Important Investments to Make in Your Business For Long-Term Success

As a business owner, making investments in your business is something that just comes with the territory of entrepreneurship. But when most people think of business investments, they typically associate it with financial investments, and that’s not the only type of investment entrepreneurs make in their business.

In addition to money, business owners invest time and effort as well. A lot of the successful entrepreneurs you see today wouldn’t have achieved the level of success they have without sacrificing their sleep to get things done; They wouldn’t have achieved the level of success they have today if they didn’t tell their kids that they have to miss their soccer game because they had to work…

So as you can see, investments extend way beyond the financial aspect, and the sooner you realize that, the closer you’ll be to achieving total success in your business. But in order to reach your desired level of success, you have to first know what areas of your business to make the best investments.

Top Areas of Your Business to Make the Biggest Investments

Invest in Yourself

As a business owner, one of the best investments you can make are investments in yourself. Some people might say that this is a selfish move but it indeed isn’t selfish at all. Investing in yourself is going to go toward the betterment of your business.

Taking classes on management is going to teach you how to run your company better. It can even teach you how to train your employees into becoming managers. But by investing in yourself, you’re ultimately investing in your company as well. From courses on how to handle disgruntled customers to learning how to boost employee morale, investing in yourself is the least selfish investment you could ever make for your business.

Invest in Your Team

There’s not one entrepreneur that can say they built their entire business without the help of other people along the way. Investing in your team translates into building a better workforce that will streamline your business and improve productivity… This is the type of investment that will attract hardworking employees.

Investing in your employees could be done in numerous ways but ideally, you want everyone to participate, so that means you have to get each team building activity right the first time. Project management software is going to make their job much easier, training and continuing education programs are going to show them that you value them as an employee, and rewarding their hard work is going to show them that you appreciate their hard work.

Team building exercises, employee appreciation days, and incentives are ways to invest in your team and really show them that you want them to be part of the team long-term. This is also going to save you money on hiring new employees too by reducing your company’s retention rate. Did you know that losing an employee can cost anywhere from 16% of an hourly employee’s salary to 213% of a highly trained and qualified salaried employee?

Investing in your team to keep them happy and make them feel valued will cost you way less in the grand scheme of things.

Invest in Marketing

Marketing is the root of how your business establishes visibility in your market. Digital marketing is the smartest investment you can make in your business, as far as marketing is concerned, and if it’s done well, you can start to see real and lucrative results from it. 

Everything from SEO, paid ads, and social media, there are countless ways to enhance your online presence, but if you don’t have the technical know-how or any working knowledge of how to do it, you need to find an experienced marketing firm that can do an assessment of your business and determine the best marketing approach that will bring your business the best results.

Just be sure to do your research here because there are lots of fake marketing firms out there that are only out to take your money. Research each company you’re considering, read reviews, and ask them for a list pf previous clients so you can reference check them. If they have a problem providing you this information, you don’t need to invest in their services.

There are many different ways to invest in your business, but the bottom line of your investments is that they need to be investments that add to the growth and enhancement of your business. Everything from investing in yourself to investing in a marketing firm, each investment you make needs to pour into your business’ bottom line.

Annika Bansal
 

Annika "The Chick Geek" is the founder of AnnikaBansal.com. Small Business Sense shares small business ideas, tips and resources for independent Entrepreneurs and Small Business owners.