| When you start your own business one of two | | | | true that small business people need to be organized, |
| things happens - you either invest in your business | | | | there are a lot of ways that you can stay organized |
| wisely or you do a great job of convincing yourself | | | | without breaking the bank. A true investment in your |
| that all of your purchases are business expenses. If | | | | business is one that will save you time or make you |
| you're ready to stop "playing business" and really | | | | more money. |
| invest your money where it is needed, you need to | | | | One of the best examples of this is hiring am |
| understand what investing IN your business really | | | | assistant virtual or traditional to handle some of the |
| means. | | | | menial tasks of your business. How much time are |
| Many new business owners falsely assume that they | | | | you spending each week responding to e-mails, |
| need a lot of "stuff" in order to be in business. They | | | | sorting through spreadsheets or checking in on your |
| run to their local office supply store and get the | | | | web stats? This time could be better spent making |
| latest ergonomic chair, professional filing system and | | | | new sales and increasing your contacts. Paying for an |
| a new laptop - all before they've made their first sale! | | | | assistant's services actually makes you money |
| While this spending is technically related to business, | | | | because it saves you from doing all of those menial |
| it's not really investing in your business. | | | | tasks yourself. So the next time you want to spend |
| Let's think about what an investment means. When | | | | money and call it a business expense, ask yourself if |
| you make an investment, you are expecting a return | | | | it's an investment or just a purchase. Spend your |
| on your money. You put forth money and you should | | | | money where it will matter and you'll grow your |
| get more money back, when was the last time a | | | | business faster. |
| filing system made anyone any money? While it's | | | | |