I’m an artist, a creative multi-passionate, a photographer, an entrepreneur! Every day I encounter services, products, and workshops that my peers are telling me is the ‘Greatest thing on Earth’. I’m intrigued, I latch on, I sign up. Most of my investments have paid off, some…not so much.

Earlier this year I held a piece of equipment, the beautiful Canon 5D mark III, in my hands and had the hardest time putting it down. I was intrigued, I latched on, but I couldn’t sign up. My current gear was working just fine for me, actually better than fine! So when everyone was running to get the latest toy to add to their repertoire, I told Mister, it wasn’t right.

However, on Friday evening as soon as Mister walked through the door I was jumping around the living room like a child high on sugar. “Babes!” I called out and smiled at him, perhaps even batted my eyelashes, and proclaimed I was investing in my business.

That evening I signed up for Marie Forleo’s: Rich, Happy & Hot B-School! It wasn’t cheap, heck the cost of tuition is just under the cost of a new camera body or a really nice trip somewhere, but I knew that this investment was right for my business.

So, you might be wondering: how do you know when to invest in your business? This is my process…three steps that I go through every single time something comes up that intrigues me, I latch onto and think about signing up for:

Will this bring you more clients?

Yikes, I know…we don’t actually know if anything will…but does investing in the latest gear actually going to bring more clients into your door? This also goes for magazine ads, rebranding, meeting a vendor for lunch. Any time you’re about to pull out your card to pay for something, think “Will this bring more clients?”

Can I afford it?

We all dream of owning the latest thing, but before pulling out your card ask yourself honestly can you afford to invest in it? The leader in your industry might proclaim it’s the best in the business but can you afford the monthly fee or the huge investment? If the money is not already sitting in your bank, what is your plan to make sure you get clients in the door so you don’t end up in debt. Be smart about where you’re putting your money.

What is your intuition telling you?

The universe, God or gods, your destiny, gut – whatever you want to call it – it will let you know if the investment is right for you. And listen intently. If you know me, you know I’m all about intuition, and I make sure I”m very in tune with mine. After analyzing steps One and Two I take a hard look at what my intuition is telling me. You’ll know whether you are getting excited about something because everyone is raving about it or because you know it’s the right thing for your business.

Once I went through my 3 steps I knew without a doubt that attending B-School was the best investment for me. I have dreams of where I want to go and I am going about this with intention of getting more out of it than I ever expected (which means A LOT since I have high expectations for it!). I’d love to have you join me!!