When it comes time to make an investment in your business, are you able to take the leap? In today’s episode, I’m talking about how powerful it can be to invest both time and money into your business, and why so many entrepreneurs will never actually commit to action. My hope is that this episode serves as the motivation you need to finally go for it.
The Shoot It Straight Podcast is brought to you by Sabrina Gebhardt, photographer and educator. Join us each week as we discuss what it’s like to be a female creative entrepreneur while balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood. If you’re trying to find balance in this exciting place you’re in, yet willing to talk about the hard stuff too, Shoot It Straight Podcast is here to share practical and tangible takeaways to help you shoot it straight.
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Today’s episode is brought to you by Root to Rise, a four month mastermind and retreat for female photographers where personal development meets business growth. During the four month experience, students have weekly calls focusing on a variety of topics that both better their lives and their businesses, along with incredible guest teachers, a private Facebook community, and weekly Voxer hours! One of the best parts of the experience is definitely the three day in person retreat. The women who have gone through this program have had some absolutely incredible transformations reached massive goals and changed the trajectory of their businesses. Come join us for Root to Rise!
Review the Show Notes:
What you invest in matters (1:35)
Entrepreneurs are scared to invest money (7:12)
Entrepreneurs are not willing to shift priorities (8:49)
The desire isn’t strong enough (9:32)
Why I’m passionate about investing big (10:50)
Mentioned in this Episode:
Root To Rise Mastermind & Retreat
Review the Transcript:
Welcome to the shoot it straight podcast. I’m your host, Sabrina Gephardt. 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 to to shoot it straight podcast is here to share practical and tangible takeaways to help you shoot it straight.
Welcome back to another episode of the shoot it straight podcast. This week, I wanted to share about something that’s kind of been on my heart and in the back of my mind for a while. This is something that I believe in wholeheartedly, and I think it’s an important perspective to share. The idea is this, the bigger the investment, the bigger the impact. And I know you most likely immediately jumped straight into thinking about money. And yes, I definitely say investment meaning financial investment. But I also mean an investment of time, the bigger the investment of time or money, the bigger the impact. And when I say impact, I mean reward, transformation or growth, putting it into even simpler terms, the more money you spend on something, the more growth you will have. Or the more time you invest into something, the larger the transformation will be. Okay, so let’s explore this concept a little bit, you’ve probably heard one of these quotes before, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Or the best investment you can make is in yourself.
The more you learn, the more you earn. Or maybe this one, what you focus on grows, and what you think about expands and what you dwell upon determines your destiny. In each of those quotes, you’re hearing the same thing, what you invest in whether time or money matters. And when you invest more, it matters more, and the returns are higher. Let me give you a couple examples of this. They’re really simple, but I think having the visual examples will help. Let’s say you want to get in shape. You want to lose some weight, build muscle and better your cardiovascular health. One way to do that would be to penciled in 345 minute workouts into your calendar every week, and then commit to finding some free YouTube videos online and creating your own meal plan. Could this scenario work? 100%? Yes, it could. But now let’s compare it to the next scenario, you have the same goal. But this time, you carve out 545 minute workouts on your calendar. Plus, you hire a personal trainer at $300 a month. And you hire a nutritionist at $300 a month to customize your meal plan and hold you accountable with check ins of those two scenarios. Which do you think we’ll get the most success and the fastest? Yep, the one where you invested both more time and more money. Why?
Because of the higher investment, you’re carving out more time and paying big bucks for this goal. You’re all in. And because of that you’re going to rock that goal. Let me give you a more relevant example. Let’s say that you’re ready to take your business to the next level. You want to get systems in place finally crossed the six figure mark and work with Dream clients all the time. You could set goals, Google some answers, and send DMS to people asking for tips and advice. You’re carving out a couple of hours a week to work on your focused list. And you are also kind of spinning your wheels and moving a little bit slowly because you’re trying to figure everything out yourself. Could you reach your goal this way? Again, 100%, you could but imagine the same goal. And in this scenario, you spend some time researching mentors, masterminds, or group programs that can serve your needs. In this scenario, you have still set aside a couple hours per week to work on your goals. But you have also spent several $1,000 to join a coaching program. And with that you also have the added time commitment of weekly coaching calls. In which of those scenarios are you more likely to reach the goal of taking your business to the next level?
Yes, the second one, you have made a big commitment and you are taking yourself seriously and that is giving you the focus you need because you have invested big in both time and money. So I heard Ellen yen, the founder of cubicle to CEO once say when people pay they pay attention and I literally could not agree with this more. When you’re willing to pay with either cash or the currency of time. You are way more willing to commit to do the thing. You are more willing to make the change to show up and do the work and to follow through. Not to mention When you invest in coaching or support, you also gain the valuable tool of accountability and leadership. And those two things are like adding litre fuel to your fire, they really get things going fast. All right. So I think I’ve made my point that when you’re willing to invest big with either time or money, you will see really big returns. So if this is true, why don’t more people go for it? Why do so many entrepreneurs never invest? They never commit, they never pull the trigger on the thing they want. Why do so many of us get stuck doing the DIY cheapo way where progress is slow as molasses, and failure is highly likely. I think there’s three main reasons that this happens.
Today’s episode is brought to you by route to rise a four month mastermind and retreat for female photographers. That is where personal development meets business growth. During the four month experience, students have weekly calls focusing on a variety of topics that both better their lives and their businesses. Think topics like goals, boundaries, money, and marketing, and many, many others. The program also includes incredible guest teachers, a private Facebook community and weekly Voxer hours, where you get individualized guidance and mentoring from me on topics that matter to you and your business. One of the best parts of the experience is definitely the three day in person retreat. Consider this the most fun girls weekend ever. We eat well do yoga, photograph three sessions, work through portfolio reviews, take headshots and build deep friendships, I can tell you that the women who have gone through this program have had some absolutely incredible transformations reached massive goals and changed the trajectory of their businesses. If you want to get on the waitlist to be notified when enrollment opens again, soon, you can head over to the link in the show notes and get on that list. And now back to the episode.
Number one is in the case of when you’re thinking about investing money, people are scared, there is fear. Entrepreneurs are scared to do the thing scared that they will fail scared that they will look like a fraud, scared that they will struggle scared of losing the time and money that’s invested, it’s all fear related, I get it, big investments are totally scary. Especially if you’ve never made one before. If this is a serial struggle for you, then this is a really big deal. If you’ve never been able to pull the trigger on a big investment, then you are just going to have to trust me when I say this, you just have to go for it, you will never know the success on the other side without leaning into fear first, you will never see the massive benefits without taking the risk.
There’s no way around it, you have to go through fear. And to experience that growth that comes from making a big investment of time or money you have to go through it. If you are however, someone who’s made a big investment before but you’re currently stuck in decision paralysis. Ask yourself why? Why is this particular investment giving you pause? The answer is probably related to some sort of fear. And if that’s the case, I would encourage you to ask yourself, What is the worst case scenario that can happen? If I go through with this investment? Will I still be safe? Will I still be healthy? What about my family? What will I lose? And then consider if your answers are strong enough to keep holding you back? Or maybe just maybe you decide to actually go for it. So the second reason I think that people stay away from large investments in this case of time is that they’re not willing to shift their priorities and commitments to do the thing.
They want to grow their business, get in shape, write the book, attend the conference, whatever it is, but they take one look at their calendar and their commitments. And then they say No way. I don’t have time for that. And instead of being willing to move things around to make this dream a reality, they stay right where they are stuck in their current life unwilling to move things around. This is a case of priorities not being in line. When you’re making a large investment of time and money, you definitely have to know where your priorities lie. They definitely need to align with your investment. And I think this is really closely related to number three. The third reason why people hesitate with a large investment of time or money is that the desire isn’t strong enough. When the desire isn’t strong enough fear gets the final say, when the desire isn’t strong enough priorities don’t change to allow for growth. When your desire isn’t strong enough you won’t make the investment. But maybe you think the desire is strong enough Maybe you do really want this change to happen. If this is you, it’s time to ask yourself why? Why do you want to grow your business to six figures? There has to be something deeper attached to your why? Do you want to get out of debt? Do you want to pay cash for college for your kids? Do you want to buy a vacation home?
Do you want to fund a luxury shoe addiction? Do you want to plan a trip to Europe next year? Do you want to invest in your community or your church? Do you want to create generational wealth for your future family? Why do you want this goal like really why it has to be so much more than hitting six figures? That’s not a why knowing and really being aligned to your true why? Maybe the clarity you need to finally push through and make the big investment in your future. Okay, so now that I’ve told you all about the background of this topic, let me tell you why I’m so passionate about it. Yes, I have a high level mastermind and coaching program. Sure, I would love to have you join it. But that’s not why I have seen in my own life and business time and time again, that when I am finally ready to really go for it. I have to invest big if I want things to get moving. And each time that has served me so well. I know how powerful investing time and money can be. And I also know how scary it is. I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m over here living the life surrounded by enormous wealth and piles of money. No, I’m not. I have debt and car payments and college funds to create and all of that same stuff just like you. And every time I’ve been presented with an opportunity to invest big with either time or money, I dig deep, and see if it’s something that aligns with me and will take me where I want to go. It isn’t always a yes. But when it is I don’t sit on it. I jump in.
And that’s why I’ve had a successful business for more than 12 years. And that’s why I’ve seen growth year over year over year. And that’s why I have new opportunities present themselves. And that’s why my community and circle of industry friends is so big, it all goes together. Knocking down that first investment domino years ago kicked off a trajectory of success that I never could have fathom. And I really do want the same thing for you know, I’m not saying you need to hire me, we might not be a great fit. My program might not be what you need. The timing might not be right, whatever. But I want you to hire someone. Invest in something. Find the right coach, mentor or program. And if you already know what it is like I suspect that you do make the leap. Your future self will thank you. That’s it for today, my friends. I’ll see you next week for another episode. 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 at Sabrina gebhardt.com backslash podcast. Come find me and connect over on the gram at Sabrina Gebhart 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
