Why I invested $6k with no clear ROI

Five years ago this week, I walked into my very first coach training. I remember feeling apprehensive, but also curious and eager to soak up every piece of content. 

What I didn’t feel at the time (and had no way of knowing) was how significantly my life was going to change, all set into motion by that first session. 

This is a case study in following your intuitive pings and not having everything figured out. 

Perhaps not what you would expect from a career coach, but I went into training without a five-year plan, clear ROI or any sense of how I was going to use anything I learned. 

 All extremely counter to my MBA self! 

Let me back-up…

In the throes of massive career confusion, burnout and a mini-identity crisis, I started working with a career coach in the spring of 2018. 

In between discussing my StrengthsFinder results and brainstorming changes, I started to envy my coach. I wanted to have the same conversations - helping people clarify their values and strengths - that she did every day.

The envy was a quiet murmur at the back of my head. 

I didn’t pay it much heed because that was crazy! I was an MBA! A consultant! I was already considering a major transition into People + Culture. There was no way I was going to pull a complete 180, ditch my career and become a coach. 

Yet, the idea kept lingering. 

I wrapped up coaching with a formal plan to transition into a People + Culture leadership role and a budding interest in coaching.  

Like any good MBA, I decided to have informational interviews to learn more about the field. I talked to a few coaches at consulting firms and a friend of a friend. 

I loved the conversations. 

I felt so energized talking to others who shared my interest in understanding peoples’ motivations and helping them reach their potential. As I heard about their day-to-day work, I kept hearing the murmur of “I want to do this.” 

A common thread amongst the coaches I talked with? 

They all did the same coach training. 

I slowly decided that I wanted to do the same training. 

Sometimes I look back in wonder at how wild this was. I was still adamant that there was NO WAY I was going to be a coach. I didn’t know how I was going to use my new knowledge (perhaps in my new People + Culture role?). I was going to invest $6k in a training that I had no clear plan of how to use?!

Yet, I felt so drawn towards it. So I went for it. 

And the rest is history…

Just kidding.

I completed 150+ hours of training, 100 hours of practice coaching, was certified and met amazing friends. 

We were required to have paying clients within the first month, so despite having no plans to be a coach, I became a professional one instantaneously (ha! joke was on me). 

That turned into my beloved side hustle which eventually evolved into my full-time business. 

Five years later, I am proud of myself and grateful that I listened to that quiet, but persistent, intuitive nudge. 

I firmly believe in the power of having clear direction (this is what I help clients with every day!), but I share all this to say: 

Sometimes you don’t need a plan. 

We are taught to optimize everything. 

But sometimes, you don’t need to know precisely how your interests fit together, why you’re pursuing something or exactly how you'll maximize your investment. 

You just need to follow your intuition. 

Lean into your interests. Go where you are drawn. 

Trust that it will make sense someday, even if you can't see it now. 

Your purpose, new career or passion hobby might be waiting on the other side.