Finding ways to earn more money without having to put in more time and energy is one of the trickiest things entrepreneurs face with growing businesses.

No matter how great your clients are, you constantly have to update your list, raise your prices, and prune out projects that don’t make sense.

Otherwise you’ll get stuck in a rut and be unable to keep seeking new opportunities for higher pay.

As a business owner, time and money are both precious commodities, which means you’re often protecting your time and money like you would your life.

Showcasing your work for potential new clients and convincing current clients of your worth can be difficult. Aside from those traditional ideas though, here are 5 other ways you can start earning more money without investing more time.

1. Target the Right Clients

It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to work for clients that are flexible, easy-going, pay well, and offer meaningful work. But it can be difficult to find and secure these positions — especially in the beginning stages of your business.

As you increase your skills and build your reputation over the next few years, it becomes easier to be a bit more picky about the type of clients you work with. This in turn means more money on your pocket, less stress, and the ability to work on projects that fulfill you.

That being said though, no matter what stage of your business you’re in, you should target the right clients. If you find that you’re still working at the same rate you started at in the beginning, despite having been with your client for a long period of time, it’s time to either raise your prices or prune your client list.

Many freelancers start out by working for other freelancers or bloggers, often at a low hourly rate. Some business owners even work for free in exchange for exposure, traffic, or building their portfolio. This strategy is a great way for them to get your feet wet, but eventually you have to parlay that free work into paying gigs so you can move your business forward.

2. Outsource Work to an Assistant

I know, you’re probably wondering how spending money helps you earn more money, but I promise this strategy works. In a nutshell, when you’re able to hire out small admin tasks or work with someone for a short period of time, you can buy yourself sanity and productivity.

Lets say you have a project that you charge $100 an hour for, and pay a VA or intern $15 an hour to manage your inbox, answer phone calls, or schedule appointments. You’re able to spend your time focusing on bringing in more clients, increasing your prices, and marketing your work, while your VA takes care of the tasks that suck your time and energy. This allows you to turn a better profit and get way more done in less time.

How important is your time? What is your billable hourly rate? Spending a little bit of money each month to hire someone to help is likely well worth the extra time you get back to focus on revenue-producing client work.

3. Showcase Your Content

Every entrepreneur should have a business website that showcases their services, portfolio of work, and project examples for potential clients to view. But it’s not enough to just have a website, it also needs to be free of errors, and professionally designed, so it turns those potential leads into paying gigs.

Create a “Work With Me” page on your website. Open an online store that makes it easy for clients to purchase products or packages from you. Consider adding a contact form so clients can inquire about your rates and custom packages.

Social media is also a great way to showcase your work. A Pinterest board that includes examples of your writing, designing, or other skills is a great way to drive traffic to your site and the sites of your clients. It also provides potential clients easy access to an entire portfolio of your work.

Make it easy for clients to work with you by showcasing your work on a website and via your social media accounts.

4. Find a Coach or Mentor

This might not sound like the best way to earn more as spending time with a coach is not billable time, but viewing them as a mentor is an awesome way to reduce the learning curve of building a business. They can save you time, energy, and advise you on what mistakes to avoid — essentially saving you tons of headache and money in the process.

I know this has personally been one of the best and most impactful investments I’ve made in my business since I started it nearly 4 years ago.

Don’t get me wrong, some business coaches and mentors charge a good bit of money to work with them. But not only is it a tax-deductible expense, it’s paid for itself many times over with more valuable work, better exposure, and mindset shifts.

Even experienced entrepreneurs should have a mentor or accountability partners. If you don’t have a large budget to pay a coach, consider something free, like a mastermind’s group, to use as a safe space to bounce ideas off of and learn from each other.

Collaborating with others is one of the best ways to grow your business and start earning more.

5. Invest in Services that Improve Your Biz

As a freelance writer who also runs my own blogging business, I know the importance of putting out quality content that’s free of grammar errors and mistakes. In this age of online blogs and social media we all have to embrace putting our businesses online in order to connect with a global audience and grow our reach.

Business owners (and writers especially) earn more money when they make fewer mistakes, establish a higher standard for their brand, and are able to land more reputable clients. One way I’ve been able to hone my skills is with a service like Grammarly, that offers an awesome grammar checking tool.

Just like spending a bit of money to hire a VA is a good investment, using services that improve your business are well worth the small monthly fee to use them. Content is a major part of your brand, and if you expect to grow your reach, engage your community, and increase sales it’s important to spend quality time and resources on make sure that’s content is epic.

This strategy applies to accounting programs and other business tools that you use to take your business to the next level. Don’t skimp on services, apps, and tools that can enhance your business or save you time and money.

Earning More Money in Less Time

We all strive to earn more money in less time. This can display itself in many ways, from being more productive to working more efficiently, or in this case, investing in the right things for your business.

By applying these tips and measuring your results, you’ll likely come to the same conclusion — earning more money is more about your mindset than anything else. So take time today to invest in services and people that will help your business upgrade to the next level.