Want my top tip for success? Invest in yourself

In my first few weeks of business, I raided the company piggy bank. But not to pay for business cards, a working phone line or even the rent; I rallied the spare cash I had for something so much more indulgent – to send myself to a conference.

As I look back on that decision, I am so ridiculously proud of myself that even back then, at the very beginning of my business journey, I had the foresight and guts (going totally against the ‘rule’ that paying the rent is far more pressing in those early days than softer needs like PR and networking) to put the best weapon I had – my brain – first.

It’s important to point out that I’m not exaggerating here – at this time in my business life, I had barely any semblance of a client base or steady income. I was RIGHT at the beginning, with a huge smile, lots of ideas, about two clients, a mobile phone the size of a football and some technology held together by Band-Aids.  

I still remember the moment I wrote out the cheque for $1200, where I was standing and even what I was wearing – not because I’m into fashion per se, but because of the significance of the moment.

Everyone seemed to be talking about this one particular business expert who was revolutionary – a real disruptor and thought leader – so I looked into him and discovered he was about to have a two-day conference. But, the ticket price was $1200. Obviously, this was ridiculously out of my reach by about $1199. But, after labouring on it, I eventually thought, ‘Stuff it, I need this’. On the cusp of expanding my thinking – it was time to think big – I bit the bullet and sent off the cheque (and no, it didn’t bounce).

At the conference I discovered hundreds of learnings; really meaty ones that I could take home straight away and implement. The thinking challenged mine, some of it frustrated me, angered me, some inspired me and some definitely empowered me… but above all, it threw me into a room with smart, innovative people that lifted my entire being. What happened over those two days changed me forever.

On a practical, revenue-generating level, that event also threw me into a room of my business’ exact target market and I was able to convert a handful of them immediately to clients, each bringing in around AU$50,000. It was the start of many new clients, and the people from that room and their networks formed the basis of my business foundation, from which Collective Hub would later grow. So, for that conference ticket I’ll be forever indebted.

This experience is actually one of the reasons we started running events like Kick. Start. Smart. (kss.collectivehub.com) which has taken place in Brisbane and Sydney with the next stop, Melbourne on November 25. I had always wanted to bring the pages, wisdom and inspiration of the magazine to life, but the motivation behind these events was more about empowering people in a really solid, practical way to achieve their dreams, just like I had over the years (and still am).

And that $1200 conference wasn’t the first time I’d prioritised myself with good money. Years before, with even less cash in my pocket, I somehow scraped together the deposit (in the thousands) for a personal development course called The Hoffman Process – a week-long retreat tackling anxiety, relationships, grief and leadership issues. The course radically changed my thought processes and set my inner self (which was quite toxic beforehand) on a vastly different, and vastly more positive, course.

Then, when Collective Hub was still an absolute baby, my marketing director and I jumped on a plane to Toronto, Canada, to meet with magazine creators and distributors from all over the world. While this move was not about personal development, it was key to building industry confidence in us both, because we knew we’d need it once home and trying to create a space for Collective Hub in the cluttered (and somewhat struggling) magazine industry.

This trip was a HUGE cost to us at that point in the business, but was paramount to us forging international relationships and securing a host of extra countries for distribution. We launched being distributed in 13 nations and today are sold in 37 countries, which was largely due to the relationships we made at that conference and have fostered since that time.

Going to Toronto, rather than just approaching people on email and phone, meant that potential contacts could catch the spirit of what we were trying to do, but it also meant we could understand their unique distribution processes and challenges. It also showed them that we were serious. They were SO surprised to see us there and said few independent or new publications like ours ever attended – which is exactly why we needed to be there; to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we were the real deal. Making that trip was not just about brand reach and future sales, but also about validation and personal gumption.

On that note, here are three of my biggest tips for taking this mentality into your own business:

Don’t shy away from spending money – even when things are tight

I still baulk and whinge about spending money on occasion, but I never hesitate to do so on things I think will positively impact the business or myself, knowing that I set the culture and the course of my business.

So when the opportunities come knocking I think, ’C’mon, Lisa, you’re playing a bigger game now. Step up. Be brave. Be seen. Get out there.’ And then I think, ‘It’s an investment, and you just need one contact, one big idea, one “wow” moment and that money will come flooding back… one hundred-fold.’

Make investing in yourself a business priority, not just a personal one

Not all conferences are like the one I attended as a budding entrepreneur – some are dry and tedious and you can’t find the exit fast enough – but thankfully for me, that $1200 event was a true winner. However, it’s not really about the conference or masterclass or event, it’s actually about you fully understanding the value and potential ROI of investing in yourself and then making it a business priority (not just a personal one) to consistently focus on.

Continuous self-improvement of yourself as a leader or key player in a business is what will propel your business or department forward – but when life and work gets busy, we often put ourselves at the bottom of the pile and this is where many business leaders and senior staff go wrong.

Physically list yourself in the budget

If your most valuable asset is your mind, then allocate funds towards it in a formal way. If you don’t, it won’t happen and an entire year will fly by without you attending something life-changing. Instead, be brave – even if it’s visualisation at this point – and allocate a specific amount to yourself and your mindset when you are allocating funds for the next financial period. Call it something wacky like ‘mindset investment’ if you want – whatever is necessary, but the key is to do it.

Think big and aim for the top – go to at least one significant conference or thought leadership event a year (if it hurts a bit to sign off on the conference fee, then you’re on the right track), then be very strategic and thrifty with any other opportunities. With any opportunity (big or small), I try and measure its success on these three principals:

1.    Did I have at least one mental shift while I was there?

2.    Did I come up with at least one new good idea which will help me or the business significantly?

3.    Did I make at least five solid business connections?

Hopefully you can say ‘yes’ to all three – that’s what I aim for and use that as a personal measure of success for myself and my staff. If not, simply move on to the next event or networking opportunity in search of these personal outcomes.

If you’re looking for creative breakthroughs, fresh innovation and fist-pumping success for your business or department, it almost always starts at the top. So let curiosity be your guide and invest in conferences, education, courses and any chance for solid, helpful peer-to-peer interaction. Your business (and mindset) will thank you.

Kick Start Smart is hitting Melbourne on Friday 25 November. Click here for more info and tickets.