I started my small business with $1,000 investment.  I bought business cards, a computer and a friend helped me build my first website.  It wasn’t a huge investment, but it wasn’t a huge business.

But I did make an investment. Too often I meet small busienss owners who want to start a business on less than a shoe string and they struggle with the idea of investing even a little.

I think Seth Godin said it well in a  recent blog post:

In the free media world in which we’re living now, it’s so easy to get stuck on not investing, on avoiding outlays at all cost. Frugal is an admirable trait, but being a miser is dumb.

Deciding what to spend, and when to spend it should not be random.  It should be part of an overall business plan where you make stratgetic investments which move you closer to your goals.

What were the most important things you invested in when you started your busienss?