Conserve Money By Spending Hustle

TweetMy Statement: You have limited money.

Your Answer: No S#*% Sherlock!

My Retort: Ok, so be careful with those things that are limited and precious to your tiny business.

Your Answer (Appalled): But I am careful with my businesses money!

My Rebuttal (On My High Horse): I spend a lot of time with tiny business owners. I study them and watch the decisions that they make. Many of them are NOT CAREFUL with their money and they chalk up each purchase with the ultimate business justification “You Have To Spend Money, To Make Money.”

Your Answer: But you do have to spend money to make money!

OK, I Agree (Partly)

Certainly, you must invest in those things that are essential for your business to function:

You need to buy a domain name
You need to get incorporated for legal and tax reasons
You need business cards
You need a computer
You need an essential piece of software
etc

No question. There are monetary expenses that are necessary to establish and carry out business.

Be A Hustler (Allow Me To Digress)

I attended a $49.00 one-night business course at a Junior college years ago on a topic that has escaped me — the course was nearly worthless in its content. We learned nothing about the topic we had signed up for — the instructor simply told one “war story” after another about his life as a business man.

Of course, I kept asking questions about the subject matter. I wanted some info, not a war story.

At the end of the short course and in answer to one of my many attempts to redirect him into the course topic — he said something very important to me —

BE A HUSTLER.

This didn’t mean much to me at the time but it has really been an important piece of advice for me over the years. It is now written on a piece of paper in large letters and taped to the wall in my office.

I see too many business owners that are busy buying into “systems”, purchasing the next great tool and buying the latest and greatest informational seminar series that will take them from zero to hero overnight — with no HUSTLE.

I have news for you — that system may work great, that tool might be outstanding, that seminar series might give you the EXACT information you need — but in the end you will need to get out there and apply that system, tool or information. You will need to hustle.

The Two Types of Business Expenses

The real truth is that there are two separate but equally important expenditures in business:

Money
Hustle

Hustle cannot be written off at the end of the tax year. Hustle doesn’t drain your bank account in the same way that monetary expenses do. Hustle eats away at your business because while you are spending hustle on one activity in your tiny business, you ARE NOT spending it on another.

Having said that, in the end, it will be MONEY that your mortgage company, electric company and cell phone provider will want from you when serving up the monthly bill. Not hustle.

So you better conserve that money.

How To Conserve Money By Spending Hustle

It is easy to spend HUSTLE online instead of MONEY. In fact, as it turns out, hustle has a much greater Return On Investment online than money.

Important: You cannot buy success for your business any longer.

Gone are the days when you could call up an ad agency and pay your way into peoples minds through television, radio or print advertising using MONEY.

Winning in business today is about:

Being a Good Listener
Providing Value
Actually Caring

None of which costs you MONEY, but each of which costs you HUSTLE.

You have to work hard to stop talking about yourself and start listening to your customers and prospects. You have to expend energy to provide them something valuable. You have to spend time to communicate that you actually care.

You will need to learn to use the technologies available that will allow you to listen to your market. You will have to learn the new ways of publishing material that will provide value to your prospects and you will need to execute this type of marketing often to show that you actually care.

If you want to succeed in business today, put down your credit card and grab a cup of coffee, it’s going to a long night.