This blog post was prompted by a question a fellow small business owner asked me during a virtual coffee. I wanted to write up the transcript of our call because it is so relevant to anyone seeking to engage hired support in their life.
I don’t often write about money in relation to time management and productivity but it does relate. Organising and prioritising our resources is essential for living our best lives. And the more I go on with this work the more I recognise the similarities between how we manage and budget our time and money. Over and over again, I see people sacrifice their time to earn more money (when they don’t really need to). And likewise as a society we hand over money to ‘earn’ time (gym membership anyone? Vitamins?).
So here’s the conversation that I had about feeling comfortable about spending money.
SBO:
You’re very good at investing in your personal growth and your development, and your tools. I feel like whenever we talk I’ll say “Hey, I’ve heard of this…” and you’ll say “Oh, I did that for a year” or “I spoke to my copywriter” or “I spoke to my graphic designer”. How do you part with money, the operational money, that’s involved in doing all these things? I always feel this tension, I really want to do that thing and this other thing makes a lot of sense too but I talk myself out of it by saying I have to bring in another two grand before I can. Is it just that you prioritise really well?
Christie:
Good question. It’s something I’ve always done in my personal life as well. I usually have a mentor or coach and at first my heart will say “I want to do it” and then my mind chimes in “Oh, but it means spending money!” and then I check my finances, and reassure myself that yes I have the money and with the belief that “there’ll always be more money”, and “you’ve got to spend money to make money”. I also always have my account at a minimum level. So, once it starts dipping below my level that’s when I know I don’t have anything to ‘play’ with, so it feels okay.
SBO:
So interesting! And would you say that it’s all been worthwhile?
Christie:
Yes, definitely, I always gain a lot from each investment. I really didn’t know what I didn’t know before engaging the services that I have over the years. Also, it comes down to the fact that I just enjoy the learning and the growth that comes with engaging a coach or outsourcing.
Funnily enough, after this conversation happened, I was emailing with another friend of mine and mentioned that I was signing up to a new course and that maybe I had an addiction! But I love learning so was it a bad thing? And they said: “I feel you about whether to take on more courses and the associated expense. I’ve come to accept that some people like to spend money on crazy nights out or fancy cars. For me, education is my down time and me-time. I enjoy it so I have to count that recreational value as much as the financial investment.”
What a great point! When considering where to put your money I think it’s important to take into account all the areas of life that the investment will be affecting. Part of a full life is being able to enjoy our time, our money and our growth, so consider that the next time you’re wondering if something is worth your resources.
My parting question for you is, what measure do you need that makes you feel comfortable to make a decision to part with money? Is learning and growth enough? Do you need to see a certain amount of results by a certain time? What can you use within yourself to make an agreement to invest in yourself?
Let me know below or send me an email!
PS: Check out this older post that I’d written on the topic back in 2019.
