Mentoring Tip #38

You Need to Invest in Your Future

This is another in my regular series of mentoring blogs for younger professionals.

One of the biggest concerns I see with young professionals today is that they are not investing enough in themselves and their professional development.?Too many people seem to think that, once they have finished college or graduate school, there is no longer a need to make meaningful financial investments in their careers.?That couldn’t be further from the truth, especially in today’s world where (1) young people are receiving significantly less mentoring and training as a result of remote work (don’t get me started) and (2) this generation will probably be changing jobs and employers much more than workers have in the past.

Even if you work for someone else, you need to understand that you are an entrepreneur – and your lifelong business is you.

Your “business” is ensuring that you are always employable in a job and at a compensation level that you desire.?You also need to understand that, for your business to be successful, you must remain competitive with those who want the same things you do.?How many successful businesses do you know that do not invest in themselves?

I often hear from people, “I don’t have money to spend on professional development.”?I am telling you that, in fact, that is rarely the case. The problem is that too many people view these outlays as “expenses” which are consumable extravagances rather than as “investments” which generate returns.?If you have money in the stock market, you have money for professional development—and the returns will be much higher.

Let’s say I’m considering joining a social club that will cost me $3,000 a year and will provide me with great networking opportunities with a lot of executives in the region (yes, building your social/business network is critical to your long-term professional development).?If I don’t join the club and instead put that $3,000 in the stock market, at the end of the year, I would probably be happy if my investment is worth $3,300 (a 10% return).?However, if I join that social club and use it wisely, what are the chances that, a year from now, I’ll have met new people who can lead me to one or two new clients or a new, better paying job??If I’m successful in leveraging this investment, the return to me could be 10 times the cost of the social club.?Not only is that a much better return than the stock market, but it also puts me in 100% control of my investment instead of depending on the CEO and management team of a company I have nothing to do with.?The investment may also be tax deductible!?In sum, you cannot afford NOT to invest in yourself.

Other examples of professional development include continuing education to learn subject matter that will advance your career, joining a non-profit board to expand your network and develop important leadership skills, joining a golf or tennis club, or even joining a higher end gym.?I remember one time convincing one of my brokers to join a fancier $150/month gym instead of a bare bones $25/month gym.?The premium for the higher end gym was $1,500 a year but, as they were planning on spending over 500 hours a year there, it represented a prime networking opportunity with more influential people and might even provide more incentive to go there.?

The key is to invest in activities and organizations that you are passionate about.?This serves two purposes.?First, if you are passionate about the activity or organization, you are more likely to actively engage in it. And second, because you will have a shared passion with others in that organization, you will immediately have something to bond over – a key element in any relationship.?Someone once asked me if I might be interested in joining the Board of the Philadelphia Opera.?Although the board was packed with leaders in the community, I declined because I’m not an opera person and wouldn’t be able to share the passion of my peers.

Certainly not every investment is a good one.?You need to use common sense before investing your money (and time).?A professional in my company once asked me if I would pay $300 for them to play in a charity golf tournament.?I asked them why they thought it was a good development opportunity.?He said “Well, there will be a lot of senior people there and, between the luncheon before the golf, the four-hour round with three other people, and then the dinner, I figure I might make some really good connections that could lead to business.”?I asked him why he wasn’t willing to pay for it himself then.?“It’s too expensive,” he said.

I then posed a question. “Would you be willing to pay for the ticket if I told you that your golf foursome would include three CFOs who each had a 50,000sf lease that was expiring in the next two years and that none of them had engaged a broker yet?”??“Of course!!” he said.?“That would be much different.”?I then told the person, “So it’s not really that the golf outing is inherently too expensive, it’s just that the investment is too risky for you.”?The truth was this person just wanted me to risk my money on an investment that was much too speculative for him.

Once you start thinking of dollars spent on your professional development as investments that yield returns rather than as expenses, it liberates you to grow professionally.?I strongly recommend that every person put aside a certain percentage of his or her income every year and commit to spending it on their professional development.?And make sure you invest it wisely.?

I assure you, in 20 years, your “business” will be thriving.

#mentoring #careers #professionaldevelopment