It’s Never too Late to Invest in the Growth of Your Business

By: Heather Ledeboer


Are you the type of person that would waste $54,000? I am currently reading a really good book, The Slight Edge–Secret to a Successful Life by Jeff Olson, recommended to me by one of my customers (thank you Elizabeth S.). One of the concepts that this book has begun building on is the amazing value of compound interest. Compound interest is likely not a new concept to you, it wasn’t for me. My husband and I consider ourselves to be wise investors; at least that is our constant goal. However, when I read the following passage from the book about “The Cost of Waiting” I was floored.

“Let’s say you and your best friend are both 24 years old; you both decide you’d like to start putting away $2,000 a year into an IRA so you’ll retire at age 65 with over a million dollars. Your friend starts doing it now. You wait. You don’t get around to it this year, or next, or the next. . . in fact, you procrastinate for the next 6 years. At the beginning of year 7, you ask your friend how his IRA is doing. You are stunned when he tells you that he’s finished: after investing $2,000 a year for 6 years at 12%, he’s all set. By the age of 65, the little financial ball he’s started rolling will have snowballed into over one million dollars–even if he never puts in another penny!

That’s it, you decide, it’s time for action. You start putting in your $2,000 each year. How many years will it take before you’ve caught up to your friend? In other words, by what age will you be able to stop investing your annual $2,000, like he did? You can’t believe your eyes when you see the answer: you’re going to have to keep investing that $2,000 every single year until the age of 62! Your 6 years of procrastination has cost you 33 years of investing–that’s 27 more years and $54,000 more invested just to arrive at the same place!”

Amazing isn’t it? Maybe even discouraging if you are past your mid twenties and have not started taking some steps toward your financial goals. The author goes on to say this, “You are never too old, and it’s never to late to start achieving your dreams. My point is simply that there is a cost to waiting. It is never too late to start. It is always too late to wait.” So how can we apply this to our businesses? Each day we have the opportunity to invest in the growth of our business and the longer we wait the more opportunities we potentially miss out on. I believe that we can start in the following four concrete ways:

1. At the beginning of each week create a list of 5 “above and beyond” steps you want to take for your business. This may be things like calling a new prospective client, adding a new product to your website or contacting a reporter with a pitch. Anything that is “extra” and will help your business grow counts (this is not your “to-do” list of things that need to get done in order for your business to sustain itself, these are things that will make it thrive). With five steps you can focus on getting one “extra” thing done each day. If you find this is to much for you, choose a more appropriate number for your situation. The point is to create new opportunities each week.

2. Find an outside source of encouragement and schedule them into your week. Currently, I have a great business book by my toilet, a fantastic audio CD in my car stereo and have bookmarked a list of favorite websites and blogs to check when I have a few minutes of down time. This makes it easy to stay motivated and inspired because I always have great material close at hand.

3. Keep track of your ideas and thoughts. How often do you think of something really fantastic for your business while you are driving to the grocery store or as soon as you lay down in bed at night or in the shower? These thoughts are valuable, don’t loose them!

4. Find a mentor. Find someone that knows more about what you are doing than you do that you can learn from their expertise and previous mistakes. Ideally this person will be willing to let you ask questions, share ideas, and will provide their HONEST feedback. We all need cheerleaders but that is not necessarily your mentors’ job (although I am sure times will call for it). Your mentor should be willing to say what no one else dares when you ask for their opinion, because they are more concerned about your success than your ego.

If you apply these four areas to your daily, weekly and monthly routine you will start to see the positive changes that will compound over time to make a monumental difference in the life of your business. You can do it and I will rejoice with you as you see the fruits of your diligent investment.

Heather Ledeboer is the owner of Mom 4 Life, a website that offers 100% mom invented products for mothers and babies such as www.mom4life.com/catalog.php?item=197 'target='_blank'> bella bands , babylegs, and Maya Wrap babier carriers.