Today, I’m sharing what I feel have been the best business investments I’ve made since I started my business. These are things that have helped me grow both as a photographer and now, an online business educator. I’m so excited to share my thoughts on this topic. When it comes to running a six figure business, there have definitely been things that were 100% worth the investment (and plenty that weren’t). So, I hope that today’s post gives you the confidence you need to find your best investments, too!

Paid Education

One of the things I truly believed changed my business was investing into paid education. From online courses to resources, to conferences and 1:1 coaching, this has been a HUGE help in my own business. Choosing high quality education from high quality educators has helped me make back my investment time and time again. I’ve invested in courses as a photographer and a lot of coaching now as an online business educator.  I know it can seem like a risk to invest in online education sometimes, but if you trust the educator and know that they produce quality content, it’s absolutely worth it! 

My Team

The second thing that’s allowed me to grow as much as I have is my team. These people have helped me tackle all of the things I just can’t do on my own… because I’m not the only person out here working on my business. When I was running my photography business, my team was a bit bigger. I had second shooters, a photo editor, and my virtual assistant that helped me serve my clients and keep up with their workflows. 

Now, as my business is changing, my team is changing too! I’m in the midst of hiring another administrative assistant and I still have my virtual assistant – who still tackles a lot of behind the scenes work. She does a lot of content copy for me, too! I now have a video editor, too. She focuses on my YouTube videos and course content. I also hire out for independent contractors for projects as needed. 

It’s been awesome to see how these investments have paid off for me! Once that person is in their sweet spot and they know what they’re doing, it’s incredible to see how much your business can soar because you’re not doing everything. Instead, you can focus on what YOU really have and need to do in your business. This allows me to make more money and continue to grow without having to be caught up in the day-to-day tasks. 

My brand and website 

So my website template is from Elizabeth McCravy (use the code “STEPHANIE” for 12% of her templates!) and I was able to customize it for my own brand. I say this was an awesome investment because when you have a brand that’s super recognizable, it allows your business to grow more quickly too. People know who you are and easily get a sense of what you can do for them right away. Investing into a website template and creating a brand was a really good investment for me so I had that solid ground to grow from! My personalized brand has truly elevated my business and brand and I’m so thankful for the strategy behind Elizabeth’s templates – she really makes it easy for you! 

You could also hire a designer to help with your brand, too! I personally had a better experience creating my own brand and using a template than hiring someone. 

Masterminds

I already touched on this a little bit when I talked about paid education but I think it’s important to break masterminds into their own categories. I’ve done 2 masterminds at this point. My first was in January 2020 and was focused primarily on passive income. That mastermind opened my eyes to so many things that I had no idea about when it came to creating and launching products! This mastermind had both content calls and hot seats. I was able to learn AND get feedback on my own ideas in this setting. 

The second mastermind has been more of a hot seat mastermind, which means that we’re bringing projects that we’re working on to our calls. There, we can get feedback and brainstorm with the other members instead of a straight teaching style. It’s been really helpful – especially all that feedback on my own ideas! 

My Email List 

The fifth investment I’ve made into my business is my email list. Not only is there a financial investment but there’s a time investment so it belongs on this list. I truly believe it’s made a huge difference in my online brand and business. It’s been a priority in my business because it’s an easy way that I can connect with all of my audience and offer them what I sell. I always go back to the idea that social media is meant to be social where email was created to be a selling tool – so we should be using it as small business owners!! If you want to learn more about how I’ve built my email list, read more here! 

There we have it: my best business investments! I truly think that these five things have been totally worth it and helped me grow my business.