Education Investment Scorecard
Evaluate business education by budget, time cost, and multidimensional return
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 98%
The scorecard begins with a flexible benchmark of roughly 10% of gross revenue for education and personal development, with the percentage potentially falling toward 3% to 5% as a business reaches seven or eight figures. That figure is only a starting point. The entrepreneur must add existing commitments, travel, events, meeting time, and the revenue-generating work displaced by participation. The prospective return is then evaluated across several dimensions: cash, opportunities, resources, relationships, connections, and experiences. A program qualifies when the buyer can identify a plausible route from participation to strategic business improvement and when the total cost fits the buyer's own circumstances. The mechanism replaces social comparison and emotional permission-seeking with a personal, multidimensional investment decision.
Origin
Extracted from The Jasmine Star Show, where Jasmine Star answered a listener's question about her $50,000 executive-coaching investment and expanded Brandon Kidd's reinvestment benchmark into a broader decision process.
Core principles
- 01Base the budget on your own revenue rather than other people's spending.
- 02Treat 10% of gross revenue as a flexible benchmark, not a mandatory target.
- 03Include time and displaced revenue-generating work in the true cost.
- 04Measure returns through money, opportunities, resources, relationships, and experiences.
- 05Require a credible path from the investment to a useful business result.
How to run it
- 1
Establish Your Revenue Benchmark
Calculate 10% of your gross revenue as an initial ceiling or reference point for education spending. At higher revenue levels, consider whether 3% to 5% is a more productive allocation.
Pro tip Treat the percentage as a decision aid rather than a quota that must be spent.
Watch out Do not infer your appropriate budget from what another entrepreneur appears to spend.
- 2
Map Existing Commitments
List the coaching, masterminds, courses, events, travel, and related education expenses already planned. Compare the new opportunity with the entire annual portfolio rather than viewing its price in isolation.
Pro tip Include renewals and incidental expenses that are easy to overlook.
Watch out A seemingly affordable program can push the total portfolio beyond the budget you intended.
- 3
Price the Time Investment
Estimate meetings, travel, preparation, implementation, and recovery time. Identify which revenue-generating projects or responsibilities that time could displace.
Pro tip Put every required session on a calendar before deciding.
Watch out Evaluating only the fee understates the true cost of participation.
- 4
Define the Intended Return
Specify how the investment could improve the business. Include cash returns as well as opportunities, resources, relationships, connections, experiences, and durable knowledge.
Pro tip Write one observable result for each return category that matters.
Watch out Brand recognition or prestige alone does not establish a useful return.
- 5
Trace the Return Path
Explain what you will learn or access, what action you will take with it, and how that action can produce the intended result. Favor offers whose expertise and specificity align with the business you are building.
Pro tip A less famous specialist may offer more applicable value than a celebrated generalist.
Watch out Do not assume attendance automatically creates a return.
- 6
Make the Personal Decision
Judge the investment against your own finances, capacity, and strategy, then decide without waiting for outside permission. Decline when the total cost or return path does not work for your situation.
Pro tip Frame the final question as whether the investment strategically improves the business.
Watch out Avoid converting the decision into a judgment about whether you personally are worthy.
In the wild
A business earning $200,000 in gross revenue considers a $20,000 mastermind. The price equals the initial 10% benchmark, but the owner also calculates travel, weekly meetings, and postponed client work. She identifies a credible plan to recover the cost through a refined offer and five new sales while also gaining specialist relationships. Because the full commitment fits her calendar and cash position, she proceeds with defined implementation targets.
→ The decision is grounded in total cost and explicit return pathways rather than the headline fee.
A founder compares a famous general coaching cohort with a more expensive specialist who has already built the exact business model the founder wants. The founder scores both on relevant knowledge, access, time requirements, and potential returns. The specialist wins despite having less public recognition because the advice maps directly to the founder's operating decisions.
→ The founder selects the offer with greater strategic specificity instead of the better-known name.
Common mistakes
Copying Someone Else's Budget
Outside observers rarely know another buyer's income, partner support, debt, or total financial position. Use your own revenue, cash flow, and commitments instead.
Counting Only the Program Fee
Travel, meetings, implementation, and displaced revenue-generating work are part of the investment. Ignoring them can make an unsuitable program appear affordable.
Demanding Only Immediate Cash ROI
Useful returns may also arrive as relationships, opportunities, resources, experiences, and knowledge. These should be identified concretely rather than dismissed or treated as vague bonuses.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for business owners comparing substantial education offers against their revenue, schedule, and strategic priorities.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for essential equipment purchases or anyone seeking a universal spending percentage that ignores cash flow and personal circumstances.
From the transcript
“I would aim for 10% of your gross income.”
“It's not just an investment on money. It's relationships. It's connections. It is opportunities. It's experiences.”
“when you're investing in personal development, it's not just the cost you're paying, it's how much time are you going to be taking away from…”
From the episode
Business Education and Coaching: How Much to Invest and How to Turn Around a “Bad Investment”