The 4 dumbest things I’ve spent money on in online business
The reader question today is "Kamina, what's the most regrettable business-related thing you've spent money on?"
I was humbled when I sat down and realised how EASY it was to write this list. I've been in online business for 10 years and I have seen every dumb thing under the sun that a solo business or freelancer could spend money on. Regrettably, I bought some of them. Here they are.
1. Social media templates and 1000 post prompts ($7)
First of all, I've realised I NEVER use things I only spend $7 on. (There's some psychological thing where you have to spend a chunk of money on something to actually use and appreciate it, otherwise you think "ah it was only $7" and you're not motivated to do it.) Second of all, there are SO many better things to spend time on early in business than posting on socials. Until you have a massive following, you're not going to see much return on this. So don't spend any cash on it. (Also, nobody needs ONE THOUSAND post prompts.)
2. Business management software ($850/year)
I once got sucked into the promise of a fancy, professional software that would do all my scheduling, email follow ups, invoicing and client notes in one place. Friend, this is not something you need for your first 5, 10 or 20 clients. Also, I have a giant computer inside my head and I personally don't need complex software to handle my client relationships. To this day I use free or cheap tools like Tidycal and Google workspace.
3. Business coaching from bro marketers ($2000)
I hate talking about this one because it wasn't that long ago, but I was influenced by somebody close to me who recommended it. I spent $2000 on a coaching course that was completely out of touch with my methods and contained some content that was pretty offensive to my morals. (On that basis, I wrote them a polite email and got the $2000 back!! I used the refund to buy a king size bed, which brings my whole family happiness every day.)
4. Membership to an online marketing club ($150/quarter)
Ok, this one seemed great because it was sold by a female online marketer I follow and I trust (I still do), it was inexpensive and it promised community support to execute your online marketing. There were two problems with this one: it contained WAAAYYYY too much content (I see they wanted to offer value, but it was overwhelming), and I didn't have the executive functioning in that season of my life to action any of it. I think I was a member for a year and I didn't do one single thing they recommended.
(P.S. Here are the two BEST things I've spent money on as an online business owner.)
When I invented Create & Get Paid, I wanted it to be:
Priced to be accessible for creatives who are cash-strapped, but not so cheap that you think "ah, it was only $7" and don't bother actually doing it
Paced so that you DON'T get overwhelmed by content and you DO take simple action every week that moves your business forward.
Personal enough that my clients get their hands held every step of the way and don't drop off and give up.
That's why it costs $1000 (Australian) and you can get it on a payment plan of $100/month. (~$65 USD.)
That's why every week you get only 5-20 minutes of video content and 1-2 worksheets focused on taking ONE big action in your business that week. And you're allowed to skip weeks or take as long as you want to get through them.
That's why I talk to my clients all week long in our facebook group and twice a month on a call, know about their health and their cat hairball dramas and their husband's PhD topic, meet them where they're at every single week and keep them going and growing their creative incomes.
And it works!
