Return on Investment (ROI) - The Personal MBA (2024)

The Personal MBA

Master the Art of Business

by Josh Kaufman, #1 bestselling business author

A world-class business education in a single volume. Learn the universal principles behind every successful business, then use these ideas to make more money, get more done, and have more fun in your life and work.

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Return on Investment (ROI) is the value created from an investment of time or resources.

ROI can help you make decisions between competing alternatives by asking yourself the question: what brings a bigger ROI?

The return on every investment is always directly related to how much the investment costs. The more you spend, the lower your return.

Every future ROI calculation is a semi-educated guess. Nothing is a sure bet, you can only know your exact ROI after your investment is made.

Josh Kaufman Explains 'Return on Investment'

When you invest in something, you expect it to provide more value than you paid for it. Knowing how to estimate how much you'll receive versus how much you'd invest is a very useful skill.

Return on Investment (ROI) is the value created from an investment of time or resources.

Most people think of ROI in terms of currency: you invest $1,000 and you earn $100, that's a 10% return on your investment: ($1,000 + $100) / $1,000 = 1.10, or 10%. If your ROI is 100%, you've doubled your initial investment.

Return on Investment can help you make decisions between competing alternatives. If you deposit money in a savings account, the return on your investment will be equal to the interest rate that the bank gives you to hold your money.

Why put your money in an account that pays 1% interest if you can deposit that money in an account that pays 2%, with no difference in risk?

The usefulness of Return on Investment extends far beyond money: you can use it for other Universal Currencies as well.

"Return on Invested Time" is an extremely useful way to analyze the benefits of your effort. If you were forced to work 24 hours a day non-stop for a year in exchange for $1 million dollars, would you do it? When you look at the return versus the cost to your time and sanity, it's not worth it.

The return on every investment is always directly related to how much the investment costs. The more you spend (in terms of both money and time), the lower your return. Even "sure bets" like buying a house or getting a college degree aren't wise if you pay too much for them.

Every estimate of return is speculative-you never know how it'll actually turn out. Calculating returns is an exercise in predicting the future, which is fundamentally impossible.

Every ROI estimate is a semi-educated guess. You can only know your ROI for certain after the investment is made and the returns collected.

Nothing in this world is a sure bet-always take into account the risk of something going wrong before making an investment, no matter how high the ROI appears to be.

Questions About 'Return on Investment'

  • How can you calculate the return you're currently getting on each of your investments?
  • How can you improve that return?

"Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn't always have to be the top priority."

William A. Ward, aphorist

From Chapter 5:

Finance

https://personalmba.com/return-on-investment/

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Bootstrapping Sunk Cost Cash Flow Statement

Related Books:

Venture Deals Accounting Made Simple Financial Intelligence For Entrepreneurs

The Personal MBA

Master the Art of Business

by Josh Kaufman, #1 bestselling business author

A world-class business education in a single volume. Learn the universal principles behind every successful business, then use these ideas to make more money, get more done, and have more fun in your life and work.

Buy the book:

Print

Kindle

Audio

Get the audio free

Return on Investment (ROI) - The Personal MBA (3)

About Josh Kaufman

Josh Kaufman is an acclaimed business, learning, and skill acquisition expert. He is the author of two international bestsellers: The Personal MBA and The First 20 Hours. Josh's research and writing have helped millions of people worldwide learn the fundamentals of modern business.

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Return on Investment (ROI) - The Personal MBA (2024)

FAQs

Return on Investment (ROI) - The Personal MBA? ›

Return on Investment (ROI) is the value created from an investment of time or resources. Most people think of ROI in terms of currency: you invest $1,000 and you earn $100, that's a 10% return on your investment: ($1,000 + $100) / $1,000 = 1.10, or 10%. If your ROI is 100%, you've doubled your initial investment.

How to calculate the ROI of an MBA? ›

To calculate the ROI, divide the anticipated income gain by the net cost of the MBA program. The ROI, for instance, would be 33.33% if the net cost of the MBA was $60,000 and the anticipated wage gain was $20,000 per year.

Is 12% a good ROI? ›

While the term good is subjective, many professionals consider a good ROI to be 10.5% or greater for investments in stocks. This number is the standard because it's the average return of the S&P 500 , an index that serves as a benchmark of the overall performance of the U.S. stock market.

What is a good ROI for a small business? ›

Common multiples for most small businesses are two to four times SDE. This equates to a 25% to 50% ROI. Common multiples for mid-sized businesses are three to six times EBITDA. This equates to a 16.6% to 33% ROI.

What is ROI in personal finance? ›

Return on investment (ROI) is calculated by dividing the profit earned on an investment by the cost of that investment. For instance, an investment with a profit of $100 and a cost of $100 would have an ROI of 1, or 100% when expressed as a percentage.

Does an MBA have a good ROI? ›

More than 60% of MBAs and other business-related master's degrees do not show a positive return. But there is a minority of programs that buck the trend: 10 percent of business degrees have an ROI above $1 million.

What is the ROI on Harvard MBA? ›

The return on investment over ten years is expected to be 325 percent. 2) Harvard business school – With an average starting salary of $125,000, a total program cost of $122,000, and a 10-year ROI of 320 percent, Harvard Business School came in second.

How much is $100 a month invested from 25 to 65? ›

$1,176,000. You do NOT have to retire broke. saved more.

Is a 7% return realistic? ›

While quite a few personal finance pundits have suggested that a stock investor can expect a 12% annual return, when you incorporate the impact of volatility and inflation, 7% is a more accurate historical estimate for an aggressive investor (someone primarily invested in stocks), and 5% would be more appropriate for ...

How much money do I need to invest to make $1000 a month? ›

A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.

What is a realistic ROI? ›

General ROI: A positive ROI is generally considered good, with a normal ROI of 5-7% often seen as a reasonable expectation. However, a strong general ROI is something greater than 10%.

Is 30% ROI possible? ›

A thirty percent return is an achievable feat for one year if you're aggressive enough (and shall I say lucky enough), AND have the stomach to ride out the volatility, but consistently performing year after year becomes an incredible challenge that no one to my knowledge has done.

What is a fair rate of return? ›

Fair rate of return. The rate of return that state governments allow a public utility to earn on its investments and expenditures. Utilities then use these profits to pay investors and provide service upgrades to their customers.

How much money do I need to invest to make $3,000 a month? ›

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

What is the safest investment with the highest return? ›

These seven low-risk but potentially high-return investment options can get the job done:
  • Money market funds.
  • Dividend stocks.
  • Bank certificates of deposit.
  • Annuities.
  • Bond funds.
  • High-yield savings accounts.
  • 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds.
May 13, 2024

What is the rule of thumb for ROI? ›

The rule of thumb for marketing ROI is typically a 5:1 ratio, with exceptional ROI being considered at around a 10:1 ratio. Anything below a 2:1 ratio is considered not profitable, as the costs to produce and distribute goods/services often mean organizations will break even with their spend and returns.

How do you calculate ROI for a degree? ›

To calculate the ROI, subtract the average salary for someone with a high school diploma from the salary expected with a college degree, and multiply that by the number of years in the workforce after graduation. Divide that number by the sum of tuition, fees, books, and loan interest, and then multiply that by 100.

What is the formula for finding ROI? ›

Return on investment (ROI) is an approximate measure of an investment's profitability. ROI is calculated by subtracting the initial cost of the investment from its final value, then dividing this new number by the cost of the investment, and finally, multiplying it by 100.

What is the formula for ROI in business studies? ›

Return on investment, or ROI, is the ratio of a profit or loss made in a fiscal year expressed in terms of an investment and shown as a percentage of increase or decrease in the value of the investment during the year in question. The basic formula for ROI is: ROI = Net Profit / Total Investment * 100.

How do you calculate 7% ROI? ›

How to calculate the ROI percentage?
  1. Find out the initial and final value of the investment.
  2. Subtract the initial value of the investment from the final value.
  3. Divide the result from Step 2 by the initial value of the investment and multiply the result by 100.
  4. Congrats! You have calculated the ROI percentage.
Apr 18, 2024

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