The most valuable thing that I did while I was building my addiction treatment business was continuously invest in myself and the company.
I invested in myself by obsessively learning, through all mediums. I had mentors, attended mastermind events, read books, watched YouTube videos, etc.
I knew that I had to absorb as much knowledge as humanely possible if the business was going to be successful, so I allocated (and continue to allocate) an immense amount of time and resources to learning. This investment allowed me to develop the skill sets necessary to master all the verticals within the addiction treatment industry.
I frequently see business owners who reach a certain level of success and lose their drive to continue to invest in themselves through education. They lose the humility required to be a student, and ultimately cap their own growth.
Investing in knowledge is not a one-time investment, it’s a lifelong investment. No matter your level of success, you can always continue to push the needle and learn more.
I invested in the company by living incredibly below my means for years. This allowed me to invest all the money back into the company. Growing a business requires substantial funding, and since I was bootstrapping the operation, it was necessary for me to invest as much capital back into the business as possible.
I understood that this was a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain. If I hadn’t lived so drastically below my means for those years, there’s no way the business would have grown as quickly as it did.
If you want your business to not only survive, but thrive, then you need to continuously invest in yourself and the company. It’s an investment that will pay off tenfold over time.