There are times when building a new website is a difficult decision. The current site is fine and still doing the job, but you know it could perform better and generate more leads if it were tightened up.
There are other times when you know you need a new website, but you simply haven’t done it yet. If you know you need a new website but you’re holding off, you’re already paying for it by the number of potential customers that you’re losing.
This came to mind while reading “Poor Charlie’s Almanack“, where Charlie Munger shared a similar sentiment:
The situation reminds me of the old-time Warner & Swasey ad that was a favorite of mine: “The company that needs a new machine tool and hasn’t bought it is already paying for it.”
Your tools need to be sharp.
If your laptop is slow and constantly crashing, but you don’t want to spend the money on a new one, you’re already paying for it with your productivity.
If one of the ovens in your restaurant is on the fritz, it’s costing you money to not repair it.
This applies to your business as well. You know what tools in your arsenal need repair, and it’s costing you money to let them languish. New ovens, laptops, and websites all cost a decent amount of money versus the small amount you’re losing in the meantime, but it adds up.
It’s similar to what Charlie says about habits, quoting from “A Christmas Carol”:
When Marley’s miserable ghost in A Christmas Carol says, “I wear the chains I forged in life,” he is talking about the chains of habit that were too light to be felt before they became too strong to be broken.
Your chains (bad website, unpowered computer, etc) can be pretty light from day to day, but over time their problems will compound heavily on you.
If you know that it’s time to invest in your marketing and you aren’t, why not? You’re spending money either way, so it might as well go toward creating a better future for your company.
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