One of my mentors once told me Everything Costs Something, and my response was, duh. Of course, everything cost something, so let’s dig deeper to what else this means. Whether you pay top dollar, or a pay a bargain price for something, Everything Costs Something.

I’ll give you a personal example. As a hobby, I build furniture and I love using hand tools. I own a dozen or so hand planes. One of the first planes I ever bought was a jack plane, I bought it brand new for $40. I soon learned it was a waste of money, it was junk. It cost me something, time and energy. What did I get out of it? Frustration. I got tired of it not adjusting properly, and the blade always getting dull. So, I did my homework and replaced it with a brand new, $230 jack plane, and yes it cost me something, money. What did I get out of it? No frustration, it cuts like “butta.” I love using that plane.

Obviously that example is an easy one, but I find better business examples anytime it comes to a company spending money on marketing or advertising. It costs something if you spend the money to attend a conference, it costs something if you don’t spend the money to attend that conference. You know how much money it costs to attend that conference, but do you know what it cost you not to attend that conference? Everything Costs Something!

Let’s say you’re looking to fill a position; do you hire someone from outside of your company or promote from within? They both cost something, maybe hiring from the outside would costs more time and money in training, but the person only last six months. What you find out is the person you promoted is in over their head, and they quit after six months. You really need to weigh those options out. Everything Costs Something!

Everything Costs Something, seems like such an obvious statement, but anytime someone finds themselves with a tough decision to make, as a reminder, I usually tell them, “You know, Everything Costs Something”.

As always…

My two cents.