The Real ROI of Personal Development

Have you ever second-guessed a big investment in your growth? Like a $50,000 coaching program that makes your palms sweat?

In this episode, I’m sharing how I decide when to invest (even when it’s scary), what to do if it falls short, and how to turn any room into the right room.

You’ll hear real texts, voice memos, and pep talks—including one that might be exactly what you need to hear today.

If you've ever wondered, "Is this worth it?"—press play. Let’s talk about investing with intention, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Click play to hear all of this and:

[01:58] What I told a friend who was on the fence about investing—and why her response might change the way you approach your next opportunity.

[03:32] How I turn underwhelming coaching groups into priceless masterminds by curating my own “pod” within them.

[04:14] The mindset shift that saves you from regret—even when things fall short.

[05:12] Why I used to think I had to hit a certain revenue milestone before spending on myself—and what finally changed my mind.

[07:00] Why the “right time” to invest is a myth—and how to reframe your hesitations as opportunities.

🎧 Listen to the full episode, Business Education and Coaching: How Much to Invest and How to Turn Around a “Bad Investment”, >>HERE<<

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For full show notes, visit jasminestar.com/podcast/episode566

Transcript

Jade Hall 00:00:00  This is a conversation Jasmine had about one of the most misunderstood topics in entrepreneurship investing in personal development. In this episode, Jasmine unpacks how she evaluates major financial decisions like a $50,000 coaching program, and shares how even investments that don't yield a measurable monetary return can still be worth it. If you've ever questioned whether you're ready to spend on education or worried about whether an offer is worth it, this one's for you. Jasmine breaks down her personal strategy and philosophy in a way that will challenge your perspective and help you reframe your next investment decision. Let's jump in on Instagram.

Jasmine Star 00:00:37  A couple days ago, I wrote the following so I didn't ask me anything. And this is where people will come on and they get to ask questions anonymously. And then I get to share my response. So I got a question and it said, what's the number one thing you did to get to your next level? I've been stuck at a level for a while. My response? I invest in education. Period. I pay a price that scares me.

Jasmine Star 00:00:59  I seek discomfort. I want to be the dumbest in the room. I want to be the poorest in the room. I want to be the most inexperienced in the room. If all of this is true, I am in the right room. I believe this with every fiber of my being. I want to look in investment and be like, wow. Four months. Okay. Four weeks for four days. Am I going to get the result that I want from it? And so then I wrote that Instagram story and that was on a Monday. And on Tuesday, the episode, the five mindset shifts that grew, my business that dropped on a Tuesday. So I did the AMA on Monday. The following day, I dropped this podcast. Oh, that's like a weird coincidence. Or is it because I got a text message from a friend who had listened to the podcast, and I thought it was really interesting because she came in and she was talking about how I'm going to read this. Jasmine, I'm listening to your podcast.

Jasmine Star 00:01:58  I know I need to get into these rooms of what you speak. My challenge is finding a room that makes sense for me. My antenna are up thanks to you. I could have left it alone, but you know me. I'm up in everybody's business. Here's my response I feel like we know each other well enough for me to say the following. Find a room. Any room. Make it a personal goal to invest in a room before the end of June. Will it be the best room? Will it be the right room? Most likely not. But it's a muscle you build. Get it. Build it ASAP. And she said you're so right. The end of June I did join X organization and it's really big. I'm hoping this Goldilocks finds it just right on this try. And then I sent her a voice memo. I'm going to tell you what I told her. If you made the commitment to make an investment and you feel like it's not what you expected or you're not getting what you need, that's on you.

Jasmine Star 00:02:53  You can go out and do something amazing right now. So you're in a big group. You could look at it and say, womp, womp, it's a big group. I'm not getting what I want. Or you can say, hey, I'm going to go into this group. I'm going to go in through the, the, the glossary, the index of who is in this group. I'm going to see other people who are doing similar things in a similar industry at a same size business. Then what I'm going to do is I'm going to make the invite and say, would you like to meet as a little side huddle? It is very common for me to go into groups and create a small pot of people who are running at a similar rate. Because we get to cross-reference ideas, we get to cross-reference industry insights. We get to ask what people are doing or what's working. So what happens is, I encouraged her that even if you're not in the right room, make it the right room.

Jasmine Star 00:03:32  How do you make it the right room? Will you find alliances and ways to maximize the investment that you have already made? I have seen people, too many people, and I'm not saying now this is a new note. This has nothing to do with the text message that I responded to. But what I see a lot of are people will say, okay, I'm going to do this coaching program, I'm going to do this course, I'm going to join this mastermind. And when they realize it's not what it was that they expected, and 90% of the time it will not be what you expect. They're like, oh, I just made the wrong decision. I just don't know if it's worth my time. Maybe. What do you need to do to make it worth your time? I have worked too dang hard for every single penny for me not to say, oh, it's happening to me. I'm going to say it's happening for me. How do I make this a win? How do I make this the right room? I want to encourage you, wherever you are at whatever you can spend, even if you're like, I can't believe they're spending that much.

Jasmine Star 00:04:14  I can't believe they're not spending anything at all. Wherever you are at, make a decision for your business. And I say make a decision for your business. But I have to know that what was stopping me early on in my career of heavily investing was this idea that I somehow needed permission, like I needed to make a certain amount of money in my business before I invested in myself or education, because in the beginning, that hustle was real, right? Like, I need to get gear. I need to get the things that I need for my business to make it successful. But what I realized was I was spending a lot of money trying to get things that would make me look or feel qualified when the thing that I actually really needed was business acumen. I didn't need more lenses. I didn't need more cameras, I wanted them. It would make me feel better. But what about actually running a business? I didn't want a really expensive hobby. I wanted to know how do I make more doing less? And so I decided I'm going to pay for that.

Jasmine Star 00:05:07  But I needed permission. I said, well, once I make this amount of money, then it'll be worth it. And I thought to myself, what a squandered amount of time. Even if I had made $10,000 a year, could I have not have spent $500 on a course on a membership. To give me the information that I needed. So your biggest takeaway here is do not wait for permission for somebody to give you something that only you can give yourself. Number two, I want to remind you that self-development and education. It shouldn't be that you are worth it or that you're not worth it. I want you to look at this decision and say strategically, this will put my business at a better position. I don't need you to say strategically, I'm going to be in a better position, although you will be, if what it takes for you to invest in yourself is strategically. This will put my business in a better place than it's time for you to make that decision. And lastly, as the daughter of an immigrant, as somebody who had to work desperately hard to put food on the table for his family, my dad has always placed a high value on education, specifically because he came to this country and he didn't know how to read, write or speak English.

Jasmine Star 00:06:14  And so there he was in his early 20s, and he had to teach himself how to read. And at the time he was teaching his kids how to read. So my dad has instilled from a very early age that education is something that nobody can take from you, is that there will always be a positive ROI on something you learn. Because if they can take your business, they can take your identity. They can take any assets. They can not take what is in your mind. So I have grown up with this deep desire to say, if I want change, I need to learn what I need to do to change. But furthermore, I need to learn who I need to become to get that change.

Jade Hall 00:07:02  Whether you're considering your first big investment or navigating how to stretch your budget for continued growth, Jasmine's message is clear. Don't wait for permission. The ROI of education isn't always dollars, it's who you become in the process. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a fellow entrepreneur or tag Jasmine on Instagram.

Jade Hall 00:07:21  And remember, the right room isn't something you find, it's something you create.