You Gotta Spend Money To Make Money

As aspiring entrepreneurs and career women there’s always something at the back of our minds nagging us: money.

Not in the sense of how much we’re making (although that is certainly on our minds as well), but rather how much we’re going to have to spend in order to make our professional dreams come true.

Think about it – we already spend an arm and a leg to go to college. Then we get our first jobs, start making money and realize we want more.

For some, their career goals end with the corner office. For others (like myself) it’s starting their own business and rocking their work life on their own terms. In both cases you’re going to have to spend money to make money.

This is something I have come to terms with as of late. My blog is getting attention, I’m retaining great readers and I’ve landed writing gigs all while working a full time job (one, that, if I may add, really helps me in terms of what I write about).  But I wanted to take it a step further; I wanted to position myself to really make a living out of my passions.

So, I started offering one-on-one Skype sessions for newbie bloggers to help them find their voice, identify their audience and create killer content. I called them the Better Blogging Jam Sessions. I love them, but I quickly realized that if I really want to make the leap someday I’m going to have to kick it up a notch. 

I’m going to have to invest in my own education and professional endeavors. And I’m going to have to invest a lot. 

My ultimate goal, aside from writing, is coaching. Many of you may feel the same tingly, passion-filled excitement when you think of helping others reach their professional and personal goals. In which case, this story may be for you.

Do I know anything about coaching? Aside from personality tests and interview preps I’ve sat in at my day job, not really. But I know it’s something I can rock.

So I started looking around for accredited life coach certification programs. I checked local colleges (not accredited), Googled my little heart out and asked my wonderful Facebook fans, many of which are coaches, for advice.

I was led to a wonderful program that got me excited from the get go. The only issue? I may be shelling out about 6 grand. Say it with me, “Ouch.”

Six thousand bones that I’ve worked hard to save up will be going to a life coaching program. It hurt to think about it.

At that point I did what any aspiring yogini/personal development junkie would do. I sat with my fear. I mean, I really sat with it. And I thought to myself “Is the alternative scarier than going through this program that can help me achieve my goals?”

The answer was “Hell yes!” The alternative being working for someone else, being chained to a desk for 30 years, and having my career depend on someone else. My entrepreneurial spirit nearly dropped dead at such a thought.

So I did it. I enrolled. In a few months to a year I will be able to really call myself a certified life coach.

The moral of the story is that if you want to really rock it as your own boss, you’re going to have to shell out some money - whether it’s on credentials, marketing, hiring people or just keeping things running. At the end of the day you’re going to have to spend money to make money, and that’s a thought we’re going to have to get comfortable with on the entrepreneurial path.

Millenial career-guru Amanda Abella is a recruiter-by-day, author and regular contributor to several career-related sites. You can read more from Amanda on her site, Grad Meets World, and on Twitter @AmandaAbella.