110: Ways You Can Invest In Your Business & What To Consider Before You Do

Welcome to the shoot it straight podcast. I’m your host, Sabrina Gebhardt. Here, I will share an honest take on what it’s like to be a female creative entrepreneur while balancing business, motherhood, and life. Myself, along with my guests, will get vulnerable through honest conversations and relatable stories, because we’re willing to go there.

If you’re trying to find balance in this exciting place you’re in, yet willing to talk about the hard stuff too, we’re here for you. The shoot it straight podcast is here to share practical and tangible takeaways to help you shoot it straight.

Welcome back to the shoot it straight podcast. My friends, let’s say that you’ve been in business for a minute. You’re not completely new anymore. You’ve worked out the kinks. You know that you’re loving it. You decide that you are ready to go all in. You’re ready to invest in your business and really see it take off and see this like massive growth that you’re dreaming of.

Or maybe you’re on the opposite side of things. You think you’ve been going all in on your business, but for some reason you don’t think that you’ve got the traction that you have been hoping for, right? Like nothing that you’re doing feels like it’s been working quote unquote, or you’ve been trying and you feel like you’re on this hamster wheel, but it feels like you’re slogging through mud and you’re frustrated.

In this instance, just like in the last example, either way, it could be a sign that it’s time to invest in your business. When someone hears, invest in your business, that statement, they automatically think about making a financial investment. And that can absolutely be true, But what about your time?

There are also ways that you can make big investments of time that can make a huge difference to your life and to your business. Before I dive into this episode, can I ask you a favor? If you’ve been listening to the podcast and you haven’t left a review yet, would you hit pause and do that right now?

It’s going to take you two minutes, max. And it’s so, so helpful to me and to all future listeners. Okay, in today’s episode, I’m sharing five ways that you can pour into your business that you can invest when you’re ready to go in or finally see the changes that you feel like you’ve been working for.

Number one, the first thing that you can invest in when you’re ready to go all in on your business is to outsource something that you’re bad at or something that takes up too much of your time. This is an investment of money because you are going to pay someone or something to take things off your plate.

There are all kinds of things that you can outsource in your business, depending on what your needs are. These can include culling, editing, uploading galleries, blogging, social media, client communication, and more. It’s important to consider what you need the most before making this investment. Like I mentioned, choose something that you are either Bad at, or maybe just not great at, or that takes up too much of your time.

Okay. Or in an ideal situation, these are the same thing. Another thing to consider when you think about investing in outsourcing, because I get pushed back on this so much. So often I hear, Oh, I don’t want to pay someone. I could just do it myself. I want to keep my expenses low. I’ll just do it myself.

Here’s what I want you to remember. You are not paying these costs, these fees, these people out of your own pocket. You are going to build these costs. into your current rates so that your clients pick up the difference and pay for the outsourcing. I will never ask you to make less money. Never. Okay. So when I am encouraging you to make an investment in your business, whether it’s an outsourcing or one of the other things I’m going to mention today, it is always with the intention that the costs of the investment are getting passed on to your clients.

Okay. And honestly, When you break up these investments and you divide it by the number of sessions you have in a year or in a month, the fees are normally really, really tiny. Okay. Just to give you a quick example, if you decide to outsource your editing and it costs you an average of 30 to have a family session edited, then you simply need to raise your family rates by 30 to cover the cost.

And you don’t have to edit anymore. You get all of that time back. By simply raising your prices by 30. It really, really is that simple. Okay. Number two, the next way that you can invest in your business when you’re ready to go all in is by completing that big project. Yeah, this sounds super vague, but you heard me and you know exactly what I’m referring to here.

Everybody has one. Okay. Everyone has that one big project that they’ve been putting off and it’s either because they don’t want to invest the time or money Um, it could be something like building a website or revamping your website. It could be setting up that CRM that you want to use or learning to use your current CRM to the fullest potential.

It could be fine tuning your editing style so that your work becomes identifiable and cohesive. It could also be something like setting up QuickBooks or getting started with profit first. The thing is that big projects are big for a reason. It’s rare that they are a waste of your time. They help move the needle in your business and they give you the growth that you want.

But the thing about big projects is that they are a big investment. They will either take a lot of money or a lot of time or potentially both. The best advice I can give you when you are finally ready to go all in and get this big project done is to plan time on your calendar to get it done and give yourself a deadline.

Part of the reason we put off these big projects is because they seem so big that we can’t envision them ever being completed. We are busy and it seems impossible to think of how we can ever possibly chip away at this thing. But my friend, your brain is lying to you. I say that so often on the podcast, it’s lying to you.

Just like with any big goal, success and achievement will come in simply planning your time. Decide how much you’re going to give yourself. Like how much time is it going to be a month? Is it going to be a week? Is it going to be six months? And then block off chunks of time to get the project done. For example, if you’re building a new website, maybe you give yourself a month.

And that looks like one to two hours a day for the entire month. Or three hours twice a week for the entire month, but the blocks of time they have to go on your calendar and you have to stick to them. Don’t schedule sessions there. Don’t edit images there. Don’t run errands there. When that block of time shows up in your day, it’s time to work on the project.

The third way that you can invest in your business when you’re ready to go all in is by investing in your health. Yeah. Yeah. I said it. This may be a tough pill to swallow, but again, you know, in your gut, if this applies to you and to be crystal clear here. Yes, I am definitely referring to both your physical and mental health.

The honest truth is that if your health is struggling, your business will struggle to period end of story. I give this analogy in my coaching program all the time, but when you are trying to grow your business and you are ignoring a health struggle, it’s like you’re swimming with a brick tied to your ankle.

Technically, you can do it. You just aren’t getting very far because something is quite literally dragging you down. The swimming is so much harder than it needs to be. And when you start facing your health challenges head on, the brick gets looser. And looser until it finally falls away. And then swimming becomes downright easy.

This is when your business really takes off when your health is in a position to support that growth. A couple of things to consider when investing in your health. First of all, yes, this is an investment of time and it is likely an investment of money as well. There are so many ways that you can invest in your health that it can feel overwhelming to know where to start.

I think the two simplest places to start that apply to literally everyone are to start moving your body every day and to see a therapist. You need a therapist, no matter what your age, no matter your season of life, no matter your background, everyone needs someone to talk to. And I promise that it is going to serve you so well and moving your body, even if just a daily walk should be a non negotiable beyond that.

There are a lot of things you can do. And to give you an example, here are all the ways that I invest in my health on a regular basis. Are you ready? Daily exercise, prioritizing sleep, annual blood work. I see a naturopath. I do massage and lymphatic massage several times a year. I go to the sauna weekly. I drink a ton of water.

I take supplements and electrolytes every day. I have a morning quiet time. I read personal development books. I see a therapist. I eat as clean as possible. 11 months ago, I decided to give up alcohol. I limit my screen time in the evening. I work with a mindset coach and I utilize a lot of white space.

Yeah, it’s a lot. And yes, it makes a massive difference in how I feel, how I parent, and also how much growth my business has. One of the topics that I get asked about the most as a business coach is marketing. Photographers ask me how to get more inquiries from ideal clients, how to make social media work for them, and generally, how to be more effective when it comes to marketing.

While they’re asking me these questions, I hear the same sentiments over and over again. Marketing feels tedious, nothing seems to work, I can’t seem to be consistent, and more. If this sounds familiar to you, then I have something really fun to share. I have a new free guide called Magical Momentum. This is a 30 day done for you marketing plan that is designed to connect you with your ideal clients.

It’s full of fresh and fun ideas to get you out of your boring marketing rut, and it’s laid out in a way that is Easily achievable daily steps that you can take to show up consistently for your business. If you’re ready to try something new and hit the easy button on marketing for the next 30 days, grab your free guide at SabrinaGebhart.

com. Backslash momentum. And now back to the show. The fourth way that you can invest when you’re ready to go all in on your business is to start taking yourself seriously. This one might seem a little vague, so let me explain. Are you someone who undercuts your business? Do you make it seem less than, do you say things like, Oh, I just take photos.

Or it’s just a little side hustle or I don’t need to charge that much cause my sessions only 30 minutes or I’m not as good as so and so. So I don’t need to fill in the blank, raise my rates, have a website, outsource my editing. Here’s the thing about talking about your business in this way. You are not taking yourself seriously and when you don’t take yourself seriously, no one else will.

In all of the years that I have coached photographers, I see this so often. And unfortunately, these are the same women who complain that they’re working too much. They complain that their clients only want cheap or discounted sessions. They complain that their clients ask for all kinds of favors and never order prints or products.

Let me gently remind you the same way that I remind my coaching clients, your clients won’t take you seriously until you take yourself and your business seriously. As long as you continue to downplay things, everyone around you will too. You cannot command luxury rates when you downplay your business.

You can’t seek support at home when you downplay your business. You can’t justify making any large investments when you downplay your business. In other words, when you continue to do this, you have made yourself stuck in this situation, your mindset. Is the problem and to change it means that I would highly recommend you invest in a coach.

Yes, you can read personal development book books and you can listen to podcasts and those things will help, but nothing is going to fix this problem faster and deeper than hiring a coach to help you work through it and get you unstuck. The last way that you can invest in your business is one that I talk about all the time, and that’s investing in education.

I consider education to be investment of both time and money because I am not just encouraging you to hire the coach or join the program and, you know, hand over your credit card. I want you to actually do the work. Making the financial investment in education is not where you see the growth. Pulling out your credit card and joining the thing, buying the thing is not where the magic happens.

The growth happens when you invest your time and you go all in with the program that you joined. For When you’re considering what kind of education might be best for you, think about what you need, not what sounds fun or exciting. I see this time and time again, as an educator and a coach, women take courses or join programs because their friends raved about it, or they’ve heard good things about it, or they simply have FOMO after what they’ve seen on Instagram.

That is a terrible reason to invest in education. If you’re going to pay big bucks and sign up for investing lots of time. Into something, a program, a coach, a course, please, please, please make sure that you actually need the thing that the program or coach is going to help you achieve. If you’ve ever been burned in the education space, this is probably why it’s possible that you joined for the wrong reason.

And it wasn’t the right program for you. You potentially went through this program and completed it, feeling frustrated that you didn’t learn anything. And that in that instance, it’s not the coach’s fault. Another thing that you might consider before investing in education is whether or not it’s the right container for you.

For example, if you habitually buy online courses and never complete them, then you should probably stop doing that. The online course container obviously does not work for you and you would probably be better off in a container where you have access to a coach and you have some sort of accountability, a reason to show up a person to talk to on the flip side.

If you always join programs with group calls and one to one coaching access, but you can never participate because the times don’t work with your full time job, then you would probably do better with an online course where you have access 24 seven. It’s really important to think about. Both the container and what the course or program promise is to make sure that it’s something that you actually need and that you will be able to be successful at.

Okay, just to recap one more time, when you’re ready to go all in, in your business, whether you are, you know, a few years in, you’ve worked out some of the kinks and you’re ready to like go full throttle and see some big growth, or if you think you’ve been going full throttle, but things don’t feel like they’re working, there are five ways.

That you can invest in your business. Okay. Five ways that you can set yourself up for that big growth and change that you’ve been looking for. Number one is to outsource something that you are bad at, or that takes you too much time. Number two is to finally get that big project that you’ve been putting off done.

Number three is to invest in your health, either mental or physical or both. Number four is to invest in your mindset and start taking yourself and your business seriously. And number five is to make an investment in education. And that’s it for today, my friends. Thanks for joining me for another episode and we’ll see you next week.

Thanks so much for listening to the shoot it straight podcast. You can find all the full show notes And details from today’s episode@sabrinagehart.com slash podcast. Come find me and connect over on the gram at Sabrina Gehart Photography. If you’re loving the podcast, I’d be honored if you hit that subscribe button and leave me a review.

Until next time, my friends shoot it straight.