Often when small business owners create a successful business, they get occupied by the daily chores of the company and forget about all the other investments they should make. The business you created or maintain today is not just the end game. It is a means to what you expect from your life and where you are heading.

Apart from business operations, you need to pay attention to what you want and what your family wants. What is your responsibility towards society? Well, as you run a company, take a step back, and think about your goals. Before that, consider the following key investments that you should definitely make, both in your life and your company.

Pay Attention to Yourself

Sometimes, when you start a company, you get consumed by all the business operations and forget about yourself. This may include taking a break, visiting a place, and taking the time to travel and relax. Another way to look at yourself as an investment is to look for ways to spend your time peacefully and give yourself more time. Precisely, giving time to relax, getting a massage, going for a run or meeting with friends are the basic ways to pay attention to yourself. Look at what you can “outsource” and create a somewhat balanced version of you that is happy, healthy and satisfied.

Invest More in Your Business

Sometimes in order to generate and maximize profit, small business owners and entrepreneurs run the business a little too lean. However, it is not always about generating revenue and profit, but costs that you need to look at. You can invest in new software, which can yield you more transactions and reduce employees’ time for performing a specific task. The thing that you need to remember is that if you cannot create the highest return on investment in your business, then you probably should step back and analyze how you could run your company in a better way.

Make Tax Accountant Your Friend

If you are a successful business owner, then you might not realize that your income tax is your single biggest personal expense. By evaluating options to lower their taxes, businesspersons can often increase their net income anywhere from 10 per cent to 50 per cent with only small changes in the way that they operate their business and personal life. This increase in the cash flow, if reinvested wisely, can intensely impact the future. You may want to examine where your business is incorporated or review the legal ownership of the company. You could also check and see if you structured your company to be owned by a Roth 401k, would it yield tax-free dividends or allow you to invest profits tax-free for the rest of your life.

Invest Broadly in Stock Market

For investing in the stock market, you cannot just give your money to anyone. You should do balanced research and spend two to three hours each day investigating markets, trends and companies. You should not be risking your hard-earned income. You would be better served by investing equally in three to four broad market index ETF’s such as the Dow, S & P 500, NASDAQ and Russell 2000 and let time and history do their work. Precisely, stocks of these market index ETF’s have gained value in the past 50 years, generating an average annualized return of 10.9%. With just that rate of return average, your investment would get doubled in seven years. You can earn more by investing in the stock market, all without the stress, headache and risk of making individual investments.

Diversify in Real Estate

Other than investing in the stock market, you can also invest in real estate. You can diversify your financial platform and invest in commercial real estate that provides tax benefits and additional cash flow. There are several entrepreneurs who have built commercial real estate portfolios that yield more than $250,000 of annual net cash flow as the value of their real estate continues to escalate. You can invest in small office complexes, apartments, and warehouses, which can provide you with a diversified real estate portfolio through which you could generate an income for life.