I talk to clients about Shiny System Syndrome often and I fear that I also have Shiny Offer Syndrome. 

I start seeing people posting their offers and suddenly I need them. This is a natural thing that happens because as a business owner, we can very easily convince ourselves that we need all sorts of things. When in reality, we only truly need a few specific things that will actually move us toward our goals. 

As I approach my first business anniversary (it’s in July!), I’ve been reflecting on what has helped me get to this point and I thought it might be helpful for other new business owners to see what investments might be worth it. 

Keep reading for  a round up of the best business investments I made during my first year. These are all things that I truly love and have significantly helped me lay the foundation for my business going forward!. And trust me, there are things that didn’t make the cut. 

Top 5 Best Investments I Made In My First Year of Business

Branding and Website by Tori Sprankel

When I saw success in my business, I quickly tried to figure out what would help me level up, attract my ideal clients and honestly, feel confident stepping into my business owner era. 

I wanted branding and a website to match where Virtually Robyn was heading. I looked around at some options and even reached out to a few designers.

But I kept coming back to Tori. 

I stalked brands that she had worked on. I read up on her blog. Studied her socials. I really wanted to work with Tori. 

I’m so glad I chose to work with her!. She saw my brand, my vision and who I am as a human and brought them to life. I get comments from friends and internet strangers about how amazing my website and branding is. 

Taking the leap to give my branding and website a glow-up with Tori was absolutely the right move! 

Site Series Sprint from Sara at BTL Copy

As soon as I booked my brand/website project with Tori, I knew I needed to figure out the copy situation. Yes, it would have been amazing to hire one of the lovely copywriters I love, but it wasn’t in the budget. 

Plus, I don’t mind writing and I don’t think I’m bad at it. 

Site Series Sprint by Sara at BTL Copy was the perfect option. I’m a former teacher and when I tell you this course is laid out well, trust that I know what I’m talking about. It’s organized, the videos are in digestible chunks and she provides so many examples from across industries.

The value packed into this course and amount of content is truly incredible. I was able to use the materials to define things about my brand like my ideal client and values. I learned about SEO and general copywriting tips that I use for things like my newsletter. 

*My link gets you $150 off!

The Writer’s Room with Natty

I’m still working on being comfortable with social media, but I know the value of blogs. I know the SEO value and how it provides free content for your audience. 

I love writing my newsletter and writing a blog is a natural way to expand on those topics. Natty talks about using your blogs to inform your social media content. 

Through writing my blogs and newsletter, I realized that I think I’m more of a long form kind of gal. I have a lot to say! 

Being in the membership has made it easy for me to submit a blog draft weekly, then hit publish on that blog the following week and use it to create social media content. Natty’s edits and suggestions are more helpful than I could have ever imagined!

There is weekly co-writing time, and even though I haven’t been able to make it due to scheduling conflicts, I still enjoy the Slack channel, ask questions, and see other people’s blogs they’re hitting publish on. The membership has provided me with the structure and accountability I need to succeed in making blogging a regular part of my business. 

Natty also has other offers where she’ll help you with blog topics or even write a blog for you. She’s a gem and the value in every way I’ve worked with her is incredible. 

Brick

Ok, yes, I also use this for my personal life, but honestly it’s more about business and boundaries.

As a former teacher, I have some bad habits to unlearn. One of them is being wayyyy too accessible. I joke that I trade Class Dojo parent messages for Slack messages, but it’s also real. 

The difference is my clients aren’t expecting an immediate response (parents were 🙃). So in order for me to retrain myself that work things can wait, I had to create an actual barrier between me and work messages. 

I use my Brick to “brick” myself out of social media and Slack. That way I can be present with my family and friends without being pulled to answer one quick message or go for a doom scroll. 

I do think the marketing around Brick is a little confusing. You can choose exactly which apps are blocked, it can be based on a schedule or when you manually brick your phone and there are options that do something similar for free. Let me know if you have questions about how I use it or how it works! DM me on Instagram. 

Bookkeeping by Molly

I made it through my first 6 months of business with a DIY bookkeeping spreadsheet. It was really good, had fancy formulas, and looked nice, but money is not something I’m comfortable with. 

I was so tangled with what was happening and when I should be inputting it into my spreadsheet. Then I got behind and it was a TASK to sort through everything. 

In 2026, I immediately hired Molly. She’s like sunshine in a human. She answers my chaotic late night emails when I’m confused and when her website says “no judgement”, she means it. I am so glad that I made the decision to hire her. 

How To Decide When To Outsource For Your Business

Deciding to invest in all of these things at the right time was definitely the key. As a new business owner, it’s often impossible to do it all at once, but don’t let that defeat you. 

When trying to decide when to outsource for your business, I recommend making a list of all the things that in an ideal world you would hire for and from that list put a start next to the things that feel like true priorities – meaning they’re investments into the foundation of your business as a whole. 

For example, I chose to invest in web design and a copywriting course because I knew my business needed both of those things to move forward in a way that I wanted!

Same with the blogging membership. Sure, social media is important and of course plays a role in my marketing, but at the end of the day I wanted to invest my time and money into something that didn’t have to fight an algorithm.

Your list will likely look different than mine and that’s okay! 

The best time to outsource for your business is when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs of staying where you are. 

Another example for me is that the benefit of hiring a bookkeeper extremely outweighed the costs of stress and anxiety around looking at my books even when there was money there. 

Outsourcing is less about making a certain amount of money or being at a certain business stage, because quite honestly, I’ve found that outsourcing is often the thing that allows me to make even MORE money!

And the same can be true for you, too. 

If you feel like your business is all out of whack and you really aren’t sure what you need, I’d love to help you figure that out! A Stop the Spiral Sprint is a great place to outline your goals, potential investments and talk through what your next steps should be. 

NOTE: This blog post contains affiliate links, which means I could potentially earn a small commission if you purchase through my links. Please know that I only ever recommend products or services that I love and have fully vetted!