How $20,000 Business Coaching Events Deliver Strong ROI

Investing in business coaches, mentors, and events can be a significant decision for entrepreneurs looking to start or scale their businesses. While a wealth of free business advice is available online through platforms like YouTube or ChatGPT, the value of personalized insights, networking opportunities, and expert guidance often outweighs the cost.

The author, who has invested over $100,000 annually for the past five years in such resources, recently attended an entrepreneur event in Thailand hosted by mentor Taki Moore. This event served as a case study to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of such commitments.

Day 1: Setting Goals and Refining Product Value

The first day of the event focused on introspection and strategic planning. Attendees received notebooks and worksheets to document their business wins from recent months and set goals for the next four months, leading up to the next event in Austin. A key exercise involved identifying core business areas for focused improvement.

A significant takeaway from the initial discussions was inspired by Alex Hormozi's book, "$100 Million Offers," which emphasizes creating an offer so compelling that people feel foolish declining it. However, the event shifted this perspective, prompting attendees to consider how to make their product so exceptional that customers would feel "dumb to leave." For the author's "Lifestyle Business Academy," this translated into a new "northstar": building the world's best online business school where the product and experience are so incredible that members never want to leave.

The Limitations of Generic Advice

The discussion then delved into the limitations of free online advice. While ChatGPT, business books, podcasts, and YouTube channels offer a broad spectrum of information, they often lack the specific, personalized insights crucial for individual business situations. For instance, while these resources can outline characteristics of a good business idea, they cannot assess if a particular idea aligns with an individual's personality, passions, background, skills, and experience.

In contrast, a business coach, mentor, or fellow entrepreneur at an event can provide tailored feedback, challenge assumptions, and offer real-world experiences. This personalized guidance can save significant time and prevent costly mistakes. The author likens business and making money to a skill that can be learned, and just as one would seek out experts to learn any other skill, it makes sense to invest in those who have mastered the art of business. A recent adage shared was, "You always end up paying for learning. Either you pay with money where you learn from the experiences of other people, or you pay with time where you are trying to figure this stuff out by yourself."

Moving Mastermind: Personalized Problem-Solving

The afternoon of Day 1 featured a "moving mastermind" session, where attendees were divided into groups of six. Each person had 10 minutes to present their most pressing business challenge, followed by 10 minutes of advice and input from the group. This particular mastermind was conducted on boats, offering a change of scenery, similar to a previous event held in hot air balloons.

The author's challenges for the "Lifestyle Business Academy" had evolved from initial product and curriculum issues to problems of scale. The mastermind provided valuable advice on how to make the academy so valuable that people would want to stay for years, not just months. Discussions also covered optimizing coach efficiency by reducing administrative tasks and exploring team values with experienced entrepreneurs who had built teams of over 100 people.

Sponsor Spotlight: Stan

The video included a sponsored segment for Stan, a service highly recommended by the author for online business owners, particularly those starting their first online venture. Stan simplifies selling digital products, PDFs, online courses, and one-on-one coaching calls through a user-friendly platform.

Key features of Stan include:

• Order Bumps: Allows offering additional products at checkout, increasing average order value.
• Built-in Funnels: Enables offering upgrades or smaller, related products after an initial purchase, maximizing revenue per customer without needing to acquire new customers.

Stan operates on a simple monthly subscription model, taking no cut of sales, making it more cost-effective as sales grow. A 30-day free trial of Creator Pro, which includes funnels and order bumps, was offered.

Day 2 & 3: Overcoming Challenges and Learning from Experts

Day 2 was not extensively vlogged due to a busy schedule and a personal emergency involving the author's daughter. However, the author did give a talk on YouTube and YouTube systems, focusing on content creation for business owners. The core message was to empower coaches and online educators to leverage YouTube by creating content that addresses their existing clients' pain points, rather than overthinking the process of becoming a "YouTuber."

A highlight of Day 3 was a podcast recording with Maria Wentz, who generates approximately $10 million annually by selling high volumes of low-priced products. This challenged the author's conventional belief that it's easier to make significant money by selling a few expensive items rather than many cheap ones. Maria's success presented a compelling case for the low-ticket business model, prompting the author to reconsider his perspective.

Another impactful session was a workshop by Jason Fladlin on effective webinar strategies. Fladlin, with 20 years of experience consulting for figures like Alex Hormozi and Tony Robbins, shared methods that have generated millions in sales from single events. The author realized that despite conducting workshops for years, he hadn't taken their structure seriously enough and saw immense potential to improve his own webinars and reach more students.

The "Reducer" Session and Strategic Deletion

A session led by Taki Moore, inspired by music producer Rick Rubin's concept of "reducing" rather than "producing," focused on strategically removing elements from a business. As businesses grow, they often become heavy and overwhelming due to the tendency to constantly add new products, clients, or features. This session encouraged attendees to identify what could be deleted to make their businesses leaner, more effective, and less overwhelming for both founders and clients. This was a crucial counterpoint to the common pitfall of accumulating too many ideas from events and adding them indiscriminately.

The Power of Networking and Specialized Knowledge

A three-hour conversation with Simon, an expert in codifying intellectual property into visual models, proved particularly insightful. Simon helps businesses create clear visual representations of their processes. For the "Lifestyle Business Academy," which guides beginners from their first sale to six-figure revenue, working with Simon could help demystify the entrepreneurial journey even further for their students.

The author emphasized that the true value of such events extends beyond personalized advice to the power of networking. Being surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs facing similar challenges fosters a sense of community, collaboration, and mutual support. This "global network of friends" provides a platform for sharing wisdom and insights that are not readily available online.

The author argued that while "average information is free on the internet," truly valuable, specialized business knowledge is often shared within closed circles. People operating at the highest levels of their respective fields (e.g., farmers, magicians, auto repair shop owners) typically don't share their advanced business strategies publicly online because their target audience isn't interested in business growth advice. This highlights why attending specialized events is crucial for accessing cutting-edge strategies and insights that are not generalized or freely disseminated on the internet.

Day 4: Boardroom Insights and Final ROI Assessment

Day 4 was exclusively for "boardroom" members, businesses generating at least $1 million annually. This smaller group setting allowed for more intimate discussions and learning. The day included a boat party and a canoe trip, blending business with leisure.

Reflecting on the entire event, the author concluded that the investment was unequivocally worth it. Given that the annual membership costs $60,000 USD for three events, each event effectively costs $20,000. The author stated that an idea gained on Day 1 alone, during a lunch conversation, would immediately add more than $20,000 in value to his business, making the event ROI positive from the outset.

Beyond the immediate financial return, the event facilitated valuable connections, such as with Simon for developing a "genius model" and with Jason, the webinar expert, promising significant improvements for future webinars. The ability to connect with peers facing similar challenges and speak the "same language" was described as exhilarating and invaluable.