The items that you buy for your business should, whenever possible, make you more money. Sending a salesperson for more training is a business investment, as a more skilled salesperson will make you more money. Buying a delivery van can make it easier to reliably get your product where it needs to go, but the money for the van will probably not come back to you directly.
Get More Training
Invest in quality training for you and for your employees. If you have hired salespeople, or if you are one yourself, you know that this is a driven bunch of folks. Give them the training to make their jobs easier and more manageable so they can put their energy into what they do best.
Should you find an appointment scheduling software that will allow your salespeople to easily set their own appointments and allow you to easily track them, bring in a trainer, and set up a class so everyone has the skills they need to function autonomously.
Invest in Automation
Take a good look at your inventory tracking tools. Determining who collects the raw goods necessary to build the final products that your company sells can be a challenge as your product line and your output grow.
Consider investing in a barcode system that will grow over time. With proper tracking of raw goods, you will know when to order product. Bringing in product in bulk can lower your cost, lessen the risk of a delay in delivery or line shutdown, and improve your profitability. Once you have made the initial investment, adding new product and tracking pulls will make it possible for you to get a heads up when an order is necessary. Less worry means more creative brain space.
Hire Someone to Handle What You Hate
If you hate to do your own bookkeeping, inventory tracking, or marketing, hire someone. How is this person an investment? Should you find an accounting student who has mad spreadsheet skills, get humble and show them the pile of electronic goop that you are currently struggling with. Show them what you need it to do and leave them alone.
The right person will turn your challenge into a puzzle. When they turn your data into something usable, sit back down with them and ask them to show you exactly what is tracking and where the information is pulling from. Be ready to ask them several times until it really makes sense to you. You can certainly continue to pay them, but real-time training with data that you need will make it much easier for you to understand. Additionally, working with someone who enjoys and understands any software makes it much more fun.
Sell Smart
If you have been investing in real estate for a while, you know that
- there are enjoyable tax breaks
- building equity in a rental is a wonderful way to increase long term wealth
- the hands-on aspects of being a landlord are not pleasant
To continue to enjoy the breaks and the payouts, check out the Delaware statutory trust advantages available if you step back from the hands-on work and invest your dollars in a property managed by someone else.
Utilize 21st Century Marketing Help
One of the simplest business investments you can make is to get your product to the right influencer. If you are not into the social media platforms on which influencers connect with their followers, be careful. Depending on what you have to sell and your beliefs, there are influencers that you may not want promoting your products and services.
However, once you have the right influencer and they are promoting your ideas, creations, and product lines, your marketing options will expand rapidly. There is likely an influencer who has a following in your niche. From LinkedIn to Facebook to Instagram and from TikTok to YouTube, you can find influencers who face challenges that your business services and products can help. Send a free product and ask for a positive review or a negative private response. Either way, you learn.
Every business has overhead. However, if your overhead staff can teach you something that frees up time in your schedule to grow your business, they become an investment. Over time, these investments will help you grow.
