Investing in Your Small Business

Starting a small business can be scary; it has risks and requires commitment in the form of time, energy, and money. Investing these things in your business can be frightening. When I first started this blog and my etsy shop a few weeks ago I was scared. What if people didn't like my products? What if I didn't sell anything? What if I failed?

But if you like what you do there's no reason not to give it a shot. For me, my time and energy have been justified. I haven't sold anything on my etsy shop yet, but attending a local craft fair was a huge confidence booster for me. My creations sold and I got lots of positive feedback. Enough to make me excited and want to continue.

But one of the hardest commitments for me to make was investing money in my business. I'm naturally a money saver. I like bargain shopping and when it comes time to make a big item purchase I like to think about it and mull about it and make sure it's really what I want. It's almost like I'm scared to spend money. Crazy, isn't it?

When I first told my husband about wanting to start Wooden Parlor, he thought it was a great idea, but that I needed to get some better tools. And since he's my Tool Man (he helps cut and router and drill) I decided he had a good point. We decided what we really needed most was a miter saw. I looked around online and found some and was looking for the best bargain. But my Tool Man explained that sometimes the best bargain doesn't equate with the best quality.

In the end, we went with a brand name miter saw which was more expensive but also much better quality and the bargain shopper in me was satisfied because we got the miter saw stand, valued at $300, for FREE and Tool Man said this saw would last forever and he could use it when he builds us a house one day.

But a part of me still thinks, "AHH, I can't believe we spent that money on a miter saw." (Tool Man thinks it's fabulous.)

What do you think? Have you invested money or time in a business? What helps you in making investment decisions?

P.S. I think my next investment is going toward a better vacuum or maybe a workshop would be better...