Have you heard the saying: "You have to spend money to make money?" Well, it’s true! Some spend a little to make a little and others spend a lot to make a lot. What’s fun is to spend a little to make a lot... that seems to be the formula that we all like best.
So, how do you know what the right investments are for your business? Well, that my friend, is different for every professional in every business. But for the most part, the easiest way to make more money is to hire an assistant. As your business grows, there are essential things that MUST be done but are either taking up too much of your time or aren’t making you as much money as other things you could be doing. Now, I understand not everyone has the money or space to hire a part-time or full-time employee, so that’s where virtual assistants come into play as a great investment. Virtual assistants are contract employees who work a certain number of hours per month from their home office. They take care of their own office space, equipment, supplies, insurance, and taxes.
So, how do virtual employees make you money? Well, if you are a sales professional you must set appointments and meet with clients. The act of setting the appointments isn’t making you money, it’s sitting with the client and selling them your product or service that is. Let’s say you spend one full day setting appointments and four days selling. You had to set the appointments on day one to make all the money you did on days 2-5 but what if you hired someone to set your appointments so you could get in five days of selling? If you are a good salesperson your fifth day of selling will make you a lot more money than the cost of hiring a person to schedule those appointments for you so it’s well worth it. You are now money ahead. You had to spend money to make money.
Another example of how you could increase your business is by using social media. Social media is a great marketing tool but it can be time-consuming, it’s always changing and there is a lot to learn. Who has time to learn how to make social media marketing successful for your business? A social media assistant would. You don’t get paid to sit on Facebook and Twitter but the revenue it could generate for you could be well worth you hiring an assistant to do it for you.
Remember to be smart about your investments and track their success. If you are spending money on an appointment setter make sure that the revenue you are making for the appointments she is making is at a bare minimum paying for the service. This goes for all products and services. If you pay $400 per month for a social media assistant make sure you are generating a minimum of $400 per month from social media. Of course, the goal is to make money, not break even but you certainly don’t want to lose money. A lot of companies are losing money on products and services every day and they don’t realize it because they aren’t taking the steps to measure the success. If you don’t have the time to measure the success of your investments, then that’s what your assistant is for, right? If you don’t have one I guess it’s time to hire one. And I might just know a person who can help.
Ways to Invest in Your Business that can offer a great return:
Outsource Tasks to an Assistant
Social Media Ads
Promotional Marketing Items
Business Coach
Polish Your Skills with Online Courses
Host Events, Seminars, and Activities
Sponsor Local Athletic Teams, Groups, Schools, Charitable Organizations, etc.
- Danae
Danae Branson is the Founder of Elite Scheduling Services. Elite specializes in appointment-setting services for financial and real estate professionals.
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