Start Pill
While starting a business can be a leap of faith, an estimated 92% of entrepreneurs say they don’t regret taking the plunge.
In fact, savvy small-business owners don’t mind the work that goes into it because they know the best things in life rarely come easy. Becoming a new business owner might be one of the most difficult undertakings, but if you’re passionate about your work, you can weather storms and keep going.
Since those storms are often financial, it’s important to make sound business investments that offer a good ROI and help your business grow. Unless you have more capital floating around than most small businesses and start-ups, it’s imperative to make wise financial moves on the front end.
Here are three of the top investments you should make in your small business.
1. Create and Maintain a Professional Website
If you don’t have a professional website, get one now. While a Facebook page is free and easy, consumers prefer buying from a company that has a formidable online presence. Without it, you risk losing credibility in the eyes of many customers and prospects alike. According to recent consumer behavior trends, because 80% of consumers shop online, especially millennials (ages 25 to 34), the potential customer base you lose by not having a website could make or break your business.
Some entrepreneurs push website creation down the list of priorities or simply create a placeholder showing little more than the company’s address and phone number. Others assume a Facebook page is a reasonable digital presence and maintain it a few times a week to be seen as a legitimate business. Both of these approaches will eventually backfire if you plan to grow, particularly among millennials.
Having a strong digital presence is one of the least expensive but high-return marketing investments imaginable. For as little as $25 per month, you could have a professional, user-friendly website that can be easily viewed across multiple devices. Not sure how to go about it? Check out resources like Fiverr, whose freelance users can create and upload a website for a nominal fee.
2. Invest in eSignature Software
Electronic signature software allows you to sign important legal documents with a push of a button and have them transmitted safely and securely online within minutes. It also works as a way to automate workflows when daily tasks involve signing off on projects or collaborating with freelancers and third-party services. For as little as $25 a month, you can sign documents for remote employees from providers like Jsign to get a project rolling, make legal agreements with clients binding, and automate your workflow to find ways to work smarter, not harder.
3. Buy a Generator
If you operate out of a brick-and-mortar storefront and don’t have a basic disaster recovery strategy in place, don’t underestimate the value of a generator. This might seem like a silly thing to have available at all hours of the working day, but it’s something you won’t regret when it’s actually needed (and, trust us, you’ll eventually need it).
When a storm hits or you lose power due to a natural weather event out of your control, it could be hours, days, or even weeks before power is restored. That’s a long time to go without income, but a generator could have you back up and running within minutes, and in doing so, pay for itself in as little as a day.
Smart Up-Front Investments That Pay for Themselves
Even when operating budgets are tight, these small business investments should still always be an important line item. Underestimating their worth simply to save a little money could set your business up for failure right from the outset. But investing in them now could be the smartest decision you make as an entrepreneur.
