Courtney brand and web designer

August 2023

Where to invest time and money to grow your business

Whatever stage you’re at, there are advantages to knowing when and where to invest your extra time. And identify when the balance changes and you’re ready to invest your money.

More Time Than Money

Time is money, yes.

But when you’re in the growth phase of your business, they’re also two distinct – albeit hot – commodities.

In the earliest stages of your business, you feel like you have nothing but time. And as frustrating as that can be, if you’re focusing on the right activities, you can invest that time to get to a point where…

You have more money and forget what it feels like to have 2 extra minutes to grab a quiet coffee break.

(Which can be just as frustrating in its own special way!)

Whatever stage you’re at, there are advantages to knowing when and where to invest your extra time.

And identify when the balance changes and you’re ready to invest your money.

There are tons of free resources (I’ve linked to no less than a dozen throughout this article) that can help you no matter where you’re at in your journey.

When you have more time than money

If your business is making between $0-$2000 per month AND you have more time than money, you’re in the early growth stage. This is the perfect time to work on your business and maybe even prioritize yourself as if you were one of your own clients. Here are several growth-driving activities you can try with your extra time:

1. DIY your brand strategy efforts.

You can start with some of the following resources:

2. Find a semi-custom brand kit from a designer you love.

Here’s what I mean:

3. Purchase a website theme.

There are many places you can find a great starter theme. Here are just a few of them:
  • Grab one and get started on your DIY website.  These sites often offer packages to help you create your website using their themes, as well (which will be less expensive than custom work).

4. Start creating content that supports your brand strategy and overall goals.

There are several channels you can try, but I recommend choosing one to start with:
    • Blog posts
    • Newsletters
    • Social Media
    • Free Webinars
    • Podcast Guest Appearances 
    Once you feel comfortable with one channel, move on to another one.

5. Engage with your audience each day.

Try a mix of low and high-effort strategies to keep in touch with your ideal clients:

    • 10 minutes prior to posting on your chosen platform (IG, LinkedIn, etc), browse content from others in your industry and engage with posts that interest and inspire you

    • Stay top of mind with past clients by liking and commenting on their posts and replying to their stories and newsletter content

    • Reach new accounts by following relevant hashtags and engaging with popular and interesting posts

    • Find 1 or 2 in-person networking events you can attend and follow up with any connections you make via email

      DM 3-5 people in your industry that you’re inspired by and ask to schedule a video chat with them (CAVEAT: go in with zero expectations, and you’ll have a better experience)

    • Email a past client local to you and see if they would be up for grabbing coffee to catch up

In the early days, you couldn’t imagine paying for something that you can successfully do organically.  But as you reach a point where you have more money and less time to do things the organic way, it could be time to experiment with rapid-growth activities

When you have limited time and some money

If your business is making between $2000-5000 per month, you’ve proven (if only to yourself because we’re always our own worse critic) that you’ve got what it takes to grow your business. Now is the time to set bigger goals and think on a future scale. Here are several areas you can invest your limited time and money:

1. Set 1-3 brand objectives each quarter that are realistic AND measurable.

Then focus solely on those goals until you reach them (or need to re-evaluate).

Example Brand Objective 1
Increase ecommerce sales 12% over the next 3 months through a focus on our website and newsletter sales funnel. List small, actionable steps to reach your goal, like:

    • “Reach mini-revenue increases each month”
      • 3% increase in month 1
      • 4% increase in month 2
      • 5% increase in month 3
    • “A/B test subject lines and track open rates on test emails.” 

    • “Add backlinks to specific products on the website from our newsletters and track click-through rates of most successful links.”

Example Brand Objective 2
Improve proof of customer satisfaction on our website by gathering 3-5 new customer reviews each month. List small, actionable steps to reach your goal, like:

    • “Provide a framework for a good customer testimonial to each customer (reducing objections to writing a review.)”

    • “Create a system to ask each customer at the conclusion of our business together so it doesn’t get missed.”

    • “Track customers asked and follow-up dates with alerts in Google Calendar”

2. Buy back your time by outsourcing tasks.

Outsourcing is your friend! You can outsource almost anything that doesn’t bring you joy or make you money directly because you should be focused on your zone of genius. 

Each of us will have something different on our outsourcing list, but ideally, you understand what you’re outsourcing enough to be a “creative director” of it.

Here are a few ideas to get your wheels turning:

A good rule of thumb to help you figure out when you can afford to outsource is to have 60 days of cash in the bank.

Formula to calculate the total you want before investing:
Your expenses/30 days = Cash in the bank per day x 60

3. Invest in custom branding and web design

As much as semi-custom brand kits and website templates can get you started, most business owners reach a point where they’re ready for a more personalized experience.

You might recognize yourself as having reached this stage if:

      • Your ideal client has recently changed, and you aren’t reaching them
      • Your image no longer “fits” your services (or your whole ~vibe~) 
      • Your website feels out of date, chaotic, or overly simple

Now is the perfect time to explore custom branding and web design services.

Rest assured that there is still room to grow even if you’re pulling off $10k months and know there’s got to be more.

When you have more money than time

If your business is making $5k+ per month, you’ve officially reached the stage where you could be prepared to scale into new avenues of business growth. Now you’ve got more money than time, and you want to be really careful about how much more of your extremely limited non-monetary resources you use on business activities. After all, you’ve still got a life to life to live! Here are smart ways to invest your money when you reach this phase:

1. Start creating passive income streams.

Passive income is money you earn automatically. Or at least with very minimal intervention or involvement once it’s set up. It can encompass anything you create once and sell repeatedly, like:
  • And the best part? You can outsource the creation and set up of most types of passive income so that it’s truly, well, passive for you!

2. Experiment with paid advertising, influencer marketing, etc.

In the early days, you couldn’t imagine paying for something that you can successfully do organically. 

But as you reach a point where you have more money and less time to do things the organic way, it could be time to experiment with rapid-growth activities like paid advertising and influencer marketing.

Just make sure you set solid goals for what you want to get out of these activities and recognize when it’s working – and when it isn’t.

3. Hire a business coach.

There are only so many things you can do yourself – including navigating the extensive list of activities listed in this article – before you burn out. Or find yourself wondering

“Am I doing enough?”
“Am I doing the right things?”
“Am I missing out on anything that would accelerate my growth?”

A good business coach can help you figure all of that out. And a whole lot more.
And the best way to connect with the right coach for you? 

    • Ask who you’ve been following on social media.
    • Look at whose content you enjoy consuming.
    • Check whose posts you’ve saved the most.

That’s a great place to start!

Prioritize yourself as if you were one of your own clients

You can start – and grow – your business at any stage

If you’ve read all the way through and you’re at the beginning of your business growth journey, I don’t want you to get discouraged! Go back to the start and re-read the first section: you can grow if you have $0 and nothing but time. And you can rest assured that there is still room to grow even if you’re pulling off $10k months and know there’s got to be more.

There are tons of free resources (I’ve linked to no less than a dozen throughout this article) that can help you no matter where you’re at in your journey.

And if you are at a point where you’ve got some – or a lot – of disposable income? Get in touch for Branding, Web Design, SEO Services, Graphic Design, Social Media Management. And let’s grow your business together!