Most Business Owners Budget Completely Wrong

I once survived off $100–$200 every month after rent, food, and gas.

I loved those days as a 20 year old working as a groundsman for a small tree service business. Covered in wood chips, dirt, and tree sap. There's a certain feeling about being a young man covered in nature's dust.

It wasn't exactly getting me rich though.

$500 for a room in a bit of a run-down neighborhood. $200 for food. $200 for gas. Whatever was left over was mine to spend on... whatever.

This was also around the time I got into marketing. And naturally, being the young ambitious guy I was, I decided to start a Meta Ads agency.

I knew nothing. And I'm glad I got no clients back then. Would have been a disaster.

But I told myself: I can keep cold calling and emailing business owners hoping someone bites. Or I can put skin in the game and run Meta ads for myself.

So I set a whopping advertising budget of $50 per week.

Now — to most people that sounds like nothing. To me at the time? That was a massive investment. That was half my "whatever's left" money. Gone. Every week.

But it got me 5–6 leads per week.
With fifty bucks.

I remember thinking: if I can do this with $50... what happens when there's a real budget behind this?

• • •

And that's something I see business owners get completely backwards.

They'll negotiate the office supply bill down to the penny. They'll drive across town to save $30 on something. They'll cut costs on things that don't make them a single dollar.

Then they apply that exact same "save save save" mentality to marketing.

Which is the one activity in their business that actively puts money IN.

Saving on your electricity bill makes sense. Saving on the thing that brings you customers is like skipping meals to save money while turning down job offers.

You're not saving. You're just shrinking.

Talk soon,
Tae