4 ways to always keep your investors happy

4 ways to always keep your investors happy

Every startup wants to bring on an investor, which is understandable, but if you don't plan on keeping them happy you might want to do things on your own.  If you do have an investor on board, you know that they are just the "money man" and they will not really have a final word on how you push your business or how it is all run.  You do have to remember, if the investor doesn't like where the business is going, they can always stop giving you money and then you're on your own.  An investor likely won't have the controlling shares of your company, but you'll need to keep them happy in order to keep receiving money from them to make your business the best it can be in a short amount of time. 

It's like a double edged sword, the investor can't really tell you how to run your business since they don't have controlling shares, but if you want to keep receiving checks from them you might want to listen to what they have to say.  Remember, even if an investor stops giving you money for your business, they will still own a percentage of it or have an agreement in writing that forces you to pay them.  If you haven't figured it out, this discussion will go over how you can keep your investors happy with you every step of the way down your business journey


Always run ideas past them so they are in the loop
If you plan on changing the look and feel of your website, you'll want to run this past them so they are in the loop.  Usually they won't fight you on the change, as long as it doesn't change your business model, but they will always want to be in the loop with major changes.  Little things like tweaking your logo or changing a few images on your website aren't something that will be seen as a worthy update by your investor. 

You don't want to seem needy, so don't send them daily updates about your process unless they ask.  Normally they will want weekly updates and the time frame for updates will likely get extended as they begin to trust you more.  Eventually you will just have to update them on a monthly basis or just when something beneficial happens that they would want to know, like you just made 5,000% more in sales for the month than last month lol


Always update them when you do something that benefits the company
You'll always be working on your business, but that doesn't mean you should be calling your investors every day to show them what you've done.  You only need to contact your investors when you've finished something that will change your business for the better.  This could be anything from adding new courses to your website, innovating something that will likely bring in more sales, or running a new PPC campaign that is working much better than expected.

Investors don't want to hear good news, they want to hear GREAT news, so be sure to not flood their inboxes with your little victories and only contact them when you have something that changes your business for the better.


Notify them when you make more money than anticipated
I touched on this early on, and you'll definitely want to update your investor when something makes you more money.  Now, they won't want to hear that you made an extra $20 on Monday and Tuesday, they will want to hear exponential numbers like "We just made an extra $5,000 this week and are trending to do the same next week" because they are in it for the profits. 

Remember, an investor is only giving you his/her money in order to make more money than they are giving you.  The time frame might be 10+ years, but usually it's in the 3 to 5 year range when they expect to start seeing profits.  If you're notifying them evey week that you're making an extra $1,000 then they will be extremely happy with that.  They will see you as a cash cow and they will likely throw more money at you


Fix a problem before running to them for help
Your investor isn't your problem solver, they are just your bank, so don't run to them when you have a problem.  You're the business owner, so you need to figure out the best way to fix the problem you come upon.  An investor won't take too kindly to an emailing saying "I need your help" after they just signed over a massive check to help you out in the first place.  If you do end up asking the investor for help, you will likely get a response of "We aren't here to fix your problems.  But we're glad you brought this to our attention.  Please keep us updated".  Basically, this means they now know there is a problem you can't fix and they need to watch your profits to know if they made a bad investment.

You have the bank roll, pay someone to fix your problem and don't go to your investor to fix it for you.  They're not your parents, you're an adult, be the professional and bring someone on board to manage the problem and keep pushing towards success!



In conclusion
People think that investors are the type of business partners that will step in when you're over worked or handle a problem when you're plate is full, but they're not.  They are just an entity that gave you money in order to make money for themselves later on.  They are not your friends, even if they say they are, because as soon as something goes very wrong they will be the first to jump ship as long as they have profited from you.  Think of them as your bank and only update them when you have a payment or something is doing exceptionally well and is in their favor


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Thanks!

Razzy