There is investing and there is gambling.
You invest your IRA in a total market index fund because it fits with your long-term strategy.
You gamble (with money you can afford to lose) by buying some bitcoin that rides a daily roller coaster. You might win big—or lose it all.
Each has its place—as long as you’re clear on which it is you’re doing at any given moment.
Investing in your business looks like:
- Designing—and sticking with—a long-term strategy to build and grow a sustainable business.
- Starting and growing an email list of your future clients and buyers.
- Publishing consistent authority content—blogs, articles, podcasts, videos, books—to your ideal audience.
- Developing relationships with the like-minded who will help pollinate your ideas to their tribes.
- Educating yourself on the skills you need to keep growing—including spending coin on coaching, courses and skills training.
You’ve probably done most if not all of these, right?
But sometimes, what initially feels like an investment is really more on the order of gambling:
- You have a slow month or two and start trolling for clients—any clients—to bring in some revenue.
- You decide your tactics aren’t working, so you burn down your master strategy vs. trying some new tactics first.
- You slice your fees in half to ________________ (insert work with dream client, have learning experience, keep you busy over the summer…).
- You ignore that little warning bell in your head and sign on for something you know is iffy—like spending six months with one and only one client.
- You decide to write your opus (or build a master course), but haven’t laid any groundwork to build an audience who will actually buy your work.
The difference between investing and gambling in your business is this: how sure you are that the time and/or money you invest will pay off relative to the risk involved.
Of course not every investment you make will pay big dividends—you just want to keep sustainably moving toward your vision.
And keep the gambling to an occasional bet on something that excites you—but won’t break the bank if it fails.
Related: Is Your Big Idea Big Enough?