As a creative entrepreneur there are so many different opinions of what to invest your money on it can be EXTREMELY overwhelming. I am very strict about what I choose to invest in for my business, and as such I have only invested in 2 things: The Legal Paige Online Mastermind and an online photography course (Shooting and Editing by Amy Demos). In this blog I will explain the return on investment in those things as well as my next steps!

What has moved the needle MOST in my business?

The Legal Paige Mastermind

The Shooting and Editing course by Amy and Jordan Demos

If you’ve seen my photography growth over the past year, you probably are aware that I took some type of course or had mentorship. The Shooting and Editing course by Amy and Jordan Demos allowed me to not only feel confident in my photography, but also learn how to shoot on manual, achieve the bright and airy look I love so much, and make back the price of the course ten fold. Check out some of my work here!

What will I be hiring next to grow my small business?

A VA (virtual assistant)

I think a VA can be an amazing encourager and helper to your business. They can help you with design work (I’m looking at you Pinterest graphics I don’t want to create!) , schedule your blogs and newsletters, help onboard new clients, make Instagram stories for your course promotion, or edit your website pages. Here are some of my favorite to follow on Instagram!

• @jamiesvirtualdesk (specializes in systems for your business, email management, etc. At this time, her prices are $325 for 10 hours a month)
• @vaforaday (She helps create a streamlined process in Dubsado, doesn’t do part-time help but automates systems.)
• @withhannahmurphy (Niches in blog and Pinterest management, especially for photographers, $397/ month currently)
• @caitlin.hickle (general administrative tasks)
• Madison with @keepingthecreativity (does all the things)

Money and bookkeeping

I don’t know about you, but I did NOT sign up to be an entrepreneur to do bookeeping and tax returns. Talk about OVERWHELM! Here are some of my favorite accountants to follow! 

• Katie with More with Money
• Edrina with Accounting by Edrina (GREAT human and I also designed her site!)

Pinterest manager

• @simplyamandablog
• @pinhouss_co
• @meaganawilliamson
• @brittanysavnik (super sweet! I was in a Mastermind with her in 2021 and enjoyed her advice and company)
• @vanessakynes

A business coach

Sometimes you just need someone to cheer you on in business or help you focus on key tasks that will move your business forward. That’s what these gals are for!

• Elly Mae
• Amanda Joyce Weber/ (Also helps with money mindset)
• Diana Kerr (Christian coach who coached Val Marie Paper and Lara with Cultivate what Matters)
• Morgan Rapp (Creative business coach who believes firmly in increasing your prices, not your work load. She’s also a Shopify expert!)

A copywriter

• Lauren Osselton Creative
• Tatum Snodgrass with the copy shop co
• Cambrya Writes (Cam was my copywriter for my Mastermind launch and did an AMAZING job!)

Maybe you just can’t afford to outsource copywriting right now and are looking at a course to grow your copywriting skills?

These are 2 courses I 100% back! Are you wondering if now is the time to hire a copywriter? Check out this blog post!

• Kelsey Formost’s Copy Class

Kelsey has an AMAZING course called Copy Class! It is perfect if you are not a writer, but need to write words that sell on your website, email campaigns, etc. CHECK OUT her freebie how to grow an email list. I personally went through this class and HIGHLY suggest it. (I am an affiliate and get a kickback at no extra $$$ to you, but I suggested it even before being an affiliate!)

• Copywriting for Creatives

If Ashlyn Carter tells me to do something, I do it. I absolutely love her outlook on growing and scaling and working from a place of rest and not hustle. Her copywriting course is a bit of an investment ($797), but the value you get in learning how to write your website words and potentially help others could definitely be worth it. As I consider offering copywriting as a service, I factor in the knowledge I could gain from this course and learning how to develop my client’s brand voice and turn their copy from people browsing to people buying. I also feel this course could help me convey WHY I am different than other website designers and that may just be worth it for $797 in and of itself… I will let you know what I decide!

Do you have any to add to the list? What is your next investment? I would love to know!