Last week we talked about fundraising for pageantry, this week we’re talking about what to do with the money you raise how to make wise investments.
There are lots of things to spend money on in pageantry from wardrobe, shoes, earrings, to not to mention week-of stuff like dvds, gala tickets, special seating, backstage roses, contestant gifts… it gets expensive.
And, when you’re working from a budget (as we all should be to be good stewards of our money), it’s hard to know what’s important and what’s not.
Today, I’m going to break down how to choose your investments wisely so you reap a life-long return.
First, you need to know the concept about how money flows.
Money is like a river. It flows through people from one person to the next and through them to the next and so on. If money flows to someone and stops with them (like, they are hoarding it or aren’t using it for increase and to serve others), then it will cause a dam in the river and pretty soon the river will re-route to flow around that person, but no longer to them and through them.
When you are part of the flow, your job is to steward the money. Some you’ll save so that when you’re out of a harvest season you won’t become a burden on others. Some you’ll give away to help others when they need it. And some you’ll invest, which is what we’ll talk about today.
A great analogy for financial flow is to think of the game you may have played as a kid. Imagine 10 kids standing about 10 steps from each other in a line. The first kid gets a bucket of water and takes it to the second kid and comes back for more while the second kid takes it to the third kid in line and comes back in time for the second bucket of water and so on. If the third kid doesn’t pass the buckets along to the fourth kid, and instead keeps the buckets sitting there for himself eventually the second kid is going to skip over the 3rd kid and just take it to the 4th kid himself to keep the flow going. It’s goig to take longer since there’s this greedy back-up happening in the middle, but the job will eventually get done.
God paints a picture of resources similarly.
God is our source and money, time, energy, gifts everything He gives us is a Re-source to use for the greater good.
Don’t be a pack-rat with stuff He’s given you or He won’t trust you with more. If you want more money, time, opportunities, cool people, energy, gifts, experiences to flow to you (like when you win a pageant), then you gotta learn how to steward what He’s given you. If you win your pageant, you are likely to be able to touch more lives and support more people. This investment is important to you, but really important to God since He gave you these gifts to begin with!
When you send some of your money, time, or gifts (any resource) out of your hands, it goes to work for you. Sending your resources out from you is like creating an outlet in the river so that you don’t cause a backup that forces the river to go around you. It further waters the land and helps other rivers flow around and through others.
I feel like I’m in a dizzy of kids moving buckets around and rivers carrying money through people! Haha! The lesson you need to walk away with here is that sending your money out isn’t a bad thing if it’s to the right place.
When people make financial investments, they seek to improve their financial standing through real estate properties, growing businesses or stocks. They don’t just buy what’s cheap or what’s available, they find what’s best and wait until the time is right and when the time is right, they pounce.
When people make educational investments, they seek to improve their education through things like college, Rosetta Stone, or an online program. They find what’s best and then invest. An investment in personal development might be through books or attending a Tony Robbins event, whatever is best for them to receive greatest return on their investment. Find what’s best, and then invest.
The cool thing about pageantry is that because you are judged across multiple areas including your intelligence, communication skills, fashion sense, and social savvy, there are lots of ways to invest in pageantry. And, because of the nature of the role of a titleholder, when you invest wisely, it pays off over and over again at appearances, future pageants, job interviews, social circles, travel, tons of places!
A wise investment is something that will give you a lot in return.
Where you should invest is unique to each individual, so I’m going to share with you 4 steps to discover where you should invest and how to invest wisely.
Step 1: Write Your List of Investments
Write down the things you want to improve about yourself and your pageant presentation. Maybe you want to be calmer on stage, understand your fashion style more, have the most jaw-dropping wardrobe or walk like you have sexy giraffe legs. Maybe you want to level up your interview skills, learn how to do professional make up, or be a current events wiz. Or maybe you want to soak up every moment of the experience so you have memories that last forever.
Don’t get too carried away here. You could list everything under the sun to be perfect but Rome wasn’t built in day. Narrow it down to the top 10-15 things you are looking for in this pageant. Be super specific.
Step 2: Look for Opportunities
For each area you want to grow in, research 3 opportunities you could invest in that would get you a high return. Take your time here. It’s likely you’ll first think of things that are free and/or cheap. Like, watching a bunch of YouTube makeup tutorials and buying cheap products from CVS. If learning to do professional makeup is important to you this year, then this is not the way to go. There are better investments that will get you to your goal faster and better than you could on your own. For example, calling up Austin Ryde and scheduling a makeup lesson. Will that cost you? Yes. Will it be a wise investment? Yes! You’ll know how to do your own make-up now for every pageant, event, and appearance you ever do in the future. That’s a smart investment.
Step 3: Research each item on your list
Choose the best option to learn, perform, practice, or meet who you need to in order to increase the skills on your list. Think more about the long-term payoff than the short term. Some coaches charge just $20 for a mock interview. Don’t spend $100 for a series of bad mock interviews. If it’s not helping you dramatically then, it’s a bad investment. Instead, spend $200 on something you can walk away knowing you did it once and did it the right way.
Find what’s best, and then invest.
When you invest your money wisely you’ll know because it will have an impact that outlasts the immediate results. You’ll make new friends, learn new things, grow in multiple areas, and best of all: reach your goals. If something isn’t helping you reach your goals, then it isn’t even worth $1.
A wise investment is one that will yield a high return. If you waste your money on a bad investment (like a dress that isn’t appropriate for the pageant system or a coach that doesn’t know what they’re talking about), then you will lose that money and instead of your investment helping to create greater success, it’s just gone.
Your pageant investments must be wise. Don’t rely on your mom and dad to tell you whether you can or can’t buy something. Instead, set a budget for yourself, decide what is important right now, research your opportunities and invest wisely.
Don’t let the river stop at you. Be mindful where you invest and you’ll create new paths of success in areas you never even knew you could!
Find what’s best, and then invest.
And that, my dear, is how you win a pageant.
There are people out there that want to help you. They know that they can’t be the place the river gets stuck and they want to over deliver on your happiness and give you more than you pay for. This is one of my mantras in my coaching business. I vow to always give my clients more than they pay for. I over-deliver with additional programs, support, and connections because I don’t want the river to stop at me.
I hope this very episode demonstrated that for you; that today you experienced me sharing my knowledge with you. I invested in everything-pageant for many years, now I’m able to share that wisdom with you and create a new river of connection between us.
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