Don't Buy All the Shiny Objects
I'm one of those guys. I have a resource page - a few of them, actually. I send emails almost daily recommending blog posts, educational opportunities, and software packages.
I'm also a consumer of resources. I've paid for plenty of stuff. And I believe, if you're a serious entrepreneur, you should pay for some things.
You should buy wisdom and intelligence. You should buy apps that truly give you an advantage. But... you shouldn't buy everything. You shouldn't even buy all of the good stuff.
The marketing world is filled with shiny objects...
- This SEO tool will improve your rankings...
- This app will help you create better content, faster...
- This lady made a million bucks and she can teach you how...
The list goes on. Some of those opportunities are well worth the money. But how do you know which ones are and which ones aren't? How do you know when to stop spending capital on them?
Here's a bit of advice out of my own experience...
- In the beginning, invest in good education.
- Watch the market to identify its leaders - they're the ones to learn from.
- Set a budget and stick to it.
- Invest in programs at the right level - maybe it's a $60 class or a $600 program, but not the $10,000 mastermind group.
- Buy software that pays for itself in terms of efficiency.
- Hack things, like funnels, to see how things work.
- Always read reviews of products before buying them.
- Sometimes, buying access to really smart people is the actual goal of buying something.
- Try to buy things that will allow you to pass them along to others as an affiliate so your purchase price is nullified.
- Don't buy junk! Like cheap traffic or social media followers.
- If you have to pay to find out what the new "secret method" is, don't do it.
- If you're not earning, stop spending.
- Don't go into debt unless you already know exactly how you're going to pay it off.
- Ask people for advice and guidance.
- Take the free stuff without buying the upgrade. And don't feel bad about it.
- Invest in things offered by generous people, not selfish people.
- Ask for refunds when a guarantee is in place and the product didn't deliver as promised. And don't feel bad about it.
- Decide what you need at the moment instead of what's being marketed to you at the moment.
- DO judge a book by its cover in the non-fiction world.
The biggest thing is to see every purchase as an investment. Will this pay off? How will it pay off? You can mitigate the risk of wasting money by determining, in advance, how something is going to pay for itself.
Recent Comments
17
Brandon - Excellent information. Like #6 and #8 the best, but these are all great suggestions.
Thank you, Brandon, for the useful advice. Will definitely see and think things through before buying or committing oneself to any online business marketing strategies.
Have a great week!
Adel :)
This is great Brandon! I love #12: If you're not earning stop spending. I find people that live this way all the time regardless of whether or not they begin a business!
You don't want your expenses to increase if your income does not, so if you want to increase them, expand your income first. Of course that means expanding your mind initially which is why this post is awesome!
Thanks again!
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Hi Brandon. Great list and awesome advice.