As we prepare to close out another year, and I’m in evaluation mode I thought I would share with you things I’ve invested in this year that were “worth” the money + things that were not.
I LOVE reading stuff like this from other people. So why not join in the fun. Here are a few things you should know about me:
I am not an over-spender. I overthink all investments, business or personal. To the point of for instance when I find shoes I really like, my husband encourages me to buy a second pair.
I do try to keep my month-to-month operating expenses as low as possible, with the consideration of the time vs. cost investment. Listen sometimes you just need to spend the money.
This list is not everything I purchased this year for my business, just the ones I think either make a big impact via convenience/productivity, profit, wellbeing or a combination of those.
WORTH THE MONEY
This was on my list last year, and I’m keeping it on my list for this year. It keeps my Pinterest strategy running, with very little time investment. I have power-up my account with Tribes and Loop, I’m not sure on the impact of Loop-I haven’t seen a big change in analytics but Tribe has helped to spread my pins.
Pinterest is the #1 driver of traffic to my website. So continuing investing in a tool that keeps that going is money well spent in my book.
In-Person Events
I went to 3 conferences/retreats this year and my goal for next year is the same. Going to those events just helped reinforce that I’m on the right track in my business and getting to geek out with other people just as in love with their businesses is the best.
My favorite hands down was Reina’s retreat that I attended as a client in September. It was amazing to get to connect with that group of women and get to share each other’s goals. Read more about my experience in this Instagram post.
My advice to you, if you haven’t sought out an in-person event yet, DO IT!!
I also learned better what to look for in future events as well; I’m so glad I invested in going to the events I did this year.
If you’ve been in the BHG community for a while, then you know that in March/April I moved from Thinkific to MemberVault for my courses (free and paid). While I haven’t exactly made the most of what they offer (YET!), but I’m getting there.
They are an amazing company. I’ve never experienced a tech company that is so dedicated to their community. They do a TON of free trainings and have an incredibly active community on Facebook. And SUPER responsive to any issues and helping you troubleshoot ALL the things.
If you are looking for a course or membership platform, you must check out MemberVault, and you can do so for FREE.
On my “good” list from last year was:
Tailwind (because it’s awesome), Social Glue (mastermind program from Reina), ConvertKit (it was my move from free to paid, though this year I moved from CK to ActiveCampaign-and I’m glad I did), Books (which continue to be well worth the money-and I’m so happy I decided to start viewing them as an investment, not a splurge).
You can find all my business book reads on this page.
NOT WORTH THE MONEY
The Luminaries Club by Lisa Jacobs:
To date the absolute worst investment I’ve made. She flaked out after the first 4 months, delivering very little “sold” in the club membership. Not only that to this date she has not sent one email to the club explaining what is happening, offering any apologies, nothing.
I am so appalled by her treatment towards the members as fellow business owners who paid $1000 for the membership. It’s less about what I didn’t get but more about her behavior and lack of communication. It’s just shocking to me.
On my “not” list from last year was:
B-school (price vs. value was not there for me-nothing really new), Conquer Club (wasn’t my jam and felt like the group was not very engaged), and Powersheets (not for me). None of these were even close to being a complete waste of money, just not a good match or if I had gone back in time, would not have invested in.
Moving Into 2019
As I mentioned above, I do want to attend a few retreats or spend money even doing peer lead retreats with some of my biz pals. My goal is to attend 3 which feels like a stretch since we are hitting the road for our RV adventure and I know it’s going to be hard to find the time/motivation to travel on top of the travel.
I *think* I’m fairly set on investment in tools. I would like to find a better social media scheduler, but at the same time, I feel ok with using Buffer + Later for my needs outside of Pinterest.
While I am investing in a few membership communities in 2019, again I *think* I’m pretty much done with courses. I still have an interest in tackling a copywriting course, but it has to be the right time kind of situation, I’m not sure 2019 will be my year for that.
This, of course, is not the full list of things I’ve purchased in 2018, but these were some of the things that stood out to me, and if someone asked me, I would give a 100% yes I would recommend it.
If you want to see a full list of the tools I use to run my business grab that below!
I would love to hear what you invested in this year that you would give a big YES to purchasing again or recommend! Comment below or share with me over on Instagram on this post!!
This post includes affiliate links meaning I get a small payment if you purchase through my link, it’s no additional cost to you. These tools are the exact tools I use and I would share them with an affiliate link or not.