I was talking to my friend the other day and he owns a coffee shop. His coffee is good but his store needs some fixing up. The locks don’t work on the bathrooms, there aren’t enough outlets, the chairs are uncomfortable and old.
He can’t figure out why more people aren’t coming to his shop. I told him he needs to invest some money to fix up his shop. If he makes it more inviting and comfortable, he’ll see a dramatic increase in traffic through his door.
But it’ll cost him that initial investment up front.
He’s stuck at one level and wanting to get to the next level but he needs to make an investment in order to get to that next level. He’ll never get to where he wants to be without that investment.
But the poverty mentality holds him back. The poverty mentality doesn’t understand investments. It doesn’t understand that you have to strategically spend money in order to make more money. He immediately fires back after my suggestion, “But where I am going to get the money?” “Where am I going to get the time to do that?”
Make it a priority. Take the risk. Pay himself less for a short period of time. Quit watching TV at night for a month. Spend that time fixing up his shop. Or pay someone he knows to fix it up.
Those excuses are problems that can be solved with some thoughtfulness and hard work. If he wants to make it the next level, he’s going to have to make sacrifices with his time and money. The poverty mentality hoards the money that is earned out of fear of not having enough money tomorrow. It doesn’t think far enough down the road. It is solely concerned with surviving today.
However, smart investing is crucial to ensuring a prosperous future.
My friend needs to treat his money like a farmer treats seed. You don’t just throw it around carelessly on any ground and hope that you get a crop. No, you strategically place it in the right soil at the right time. You check on it. You care for it. You expect a return.
He needs to take his seed (money), place it in the right soil (renovations), and wait for the harvest.
The same analogy can be made for a variety of businesses.
If you have an online business, it would be important to invest in an excellent website, social media, and other digital marketing strategies.
Maybe it’s renovations for you. Maybe it’s hiring more help. Maybe it’s outsourcing work.
What’s important is making a smart and strategic investment that will give you a harvest in the future.
