These 7 Founders Share The Best Investment They Made Before They Launched

From coaches to trademarks, seven founders share the steps they took before they started their business.

learn more about Jessica Abo

By Jessica Abo

From coaches to trademarks, seven founders sat down with Jessica Abo to share the best investment they made before they started their business.

1. Sharri Harmel, Editor-in-Chief, Extraordinary Women Magazine

"The Extraordinary Women Magazine is a magazine focused on helping women create fantastic next chapters. The best investment I ever made was truly an investment in failure. Before I was ready, I launched courses, lives, Facebook groups, you name it, to learn more about my target audience. We learn by doing. Invest in failure."

2. Roketa Johnson, CEO and Founder, Opulence

"Opulence connects entrepreneurs with vetted resources who are looking to launch, build or scale their business. One of the best investments that I made before launching was trademarking my brand. Your brand reputation is your most valuable asset. You'll want to make sure you protect it."

3. Emily Cisek, CEO, The Postage

"The Postage is a digital estate and legacy planning platform. The best investment I made in The Postage before we got started is really two things: team and technology. Because with those two things, no matter what pivot, growth or how quickly you need to scale, you are going to be able to handle it no matter what with the right team and the right technology."

4. Melanie Espeland, Founder and Executive Coach, Espelad Enterprises

"Espelad Enterprises works with professionals on executive coaching and executive life coaching. My best advice before you launch your company is to do work on yourself. Do your due diligence on your why — why you're starting this business. This will help you be connected with what you're doing and help others connect with you."

5. Claire Spackman, Founder, Consumerhaus

"Consumerhaus is a curated online marketplace for over a hundred of the internet's favorite consumer brands, ranging from food and beverage to health and wellness, to personal care and pets. The best investment I made before I launched was to cold email as many people as possible. You really never know where a cold email might lead, whether it's an intro to an investor or a feature in a publication. I owe a lot of my small wins so far to not being afraid of sending strangers incredibly personalized emails."

6. Michelle Yu, Founder and CEO, Aspire Talent

"Aspire Talent is a boutique HR consultancy focused on all things HR and people operations. One of the best investments that I made prior to launching my business was to get myself a coach. A lot of times, people have this misconception that they'll save a lot of money trying to figure it out on their own when that's not the case. Having a coach and knowing that there is someone who is a 100% dedicated to your success will get you to your business goals a lot faster."

7. Kristina Bartold, CEO, The Social Snippet

"The Social Snippet is a social media and podcasting agency focused on helping entrepreneurs build their digital communities online. And if I could pick up the best thing I invested in before even getting started, it was definitely community. Joining free or low ticket communities and just pouring in value. Offer connection calls with anyone you can think of that you can meet and see how you can pour into their business. Don't pitch. Just make connections and you'll see how much that will pay you back."

Jessica Abo

Entrepreneur Staff

Media Trainer, Keynote Speaker, and Author

JESSICA ABO is a media trainer, keynote speaker, and bestselling author who uses her 20+ years of TV news experience to help entrepreneurs, C-Suite executives, celebrities, and philanthropists share their stories with the world. An award-winning journalist, Jessica has presented all over the country including at TEDx, Facebook, Microsoft, Delta Airlines, WW, and the United Nations. She has appeared on The TODAY Show, ABC News, Access Hollywood, KTLA, CBS, and NY1 and in Forbes, Fast Company, and Women's Health.  Her debut book Unfiltered: How To Be As Happy As You Look On Social Media sold out on its first day and empowers readers with tools they can use to take back their happiness IRL (in real life).

Related Topics

More from Jessica Abo

Want Your Podcast to Make It Past Episode 12? Here's Some Advice.

7 Founders Share Their Favorite Business Tool

How This Entrepreneur Went Global Without VC Funding

Shaping The Narrative of Your (Personal) Brand is The Secret to Your Success. Here's Why.

Editor's Pick

The Dark Side of Pay Transparency — And What to Do If You Find Out You're Being Underpaid
Thinking of a Career Change? Here Are 4 Steps You Can Take to Get There.
A Founder Who Bootstrapped Her Jewelry Business With Just $1,000 Now Sees 7-Figure Revenue Because She Knew Something About Her Customers Nobody Else Did
Everything You Need to Know About Franchise Law
Travel

6 Secret Tools for Flying First Class (Without Paying Full Price)

It's time to reimagine upgrading. Here's how to fly first class on every flight, business or personal.

Franchise

How to Bring Your Franchise to the Next Level With Marketing Automation

With the impacts of inflation and associated costs of running a business, automation is a powerful solution for streamlining a positive guest experience and overall marketing.

Business News

'Crying Northwestern Kid' Turned His Viral Fan Moment Into a Successful Harvard Admissions Essay. He Says the Experience Taught Him About Empathy.

Six years ago, Phillips was watching No. 8 Northwestern take on No. 1 Gonzaga during March Madness when he became a meme.

Starting a Business

90% of Online Businesses Fail in Just 4 Months. You Can Avoid the Same Fate By Using These Strategies.

It's not catastrophizing when we think about potential failure; it's in fact a chance for any business to precisely see any outcome and prepare in advance.