The other day while discussing the prospects of my coaching business, my friend commented that it may take more time for Coaching to take off as a business in India given that it is a discretionary expense for many people.
Relating it to the concept of share of wallet, it is important to understand where people or companies classify any expense to establish the nature and significance for them.
There are certain mandatory expenses like taxes, statutory dues, salaries etc which the business must incur to be in existence. Then there are expenses directly related to the production and sale of the product or service being offered. Professional coaching being part of the Learning & Development (L&D) budgets falls in neither of those.
For expenses which can be done at one’s discretion, they are sometimes temporarily postponed or even done away with completely. It is a question of the amount, time spent and also the perceived benefit which decides when and how much will be spent on those activities.
Structured education in the early human years commands a major pie of the overall expenditure done on an individual. However, once settled in a routine job, the share of expense on individual’s development rapidly falls for many, sometimes even becoming non-existent.
Meanwhile, life keeps throwing challenges at an individual to learn and grow from. The external world itself is also constantly changing and evolving. If the individual is not able to meet these demands it could lead to stress and performance issues.
As and when one becomes aware of this looming gap, there takes a shift in the perceived nature of expenditure, from an earlier discretionary to a now necessary one. If the condition is ignored for long, these expenditures tend to become more mandatory in nature.
Some come to know by experience, that when the maintenance cost done on a machine is ignored, it could malfunction or its longevity may be reduced. Hence it is prudent to spend on these vital costs which actually are more of an investment given the long term benefits.
I was unsure about my next steps for launching my venture in coaching. I used to think of who can help me figure things out and at the same time kept over thinking on what all is required to be done.
As it came up in a session in July 2021, I partnered with my coach to move forward. I became aware, had the goal broken down into smaller milestones, overcame my limiting belief, coming to the understanding that no one else but I have to do it. I was able to build my website and do a launch in two weeks. The cost and my time spent on the session became deeply rewarding as I see the results.
When you look at your own basket of spends, how do you classify them? What makes you call it an investment or an expense? When did you last spend on your own development? Was it proactive or reactive spending?
What is the time and budget allocated by you or your organization for your well being?
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