How much are you willing to invest in your business?

If this article title caught your attention, I bet you’re thinking this is going to be about money. We’ve all heard the advice to save six months’ salary before starting a business, not to use our own personal credit, et cetera (don’t feel bad if you did neither, most solo service-based entrepreneurs don’t).

This article talks about the other investment in your business, and it’s the ones that I think are more important to your long term success than anything else. I’m talking about how much you are willing to in-vest in your business.

How much do you believe in what you do? How much do you believe you’ll be successful? How much faith do you have to believe in the invisible?

The mind is your biggest success muscle, and using your ability to visualize and imagine is how you exercise it.

If you’re not convinced, or perhaps never thought that much about it before, take a look at the world of sports. There are millions invested in the psychology of winning. There are oodles of experiments and anecdotes that show mindset trumps all.

You might have heard about some of the studies that measured brain waves of athletes at rest, but visualizing their wins. Or the famous athlete who proved time and time again he had the physical ability to beat the record, but continued to psyche himself out when running the specific event the reining record holder dominated.

Have the courage to dig deep and pay attention to your thoughts and actions. When you say you “hope” your business will take off, do you mean you really don’t believe it will, or that you aren’t sure you will be able to? It might not be a harmless comment. Many business owners who say they want success, often fear it, or don’t secretly believe they deserve it or will attain it. In this case, the negative mindset can trump all as they subtly sabotage themselves.

A powerful mindset, paired up with a solid business plan is a two-step path to your extraordinary business.

Here are five ways to build and flex that muscle, and in-vest in your business:

• Hang out with entrepreneurs committed to in-vesting. Their energy will motivate and inspire you as your mind opens to what’s possible.
• Attend as many conferences and live events as you can. Making the decision to stretch is a momentous occasion and giving yourself permission to spend on this is transformational in itself (if you plan it right and do the follow up, you will come home bursting with new ideas, and will meet new clients as well).
• Participate in a mastermind group.
• Work with a coach one-on-one, or in a group program where you can learn together with other entrepreneurs.
• Set aside time each week to read, listen and absorb. Use downtime in the car, or double up when you’re running errands or exercising to listen to audios (I publish several short audio articles and always provide a download when I hold special teleseminar events).

All of these are ways you can invest in your business, by investing in yourself. If you commit to doing these kinds of activities consistently, your return will be higher, and faster, than you may have thought possible.

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and  live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.