Episode 194: Episode 194: How High-Performing Women Can Get Better Returns From Every Dollar They Invest
Episode Summary
If you're someone who wants to make smart, thoughtful investments, but also wants to maximize the return you receive from every dollar you deploy, this episode will give you a lens that may change how you evaluate opportunities altogether.
You'll discover why some investments create disproportionate returns while others quietly consume resources, the overlooked variables that sophisticated investors often consider, and a practical framework to help you make more confident, higher-ROI decisions in business and life.
In today's episode, you'll discover:
Learn to spot opportunities that create disproportionate returns, even when they don't look logical on paper.
Discover the lens that reveals which decisions are surprisingly expensive, quietly undervalued, or most likely to serve you over time.
Get a simple AI prompt that helps you evaluate investments the way sophisticated investors evaluate assets.
Listen now to discover how sophisticated investors think about value, what may be missing from your own calculations, and how to make decisions that can compound far beyond the initial investment.
Who This Episode Is For
This episode is for women entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs who:
Who want to make higher-ROI business investments and become more sophisticated evaluators of value.
Carefully scrutinize spending on coaching, hiring, delegation, or support, but may be leaving hidden costs on the table.
Feel overextended, overly involved in day-to-day operations, or suspect their current way of leading is quietly constraining growth.
Have experienced revenue plateaus, delegation challenges, capacity challenges, or decision fatigue, despite being highly capable and analytical.
Want to think more like sophisticated investors by evaluating opportunities based on their potential to increase business growth, leadership effectiveness, personal capacity, and long-term wealth creation.
Core Concepts in This Episode
Power Consolidation in Scaling
How founders unintentionally disperse power by preserving familiar operating patterns, and why directing time, attention, and resources toward higher-value activities creates greater momentum and growth.
Leadership Capacity in Business
The idea that a founder's ability to think, decide, delegate, and lead at a higher level often determines business growth more than additional tactics, information, or effort.
Present Bias in Investment Decisions
A behavioral economics principle explaining why entrepreneurs tend to overweight the immediate cost of an investment while underestimating the long-term cost of remaining in the same operating pattern.
Founder Evolution as an Appreciating Asset
The concept that investing in changes to a founder's thinking, behavior, and leadership can generate compounding returns across revenue, team performance, decision-making, and quality of life.
Opportunity Cost of Current Operating Patterns
The hidden financial, strategic, and personal costs of maintaining familiar ways of working, including stalled growth, constrained capacity, lost opportunities, and reduced creativity.
High-ROI Investments for Women Entrepreneurs
A framework for evaluating investments based not only on upfront cost, but also on their potential to increase leadership effectiveness, business growth, and long-term returns.
Key Takeaways
Learn to spot opportunities that create disproportionate returns, even when they don't look logical on paper.
Discover the lens that reveals which decisions are surprisingly expensive, quietly undervalued, or most likely to serve you over time.
Get a simple AI prompt that helps you evaluate investments the way sophisticated investors evaluate assets.
Full Episode Transcript:
In this episode, you’ll discover how you can get better returns from every dollar you invest.
Welcome to The Uncommon Way where high achieving women, entrepreneurs and leaders ditch the rule, book and design success on their own terms. I'm your host, Jenna Harrison, a top ranked business coach sharing business growth strategies of mindset, mastery, and power boost to help you attract ideal clients, leverage your unique genius and scale with freedom. Let's dive in.
Welcome, welcome back to The Uncommon Way. I hope you've had a great start to summer. This is definitely one of my favorite but busiest times here. There are so many people who leave for the summer once school is out. They're either looking for cooler weather or they want to avoid all the people that come to the island. And so this month, specifically, is filled with final get-together get-togethers. There are lots of late summer nights where the kids play endlessly.
In fact, this Tuesday is the big festival of San Juan where you are supposed to walk backwards into the sea at midnight in order to cleanse yourself and give you good fortune in the coming year. And then everyone gets Wednesday off because obviously you need to be up at midnight to get your good fortune. So then invariably by July, I'm happy tired and I just want to hole up here at home with the family which is great because it's fine to just want when we want it, right? Hermit Monday, social butterfly the next, it's all good.
Although one thing I've noticed about high achieving women is that we often don't just want what we want. We have to justify it, right? So the hire has to make sense. The investment has to make sense. Whatever we're doing has to feel practical and responsible and like something we could defend. Ideally, we could stand in front of a jury and say, Exhibit A, here's why this was a sensible use of resources. And honestly, that has been great for us in a lot of ways. It helped us avoid impulsive decisions and be good stewards of resources. But there's an interesting dynamic at play for many women that I know because we can become exceptionally good at calculating certain parts of an investment decision while paying much less attention to other parts.
Not because we are unintelligent or bad with money, quite the opposite. Sometimes the very skills that helped us become successful can contribute to incomplete calculations, even if you're completely thoughtful and analytical. So today I want to talk about how high performing women can get better returns from every dollar they invest. Not by working harder, but by learning how to include more evidence when they calculate what their return will actually be so they can make the best investment decisions. In today's episode, you will learn to spot opportunities that create disproportionate returns, even when they don't look logical on paper. And you'll discover the lens that reveals which decisions are surprisingly expensive, quietly undervalued, or most likely to serve you over time. And you'll get a simple AI prompt that helps you evaluate investments the way sophisticated investors evaluate assets.
There's actually a well-documented phenomenon in behavioral economics called present bias.
And our thinking is biased to give disproportionate importance to what is happening right now, while undervaluing gains or costs in the future. This is why humans struggle to save for retirement or act on environmental issues, or why we delay difficult conversations. Our brains are wired for a world of immediate physical threats, where we're more likely to survive if we prioritize this moment rather than something too far in the future. So it makes total sense that entrepreneurs who are really great at thinking through different scenarios become incredibly rigorous about measuring the immediate cost of investing. Whatever it is, 500, 10,000, 25,000, we clearly see the risks and we feel the hit of cash leaving the bank account.
But we often don't apply the same kind of rigor to calculating what another six months or another two years of operating exactly as we do today, what that might cost us, or what our gains might be if we do invest the money. And in order to make our best, cleanest investment choices, the ones that will truly give us the best returns on every dollar we invest, we need equal rigor on both sides of the calculation. And this is where many high-performing women have a blind spot. Not because they're incapable of seeing it, but because we just haven't been taught to account for it each time we sit down to consider our next investment. So here are a couple of real-world examples.
My client Kat is really excellent at what she does and has very high standards. She also has a team of very competent professionals, but she couldn't fully let go. So she stayed involved in client projects because she genuinely didn't want the quality of the work to suffer. And honestly, I completely get that. What if your clients don't receive the level of quality they thought they were paying for? What if they quit or don't renew or say terrible things about you in the industry, right? It's not worth the risk right when you're scaling. But you'll never guess. When Kat tentatively did step back, her team came back and told her how great the experience was. And then her clients said it was so much better, too. Not because her team suddenly became more talented, but because everyone involved was no longer operating under the pressure of trying to perform at Kat's level all the time. Now, was the work 100% identical to what Kat herself would have delivered? I don't know. I honestly can't answer that. Maybe there was a 1% difference, maybe 2%. But what I can tell you is that by accepting whatever that tiny difference was, she gained something much greater. She finally had the bandwidth to grow the company instead of simply working inside it. She brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue because of that. And her team became more skilled. And they became more confident. And client relationships deepened. Referrals were coming in. And most importantly, perhaps, she got herself back. Her sanity improved and her creativity returned. She actually had space to become the leader and CEO she had always wanted to be. You can hear her talk about the change from her own perspective in her own words on my website, we're going to link to it here in the episode description. But this is really fascinating. Because from Kat's initial perspective, she thought she was just protecting quality. And that was the short-term calculation she was focusing on. But in reality, she was preserving an operating style that had become extraordinarily expensive for her business. She wasn't able to see that investing her time in other ways would yield much higher returns.
And then there's Allie, who runs a membership. For two years, she struggled to move beyond 500 members. In fact, she was always at right about 450. But she was excellent at what she does, world-renowned, in fact, and delivered very high value. But it was like she had hit an invisible ceiling. Some people would join, some people would leave, over and over. Within six months of us working together, her membership grew to 550 members. She blew past her goal. Now, let's imagine she'd spoken with me two years earlier. Let's imagine she had a discovery call with me, but she decided not to invest right then because it didn't feel comfortable to invest that much right now. And then she continued operating exactly as she had been for the next two years. If those additional 100 members paid even just $50 a month, that's $5,000 per month she was losing. That's $60,000 a year. And over two years, that's $120,000. All of that before referrals, before upsells, before becoming known as the person whose membership is thriving. Suddenly, preserving that coaching investment doesn't look quite so prudent. Because even though she didn't purchase coaching, she still purchased something. Because there is a cost to another two years of plateaued growth. And that's a much more expensive decision. All because present bias encourages us to become extremely precise about what we're giving up today, while remaining surprisingly imprecise about what we're sacrificing over time.
I think what fascinates me about this the most is that most high performing women are already excellent stewards of capital. They know how to evaluate software, advertising, or real estate. But very few of us were ever taught how to evaluate investments that fundamentally change how we operate. And that is unfortunate because those investments often produce the highest returns. If someone offered you an asset that could reliably increase revenue, strengthen your team, improve client retention, restore creativity, reduce decision fatigue, and give you back evenings with your family, you'd probably want to hear more.
The challenge is that founder evolution isn't talked about and graphed the way that other asset categories are. You can look at a pretty graph of a mortgage, for example, and see your
fixed payments over 30 years. And then on top of that, the property value increasing more and more each year, outpacing the investment. And that helps us overcome present bias and say, okay, okay, this makes sense. This is worth it. But you as an asset are no less valuable. In fact, if I had to choose between investing in you for the next 30 years or a piece of real estate, I'd choose the smart, ambitious woman hands down because your returns compound through hundreds of decisions, conversations and standards and opportunities pursued and opportunities no longer avoided, and the amazing team you create and lead, and clients who receive a better experience, businesses that can finally grow beyond your current way of operating.
Most women simply haven't been taught how to account for that type of asset. And look, I'll be real with you. I think many high performing women are unintentionally leaving substantial amounts of money on the table and or misspending their money. Not because they're reckless or incapable. They're always making decisions that feel exceptionally responsible in the moment. It's just because the full accounting hasn't been completed. You know, there are pieces missing, including the very real cost of another six months or another two years of operating exactly as is. That's usually much more expensive than it initially appears because you're just so used to it. And I genuinely believe many women already possess the talent, the intelligence and the resources to create substantially greater returns with their money. They simply haven't been shown how to evaluate investments in ways that account for present bias or for the full economics of changing how they think, behave and operate.
So before we wrap up, I want to give you something practical you can use today. Because if you're anything like me, your brain probably likes evidence. It likes examples and numbers and being able to say, okay, this makes sense. And I think that's great. I mean, I don't think high performing women need to become less analytical. I think we simply need to become better investors. So if you're considering an investment in yourself, your business, your leadership or simply wondering whether an operating pattern that you have carried for years is in fact becoming expensive. Here's a simple prompt for AI to help you see the full picture. We've pasted the prompt into the episode description so you can drop it straight in. I have a pattern where I tend to fill in the blank. You put in whatever it is that you're noticing about yourself.
I'm considering working with a coach who has a strong track record of helping women move beyond this pattern. But I want to make a thoughtful decision about whether the investment is worthwhile. What is the potential lifetime value of no longer operating this way? Please consider financial, emotional, relational, health, leadership and opportunity related impacts for my business and life and estimate both conservative and optimistic scenarios. And then read what comes back with curiosity. Not because chat GPT knows your future, but because sometimes our brains need help generating possibilities that our current operating system just isn't accustomed to considering. And maybe you'll discover something surprising. Maybe you've spent years meticulously calculating the cost of something new, while never once calculating the cost of staying exactly the same. So, maybe you don't need permission to want what you want. But if your brain requires building a case, at least make sure you're presenting all of the evidence. Not just the invoice, but also the returns over time. The revenue that isn't being created, the team that's waiting to become more capable, the opportunities that aren't being pursued, the creativity that's being consumed by work you've already outgrown, the version of you that never quite gets built because the way you've always operated keeps winning. Once you can see the full ledger, you'll be able to make a much cleaner evaluation. And it can help you channel your resources into higher ROI investments. The question often stops being, can I afford to do this? And becomes, what kind of return becomes possible if I stop paying for the same operating pattern month after month? I think that's ultimately what high-performing women are trying to do. Not stop asking hard questions or stop challenging themselves, but simply become more complete evaluators of value.
And when we do that, we often discover that some of our highest return investments have very little to do with acquiring more services or software information products, and everything to do with changing how we think, behave, and operate.
All right, my friend, thank you so much for being here, and let's talk again soon.
Resources mentioned:
Kat’s transformation video: https://www.theuncommonway.com/testimonials
AI prompt:
I have a pattern where I tend to ____________. I'm considering working with a coach who has a strong track record of helping women move beyond this pattern, but I want to make a thoughtful decision about whether the investment is worthwhile. What is the potential lifetime value of no longer operating this way? Please consider financial, emotional, relational, health, leadership, and opportunity-related impacts for my business and life, and estimate both conservative and optimistic scenarios.
Work with Jenna
Decisions on Demand — A practical mini-course designed to help you make cleaner, higher-quality choices — the kind that unlock momentum, authority, and follow-through. The framework mirrors decision-making principles used in high-stakes environments, adapted for real life and business.
The Clarity Accelerator Mastermind — If you want to be surrounded by other visionary entrepreneurs while rapidly aligning your business to the conditions and strategies that let you thrive and excel naturally, this intimate mastermind will stretch you into your next level. Schedule your call today here or visit this page to find out more.
Private Coaching — If you’re craving the highest level of support, strategy, and partnership to create all the freedom, impact, and success you’re designed for, this is the space for it. Schedule your call today here.
Find Jenna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theuncommonway/
The Uncommon Way is a leadership and business podcast for ambitious women entrepreneurs, founders, and leaders who are scaling companies and expanding their influence.
Hosted by business and leadership coach Jenna Harrison, the show explores how power, authority, and leadership capacity shape business growth. Episodes focus on decision-making, founder leadership evolution, team stability, and the structural shifts that allow companies to scale without overwhelming the person leading them.
This podcast is especially relevant for women navigating:
• Business growth and scaling challenges
• Increasing leadership responsibility
• Team expansion and higher-stakes decisions
• Founder authority and executive presence
• Identity and leadership evolution during scaling
The Uncommon Way approaches growth differently.
Not through hustle, constant self-optimization, or endless inner work — but by upgrading leadership, strengthening decision structures, and expanding the capacity required to run the company you’re building.
Topics include:
• Founder leadership capacity expansion
• Decision-making at higher levels of responsibility
• Authority and power dynamics inside scaling businesses
• Structural business leadership
• Founder psychology and identity shifts during growth
• Sustainable scaling and operational clarity
Whether you’re an experienced founder, a rising leader, or building something that’s starting to matter at a bigger level, this podcast helps you access more power and lead accordingly.
