiful feed. Visuals are important to grab attention, but aesthetics without substance will not build a connection with your audience. 

Branding is what helps you decide your messaging, niching, and services. If you know your brand, it is easier to make business decisions because your brand is your business compass. 

By making brand-aligned decisions, it will be easy for people to understand your brand. The easier it is for people to understand your brand, the easier it is for them to remember it. 

In a world where people are increasingly distracted, making it easy for people to remember you will increase awareness and leads for your business. 

And because your message is clear, you will also attract aligned clients, so you can work with people who share your values to create the impact you want.

How you spend your first years in business can make it easier or harder to scale later on. Remember that these first few years are all about planting your seed (ideas) in good soil (business foundations). 

If you want to build a business that lasts more than 1 or 2 years, take the time to cultivate your business the right way, and you will reap bountiful benefits.

If you are ready to build an online brand that allows you to live a freedom and joy filled life, check out my brand development coaching program. This program gives you hands-on experience creating your brand from scratch, including messaging and social media strategy.

If you prefer a 1-on-1 approach, I offer a customized social media branding package. 

If you want to find your authentic brand strategy, check out this brand strategy quiz I created to help you understand how to show up in your business in alignment with your unique energy, personality & Human Design.