After 25 years in business I hesitate to calculate the tuition I have paid. Tuition to high school, Grinnell College, and Washington University was not insignificant but the real tuition was paid after I started my business. I have spent a considerable sums on continuing education, books, equipment, technology, personal development, business development, marketing, rent, and staff.
The cost of my rent and utilities during my career is over a million dollars. What would I have paid if I chose a different building? Would I have lost business without a stoplight to enter and leave the development? Would the building have flooded three times in the past decade? Saving money could have cost me money in build-out, repairs, and business volume.
I bought a gym full of equipment and when a lease fell through, the equipment sat in two storage lockers for a year. I only had space for a fraction of the equipment when I finally moved in and sold the excess for pennies on the dollar.
The wrong therapist hire has lost me patients and referral relationships. The wrong person at the front desk meant copayments and deductibles were not collected. It meant visits were not pre-authorized and not reimbursed. It was a painful few months as the full cost became apparent after the mistakes were corrected.
I was on the phone with a friend discussing his business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on a website that never went live. They shrugged it off and moved on.
If I had a coaching program or something to sell you, this is where I would start pushing hard and questioning how much are you investing in yourself. Then I would reach for your wallet. I am not trying to sell you anything today. Instead, I want you to look at how your are spending your tuition and what lessons you are receiving with that investment. If you think you are not spending any money on tuition, you are wrong. Make appropriate investments in your education. And stop the leak of money from the investments you didn’t realize are in.
Tom