Spend it to make it?

I have  owned my own business and been self employed for most of my working life.  We have all heard the old adage that you have to spend money to make money, right?  well, here is my story on how I  "spent" on my new sandwich board in order to "make" money in my studio.  My studio is up a flight of stairs in a commercial building on busy downtown Water Street so  in order to get anyone interested in trekking up the stairs to view my art it seemed like a good idea to have a sandwich board on the sidewalk to generate a little interest and direct them in that direction.  The first order of business was to purchase a legal size board ($$).  Then I  have a graphic designer come up with an attractive design ($$) and take it to the sign shop and have it printed on waterproof and mar resistant aluminum panels and attached to both sides of the sign ($$$).......whew, but we are just beginning to stack up dollars.  Next, I decided to attach a  removable pallet with a personal message and a QR code linked to a short video that I had professionally done.  A few extra  ($$$) but it really adds to the appeal of the sign.  Now......we have to go talk to the city and acquire a permit... routine, right? well,.....we live in a little seaport town listed on the historical registry and everything must be proper which amounts to a plethora of rules and detailed paperwork. Time consuming but doable.  Now I just write the check for the permit ($$) and put out the sign............No, not quite yet.  The city official informs me that I need to have a liability insurance policy worth $1,000,000 with them listed in it. Seems like CYA overkill to me but a trip to my insurer and more ($$$!) gets the permit in my hand.    Finally!  I was running out of patience and  ($$$)  but I can, now legally place my sign on the sidewalk and start making money!  Was it worth it all?  Yes, I have had the sign out for about a month which has resulted in meeting many new friends and acquiring some great customers.  Sales jumped remarkably for the month and I attribute it solely to the new sandwich board.  So......I guess in this case the adage is true.  The challenge will be figuring out the best places to "spend it" in order to maximize the "make it"...........Good Luck!