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In this episode I share with you 3 of the best investments you can make in your business. I’ve said it before and it’s still true — sometimes we try to DIY things or sticky-tape things together because it’s “free” or cheaper, but it can end up costing us far more than dollars. 

The tech or systems we’re working with can end up feeling like they’re working against us and life is just too short to be stuck on support chat for hours trying to get your business back up and running again. 

And these 3 things? Game changer.

Things You’ll Learn in this Episode of Doing it Online:

• The 3 best investments you can make in your business (& why)
• A hybrid approach to getting awesome images for your business
• How you can get back 5 hours each week so you can spend that time on the stuff that counts. 

Full disclosure: I put these 3 investments off for so long. 

But you don’t have to! 

If you’re wanting to grow your business or even just wondering how you can do better and go bigger, you’re going to want to consider investing in these 3 things.

None of them are huge investments of either time or money, but when you make the choice to put your resources into the RIGHT areas, they can make a HUGE difference in your business.

And no, I’m not saying you have to go and get yourself into debt. But when the time’s right and the finances are there, these are 3 things that can make a difference…

So let’s begin!

#1 – Invest in pro photography

Too many people underestimate how impactful good photography can be for your business. As much as I love a good selfie or the occasional ‘rough and ready’ pic (and these have their place too!) Having professional images that are on brand and help you tell your story the way you want to tell it – is marketing gold.

The selfie just isn’t going to cut it for your website or when you’re guest speaking on someone’s podcast, for example. It doesn’t look good for you or them. Plus, having photos that you’re really proud of helps you to feel more confident and put yourself out there more. 

I used to get new photos done once every 2-3 years, now I get a new shoot done 2-3 times a year. Being able to refresh ad graphics and my social feed makes the brand feel a bit more alive and energised. 

The minimum you want to aim for here is a good headshot, because you’ll need a couple of great images to hand out and use on your website and socials. So that’s your step 1. 

Then after that, you’re going to need more images to help you tell your story. The next step is looking into how to get great photos done regularly. 

And you’ve got a couple of options here:

• Flytographer is a great option to look into.
• Consider a hybrid approach – using a handful of pro images + a few you’ve taken yourself. (With a great camera and some great presets.) I used the Olympus Pen 8 for a few years and that made a huge difference.
• If you’re going down the DIY route, grab Lightroom for your computer (or iphone) and some good presets. Jenna Kutcher has some great ones. Trust me, all of a sudden your photos will look 50 times better.

The value of good photography can’t be underestimated and is 100% worth the investment.

Word of warning: once you start, you’ll get addicted.  

#2 – Invest in better tech

You’re probably not surprised this one is in here. You might even be wondering why it’s not number 1! 

Ok, so I was super stubborn about this for so long. I was the DIY queen. And my (WordPress) kingdom was crumbling. 

My business had so many different pieces of tech all trying to talk to each other (or argue with each other) was crazy. The amount of money we had to spend trying to fix it all up and the hours we spent in customer service was a legit nightmare. 

By the time I’d made the decision to move away from the set up that wasn’t working, we’d set so much money on fire just trying to keep things stable.

Moral of the story? 

You want to keep the pieces of your business that NEED to work, on a platform that is stable and reliable. And unless you’re a WordPress developer, you want to be looking at a third party.  It’s more than worth the investment, I can promise you that. 

I go into more of our tech story in the podcast episode, so make sure you give that a listen. 

#3 – Invest in getting help. 

This to me is a no brainer. 

I’ve spent soooo much money over the years on getting myself great coaching and training. As well as getting a great team behind me. 

No, you don’t have to go all in right from the start. But when you do start investing here? It’ll pay you back over and over. 

You want to be outsourcing as soon as you can. If you can free up 5 hours of your time each week, you can use that now free time to invest back into your business in the areas that really matter to you. 

I go into more detail in the episode of how I recommend you begin building your team, so give that a listen. 

But most importantly, I want you to consider getting the support that can push you, challenge you and help you. And there is so much out there to choose from. Our program, eCourse Empire is designed to deliver access to amazing support. We have twice a week hot-seat-style calls with myself and other experts, plus amazing training. So there is definitely help available to you. 

My last piece of advice?

Set a budget. And think: ‘When I do this____’ (improve my photos, get better tech, get help) What’s the pay back? What’s going to happen? 

And if the good outweighs the investment? Then in my book it’s a good investment any day of the week.  

If you want to look further into setting up your tech (+ your website) right, check out this article here: Have you set your website up wrong?