When you first start a coaching business the investments you need to make can be pretty obvious. It might start with your coaching certification and then website and then you might slowly add different investments in as your business grows.

But how do you make those investment decisions to ensure you’re not wasting your time or money?

As a Business Mentor people invest to work with me, and I’ve also made lots of business investments myself. Here’s a few things I’ve learned in the process:

Work out what the direct return on investment would look like

Denise Duffield Thomas has one of the best approaches to business investments for me. She looks at the cost of something and works out how many clients or customers she’d need to book to recoup that cost. So if a programme is £2k, and your coaching package is £1k, can you expect that programme to help you book 2 or more clients? If so it might be a good investment.

I also like to think of investments where the return isn’t just monetary. I will often invest in things which I believe will:

• Give me more time
• Help me serve my clients better
• Reduce stress
• Support my wellbeing / mental wellbeing / self care
• Better manage my business

The more of those boxes that get ticked the better!

Know that you don’t always see an instant return on an investment

In the past, when I’ve worked with a business coach I haven’t always seen the direct return in income immediately. Often what I find is that it’s a longer process and sometimes the return on that investment comes later. It doesn’t mean the coaching wasn’t worth it, it’s just not the instant thing we can sometimes expect.

If you look at your finances and feel like you’ve been paying more on coaching or other investments than you’ve been getting back from them it can be helpful to remember that sometimes it’s a long game.

Let’s talk using credit to finance business investments

Before I get into this, I’m obviously not a financial advisor so this is very much not advice, just my experience and opinion.

When I got my coaching certification, I financed that on a credit card with a 0% deal. It was way cheaper than the monthly payment plan and it just made sense and I paid it off over the course of the training. So personally for me, I can see when it might make sense to finance some business investments on credit. 

While obviously I don’t think getting into debt is a good idea, you know your own financial situation best and can make decisions accordingly. A major red flag for me however is any coach who encourages you to get into debt to pay for their services.

Related post: How to start building an audience for your coaching business

The different kinds of investments you might make in your business

There’s lots of things you might want to pay for in your business – that might include small monthly expenses on bits of tech like Convertkit for your email list or Canva Pro for your design needs – I cover a lot of this on my Resources Page and include a list of systems you might want to consider at different stages of business.

Then you have bigger investments like Thrive Cart or a course platform like Teachable.

Then there’s the many different online courses, programmes and coaching packages that can help you grow your business in direct and indirect ways.

These all have a role in growing a business, I don’t think many people can successfully grow a business these days without making some of these kinds of investments so it can be good to look at the different options and start thinking about them.

For example Thrive Cart is a platform I’ll be investing in soon and I’m planning for that to happen. 

Related post: How to plan a photoshoot for your business

Leave space for your intuition

Whenever I make a business investment decision it’s always half logic and half heart – sometimes I just ‘know’ something is going to be right for me. My best business decisions feel like an exciting stretch. They make me feel like I’m expanding into something that’s bigger than where I am now. That doesn’t always have to mean that they’re big investments in financial terms, it’s more about how they make me feel.

When it comes to business coaching / mentoring

Obviously as a business mentor I have lots of opinions on this! I’ve also worked with several different coaches for my business as well and I’ve learned a few things in the process:

Work with people you like – total no brainer I know, but work with someone you get on with and feel a connection with.

Ask to talk to previous clients – this isn’t something I’ve felt like I’ve needed to ask the people I’ve worked with, but it has been asked of me and I’ve happily connected them with my previous clients. It should be ok to ask this and I do think it’s a good way to feel more comfortable with an investment with a coach. If someone reacts negatively to that request then I’d see that as a red flag.

Does the person do business the way I want to do business? – Ok, so this won’t apply across the board but what’s important to me now when I look for this kind of support in my own business is, does this coach actually do business the way I want to do business? If a coach is making lots of money but it’s all coming from high ticket prices of £20k, and that’s not a model I want to follow then I’d be thinking twice. I’m working with a coach now and her business model is similar to what I’m aiming for and that 

Does the coach have experience in my area of business? – If you’re a B2C (business to consumer) coach like a health or a life coach, what kind of experience does the coach have in working in that area? B2B (business to business) isn’t exactly the same as B2C and if that’s you it can be helpful to work with someone who knows B2C – like me for example!

Is their programme / package really going to give me what I need? – If you’ve invested before you might have an idea of what works best for you in terms of how you like to be supported. Just make sure that working with them is going to give you that.

Making investments in your business can be super exciting and they really can change your business for the better in so many ways. I hope this post has helped you think about how you make investments in your own business!

What was the last thing you invested in for your business? Let me know below!

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