I was involved in a bit of a debate recently about whether you should invest heavily in things like websites, showcase videos, even a fancy wardrobe. Whether you need to “look the part” from day 1 or whether you can start small.

My own opinion is that you can bootstrap and build over time.

But actually, that's not important. What struck me after a while was that the focus of the discussion was all wrong.

Everything was about the tools. Should you pay a fortune for a website? Should you buy this, that or the other?

But in my experience, it's not really the tools that make the difference. It's you and what you do.

A brilliant website and showcase video aren't going to win you clients if you don't get out, meet people, build relationships or demonstrate your expertise. Conversely, I think if you get out, meet people, build relationships and demonstrate your expertise you could well win clients without needing a brilliant website or showreel or any of the other trappings.

Or maybe your thing could be creating great content for your site, doing webinars, writing emails, engaging online. Same principle: it's what you do, not what you buy.

So if you find yourself worrying about the things you should buy to win you more clients, you might well be on the wrong track. Focus instead on what you should do.