Business growth relies on reinvestment, especially in the early days of the business. Now that your company is turning a profit, you may be wondering what to do with them. Here are eight ways to invest in your business this year.
1. Improve Your Business Strategically
Some companies use a broad-stroke plan of reinvesting a certain percentage of profits. But what good is this plan if you have no strategy for your investment?
Business improvements can go a long way in making your investment dollars go further and help your business grow. Example improvements include:
- New equipment
- Infrastructure
- Better customer service
- Streamlining business processes
Finding ways to improve your business will ultimately allow you to expand your business operations and boost your bottom line.
2. Expand Your Marketing Plan
Marketing is the key to attracting new customers and increasing sales. Reinvest in your marketing strategy, and you’ll see great returns (if done properly).
Rather than focusing all of your investment dollars on old-world marketing methods, you might consider investing a larger portion in digital marketing, which includes:
- Social media
- Content marketing
- SEO
- Paid advertising
Online marketing strategies often yield a high ROI and are highly effective at converting leads to customers.
3. Give Your Employees a Raise
Your employees are what keep your business running. In today’s job market, it’s not always easy to keep employees around. Increasing employee compensation gives your workers a reason to stay loyal to your business.
This type of investment may make sense for your business if your employees have skills, talents or experiences that would be hard to replace.
Increased compensation is just a small piece of the loyalty puzzle, so don’t expect this to be a cure-all if you’re struggling with high-turnover.
4. Expand Your Team
They say that entrepreneurs wear many hats. They play bookkeeper, marketer, inventor, manager and customer service representative. But as your business expands, you can start retiring some of those hats and passing them on to new employees.
Expanding your team is a smart way to reinvest in your business if you need the extra help. New hires bring new ideas, skills, and know-how to your business. They will help things run smoothly, and ultimately, allow you to expand your operations.
5. Invest in Yourself
Investing in yourself can help your business grow. Find ways to improve your expertise and skills. Take business management classes. Attend workshops and events related to your industry.
Along with investing in your own knowledge, you might consider investing in your personal finances. Start investing in retirement accounts, if you haven’t done so already, or stocks.
When you invest in yourself, you provide yourself with a safety net should business be slow.
6. Start Outsourcing
If you don’t have the need or budget to hire employees, outsourcing is a great alternative. Start with the tasks you hate the most. Maybe you hate doing payroll or balancing the books.
Find someone with the skills and experience to take over these menial tasks. This will free up more of your time so that you can focus on important things – like improving your business.
7. Create a Cash Buffer
Reinvesting in your business is important, but it’s also important to have some cash on hand in case of an emergency. A cash buffer will ensure that you’re prepared for problems that may arise.
Insurance should cover catastrophes or disasters, but they won’t cover business difficulties. What happens if your equipment fails? Would you have the funds to make repairs or replace that equipment?
8. Coaching
Business owners benefit greatly from having a mentor or coach. The knowledge, connections and experience coaches offer make them worth every penny.
If you do invest in coaching, make sure that the person is qualified for the job. Screen each person individually and do some research. If you can, get recommendations from other people who have found success with a mentor or coach.
Once you’ve found a coach, schedule regular meetings and maintain the relationship. Determine which skills or experience you can offer the coach in return to keep him or her wanting to maintain contact.
Reinvesting in your business will pay off in the long run. Only through improvements and smart marketing can you expand your operations and sales.
