Would You Invest $200 if it Returned $10,000 a Year?

Or: Why you should consider taking Career Success in the Digital Age. ROI. Return On Investment. In terms of prosperity, that is the bottom line of every cent and every second that you spend. What does it return? How much value do you get from the investment. How much does it contribute to your prosperity. When do you think about it? How do you develop this awareness? At what point do you make decisions based on how it affects your prosperity?

As children, we have very little awareness of this. We have an emotional response to wanting things. In time we start to understand that there is no going back. What you choose is what you live with. This is a life long process. There is a dynamic tension between the impulse to acquire something for emotional reasons versus the control to wait to achieve a higher ROI later. This applies to money, personal energy, time and other aspects of our lives.

The first step is to understand ROI. It means that for every unit of energy you expend (time, energy/effort, currency) there is a potential return. Whether it buys you more time, energy, or currency depends on what you choose to invest in and how you go about making the investment. But at the core is the understanding of your goals. (I’m sorry to be repetitious but it keeps coming down to knowing what you really want.)

Once you know your goals, the rest is a case of learning to make your long term goals become more important than your short term emotional needs or desires. Since this blog is primarily for the students and graduates of Spa Tech Institute who are learning to succeed, that is my predominant focus. But the resistance to acquiring the skills to succeed is universal so this applies to everyone. What will make you succeed? Where is your highest ROI? It’s learning to do the things that will attract, acquire and retain clients who also give you additional referrals. The math on this is overwhelming.

If you spend $100 of advertising for a new client and they spend $100 but never come back, then you have gotten a 1 to 1 ROI. However, if that client comes back 10 times a year you have gotten $1000 for the year, an ROI of 10 to 1. If they come to you for 10 years you get $10,000 or an ROI of 100 to 1. Now if that same client refers just one additional client a year to you, you are making $2000 in year two, $3000 in year three, etc., and that first client is now worth significantly more over 10 years. And if each referred client refers another client, well, you get the point.

So if your highest ROI is to keep your cost per client acquisition low, and to keep your retention and referrals high, shouldn’t you be focusing on learning everything you can about how to do this? Which investment is more important, spending $200 to learn how to do a new technique or spending $200 to learn how to attract, acquire and retain more clients? Which will have a higher ROI? Which will grow your career and business faster? I watch people make this choice every day.

The majority of people will spend money on learning a new skill or technique for their trade rather than spend money on improving their marketing, retention and business building skills. Why? Lack of self-confidence. Taking another skill development class in your trade is more emotionally satisfying and helps to make you feel more secure that you know what you are doing. This is not a bad thing.

It’s critically important that you continue to build your skills so your work evolves. But the other dynamic is that most people are more comfortable learning the things that they are already skilled at rather than learning something that is outside of their comfort range. For many people, learning about marketing is very scary. Business skills class is the single most traumatic class for the majority of students. There is nothing worse than learning to say good things about yourself. It brings up all of your stuff.

Additionally, almost all marketing today hinges on learning new technologies. Even though you know attracting, acquiring and retaining clients is at the core of what you need to succeed, the fear of taking a class that is so uncomfortable is often insurmountable. Are you suffering through a marginal level of success rather than taking the leap into doing what will give you the highest return? I’ve watched hundreds of very good stylists and therapists try for several years and not succeed because they never addressed the skills that were holding them back.

They would study everything else, but never the critical communications tools and techniques that could help them thrive. The ones who acquired the skills are very successful. The others get discouraged and disappear.  So the question is, are you ready to take the risk to learn what you really need to succeed or are you going to stay in your “safe” zone and continue to struggle? You are the only one who can make the change. As always, I wish you the best and am doing everything I can to help you succeed.

Sincerely,

Kris

P.S. The “Career Success in the Digital Age” class was develop with you in mind. It is designed for everyone in the spa, salon, holistic health and wellness industry. It does not assume prior computer skills or knowledge. The emphasis is on helping you get the biggest impact with the least amount of effort. It also helps you to avoid costly mistakes. Whether you work for someone or have your own business, this will probably be the most important class you will ever take. (The class is open to business owners as well as individuals who want to master the skills to succeed in the new economy.) As always, I look forward to your comments and questions. They are the source of new programs, articles and support for everyone who wants to create a more amazing future. Thank you for the opportunity to support you.

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