“I’m a photographer specialising in analogue family photography (as in film, from the olden days when we were the kids!)… maternity, newborns, families etc. I’ve been in business for 15 years and have often struggled with the concept of “speculate to accumulate” when it comes to business growth. Or in the case of freelancers — personal growth! Do you subscribe to this theory? Obviously as freelancers we don’t often have the big budgets that larger corporations have to play with, so decisions around investing in further professional education, coaching, fancier equipment etc. take a bit of thinking about. It’s sometimes hard to know what will ‘move the needle’ in your business. Do you have a set of rules you apply when making decisions like this or do you follow your gut? Do you have any examples of times when the outcome of an investment in your own business growth has made it worthwhile? Or times when you’ve got it totally wrong and thrown your money down the drain?!"