When to Invest, When to Scale Back: The Entrepreneur's Eternal Question

What does the centuries-old wisdom "it takes money to make money" really mean for today's entrepreneurs? I'm challenging conventional thinking by breaking down when and how this principle applies in the modern business landscape.

Through a personal story of using this phrase as a career compass during a job interview, I reveal how this principle became a powerful goal-setting tool in my own entrepreneurial journey. The traditional understanding suggests substantial capital is necessary to launch successfully, but is that still true? I explore the fascinating alternatives now available - from no-cost collaborations to low-investment digital platforms that allow entrepreneurs to test concepts before significant financial commitment.

The real power lies in strategic implementation. Whether you're just starting out or scaling an established venture, knowing exactly when to invest (and when to hold back) becomes the critical skill. Rather than seeing this principle as a barrier, I encourage treating it as a checkpoint for regular business assessment. Are you at a stage where expansion requires hiring? Do operations demand new equipment? Understanding precisely when capital investment becomes necessary distinguishes thriving businesses from struggling ones.

Perhaps most valuable is the counterintuitive wisdom of knowing when to scale back. Sometimes the smartest financial move isn't expansion but strategic contraction - questioning if you truly need that additional staff member or expanded inventory. By approaching your business with this balanced perspective, you'll make smarter decisions about when money truly makes money. Join me for this exploration, and stay tuned for a deeper dive in part two!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello world, welcome back to Not Just Candle Talk.
Today we're going to talk aboutthe phrase it takes money to
make money.
Is that true nowadays?
You can answer that yourself inyour journey and where you're
at.
For me, I'll tell you a quickstory, real quick.

(00:34):
I took a job a couple of yearsago and in an interview, I you
know how they ask you, you knowwhat?
Do you know what you're herefor?
And I'm like, hey, I have asmall business, ok, and and I
understand that it takes moneyto make money.
And so they looked at me, right, they looked at me with this
look like what, what, what she'stalking about.
But you know, by me saying thatout loud, putting that in the
air, that right there, for me itwas, uh, me just stating my

(00:57):
goals of why I was there and to,at some point, mentally, it was
a mental note to myself, likethis is what you're here for.
And they looked at me becausethey probably never heard
anybody come in and say that tothem.
The look alone said it and Iunderstood that.
But that's not, that's not.
You know, I can't do anythingabout that, but I'm gonna tell

(01:19):
you my truth anyway, uh, becausethat is why I'm here.
No, I'm not at the job anymorebecause once I got to where I
wanted to be goal-wise, I had tolet it go because, at the end
of the day, my business is my.
You know what's important to me.
So that's a quick story of you.

(01:41):
Know how that phrase mattered Atthe time and it still does.
You can implement it, like Isaid, throughout your journey.
Now the phrase itself has beenaround forever, for centuries
people have.
That's nothing new.
Now it what's new is when doyou apply that To your journey

(02:03):
in your entrepreneurship, smallbusiness journey?
When do you implement that toyour journey in your
entrepreneurship, small businessjourney?
When do you implement that?
The beginning, middle end whendoes that thought come to your
mind?
Or does it come to your mind?
And traditionally, thetraditional ways of starting a
business does that apply to themany ways you can or can't start

(02:26):
a business?
Right Now you can do low cost.
You could do no cost.
Low cost, no cost.
Collaborations, freelancing,offering services to start your
small businesses orcollaborations.
It doesn't.
You know that's a free one, nomoney down.

(02:47):
You're collabing, you'rehelping the next entrepreneur Do
their thing and they're helpingyou.
So those types of things, nolow cost or no cost.
Another low cost to me would beStarting a website.
To me, that Another low cost tome would be Starting a website.
To me, that's low cost.
It doesn't take a lot to starta website.

(03:10):
Not at all, not today.
It doesn't.
And then it depends on whatkind of business you actually
have, right.
So the phrase to me, it takesmoney to make money, right
Absolutely, and you have to doit.
To me, you have to do itstrategically as well.
Now, do you forefront.

(03:34):
No matter if you say it orbelieve it, it's at some point
in your journey.
It's going to be implementedright.

(03:54):
I'm excited because I use thatnow.
I use it as a goal setter formyself whenever I'm doing
something and I understand, Itry to understand at best the
best ways to put it into whatI'm doing.

(04:18):
Because, like I said, it doesn'tmatter where you're at in your
journey.
It just depends on what's theneed for it and what you're
doing at that given time.
So, like I said, like a lot oftimes, you don't even need

(04:38):
anything to start a smallbusiness, or very little.
Now, if you a gambler, you knowyou take risks.
You want to start big with thebig loan.
If you're a gambler, you knowyou take risks.
You want to start big with thebig loan.
Make sure that your strategy isstrategic enough to where you
say, hey, okay, I got this loan,I'm going to pay this boy off

(05:00):
in five to ten years.
Just know that that fastsuccess is not going to happen.
Right, it might happen, but berealistic about when you do
things like that.
Be realistic in your journey.
Absolutely be realistic,because I think a lot of times
people are not and they don'tplan strategically or think that

(05:23):
if I start off big, I'm goingto end big.
That's not always the case.
Uh, especially with smallbusinesses.
To me, the best way to grow isto keep it in a nice, nice
little package.
Right, this is just my opinions.
I'm not an expert Again, Ialways say that but I think I do
things that work for me and Itry to share as much as I can or

(05:46):
give insight or or stay in theknow of things.
Right Again, on my last episode, I was talking about AI and how
now you can implement that insome type of form or fashion in
your take.
It makes money to take money,jondra, not Jondra in your

(06:11):
thoughts.
I don't know why I said Jondra,but anyway, let's get back to
it.
So, when it comes to marketing,you don't have to do it big in
marketing.
Now you can, but you know, isthat going to?
Is that going to get you towhere you're to where you're at
in your goals?
Like I said, it all depends onwhere you're at in your journey

(06:33):
for your business.
It really does.
But at some point that statementis going to hold true.
Are you hiring, are youexpanding?
Are you equipment-wise,inventory-wise?
Where you're at in yourbusiness will determine if it
takes money to make money.

(06:53):
That statement will all.
You can always come back tothat statement.
It's like a checkpoint okay,I'm here, check where am I at
with it.
Um, and you know, you know howmuch money you're going to need
if you're paying attention,right, not everybody knows.
If you're grounded in yourbusiness and you are like hands

(07:16):
on in what you do, you know whatyour capital needs are.
Absolutely, that's a strongbusiness-minded people,
absolutely.
But a lot of entrepreneursunderstand that.
Now, how you get there is, likeI said, it's so many different

(07:38):
ways.
Pick up a book.
I am big on reading, I'm big ondoing research no-transcript To
increase your capital ordecrease.
Sometimes you need to decrease,right.

(08:00):
Do you need that staff?
Okay.
Do you need to put that personon your payroll?
Do you need all of thisinventory?
Do you need all of thesemarketing tools?
Do you need that?
So, keep in mind, if you keepin mind that phrase, it takes
money to make money.
Sometimes you have to scaleback.

(08:21):
That's more.
That's probably the biggestjourney is to know when to scale
back, because it's cool, it'sokay to scale back, right, it's
okay.
So, but always keep that phrasein mind.
To me, it means so much in somany different ways, and

(08:41):
checking in with yourself andchecking in with your business
is so important, and puttingthat on uh, putting that phrase
on any topic, uh, or anycategory throughout your
business journey will will.
It will save you a lot ofmisfortune in what you're doing.

(09:04):
To me.
That's just my opinion.
I mean that you can implementit at any point of your journey,
and it's not.
It's never ending, right?
Because since that phrase hasbeen around for centuries, that
part of your business is neverending.
Just do a check Every so often,quarterly, twice a year,
whatever.
However, you do it and seewhere you're at, because it's

(09:27):
like a check, it's like a checkmark, it's like a pause.
It takes money to make money.
So where am I at With mybusiness?
Right, I just wanted to hit onthat topic.
I'm going to do a part two.
I'm going to do a little bitmore deep diving into this
because I just came across this.
Like I said, I did it in myinterview with that company and

(09:47):
to me that was a reality check.
Like I'd never said this before, I never put it out there, but
now it's part of my goals, it'spart of how I check myself.
So I want to do a part two ofthis and do some more deep
diving.
Maybe have a guest on, I don'tknow.
I don't know how I'm going todo it, but I'm excited about

(10:08):
this topic.
I just want to touch on it and,you know, give a little insight
of where I'm headed with thisone.
But I'm definitely going to doa part two.
I just don't know when.
But stay tuned, we're going todo, I'm going to do a little
more deep dive and digging intosome research on this topic
alone because I'm excited, I'mfired up about it.

(10:30):
It takes money to make money.
That's the truest statementaround right now, at this time,
with the economy, the way it is,2025 and where you're at in it,
because there's so many avenuesand so many ways you can use
that.
Stay with me, people.
Thank you for tuning in.
I appreciate you.
I'll see you next time.

(10:51):
Bye.