An Abundant Life: Assess Value For Money and Create Goodwill

An Abundant Life

In the previous three articles of this think piece, we covered the myths around money that hold you back, the gift of time and how to make the most of it, and making money work for you. In this final piece, we will explore how you can sow the seeds of abundance in your life and create an ecosystem that attracts money. It will enable you to assess value for money and create goodwill to lead an abundant life.

Let’s first reflect on what money really represents. Money is the transactional currency with which we value a product or service. In every transaction, there is value and there is a price. The two are not the same thing but if the transaction is a fair one, the value must be at least equal to the price.

Audio Version: Here is an audio version of this article, “An Abundant Life: Assess Value for Money and Create Goodwill”, on the same lines as the earlier three parts of this series on creating abundance.

What is Value for Money?

Oscar Wilde is believed to have said, “the cynic knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.” This is true not just of cynics. Determining value is not straight forward and can represent different things to different people. Every one of us is unique. Our needs and wants, our circumstances, our past experiences, the ecosystem we live and work in are all unique to us. Which is why value is so hard to establish, especially for things that are non-standard and have personal worth.

The good news is, despite value being an inexact science which borders on art, there is a simple rule of thumb we can apply when considering what something is worth. Value is directly correlated to the benefit accrued to the user or recipient.

The cynic knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
Oscar Wilde

Assessing Value for Money

When assessing whether a product or service is worth the price you paid for it, you must remember that creating value is also your responsibility. For instance, you may have signed up to an expensive gym membership that is intended to help you get fit and healthy. It may also be a great place to meet other like-minded people and build on your social life. But unless you make the time to use the gym’s extensive facilities, and make a few other changes to your lifestyle, you won’t achieve the outcome you want. The gym membership per se won’t deliver to you the benefits you seek, only your actions will.

Related Read: Busting Common Myths Around Money

How to Assess Value for Money

There are five simple questions below that will help you assess value for money. Think of a recent transaction in your own life and use the following exercise to assess its worth. You may need to think a bit outside the box, and as explained above take into account your own role in benefitting from it.

As a first step, simply answer with a yes or no. The more yeses you get, the greater value you’re receiving.

#1 – Does it or will it save me time?

This is the first question that you should ask yourself while assessing value for money. It could be a product or service that helps you achieve the same outcome faster than if you continued doing it the way you are now. For instance, faster broadband ensures faster upload and download speeds helping you get your work done quicker.

Related Read: The second part of this series, The Gift of Time

#2 – Does it or will it save me money?

For this question, you must think laterally and over the lifetime of the product or service. You’re looking to buy a more fuel efficient car that costs more upfront, but it is cheaper to run because it uses less fuel. Perhaps it is cheaper to maintain because of government incentives on road tax for environmentally friendly cars. Over the time you own the car, you estimate the premium paid will be worth it.

#3 – Does it or will it free up my time?

You’re a solo entrepreneur and are thinking of hiring someone junior to help you. You’ve realized that as your business is growing, so is your workload, particularly the admin which you don’t enjoy much. More importantly, you have less time to focus on the big picture and the strategy for growth. You’re spending too much time on mundane things that you could pay someone less qualified or less experienced to do. The cost of the hire will be worth it if it frees up your time to focus on more meaningful things.

Related Read: 3 C’s of Delegation

#4 – Does it or will it generate an income?

You decide to take up a slot in a business fair where you know your target audience will be. It is a big upfront investment, but you are confident that meeting potential clients and demonstrating the value of your product or service will help you generate more business. You feel certain that you will be able to make your money back multiple fold within six months.

#5 – Does it or will it confer some intangible benefits such as joy, peace of mind, good health, etc?

You invest in a security system for your new office premises. It does not confer any tangible benefit but it gives you peace of mind. It may also satisfy a condition laid down by your insurance company, which means that should you get broken into despite the security system, your insurance claim is less likely to be disputed.

Taking Decisions based on Value For Money

If you answered no to all five questions then your sad conclusion might be that the product or service has no value for you. In which case, ask yourself whether it has value for someone else in your team or family or community of connected people. If the answer is still no, then does it makes sense to continue paying for it? And if it’s a product you’ve already paid for that once meant something to you but now confers no value to you or your connected community, why not give it away or sell it to someone to whom it may be of greater value?

As a second step to the simple yes or no, you could assign a monetary value to the benefits accrued, as follows. How much time did it save you? What was the resulting productivity worth to you or your business? Can you quantify how much money something has already saved you or estimate how much it might save you in the future? How much potential additional revenue will it generate for you either directly or by freeing up your time for more meaningful activities? How does it make you feel and is there a value you can place on that feeling?

Create Goodwill to lead an Abundant Life

Now let’s talk about goodwill. This is an item that appears on a company’s balance sheet and is often deemed as an intangible asset, such as the brand value of a company. But goodwill is more than that. It is the invisible grease that oils the wheels of commerce as well as communities.

What is Goodwill?

Simply put, goodwill is the difference between value and price. If you bought a product or service that is of greater value to you than the price you paid, then you have positive goodwill, both mathematically and emotionally. As a customer, you will likely be loyal and willing to recommend the product or service to others. If you discover you’ve overpaid for something either through your own misjudgement or because the seller deliberately duped you, chances are you will not do business with that person or entity again. If you’re irate enough, you may even take to social media to vent your outrage.

Related Read: Make money work for you, in the third part of this series on Abdundance

Goodwill for Employees

The very same thinking around price, value and goodwill applies to individuals who offer their services as employees. If you’re an employee, you are being paid by your employer to do a job of work. That in essence is the price you are being paid for the value you create for the business or organization. You may be part of a big team and it may not be easy to determine the exact monetary value you are creating. But you can think about your personal contribution and the benefit you bring to your team as well as the overall business using a slight variation on the five questions that we used above to assess value for money.

Am I saving my employer time and enhancing productivity?
Am I helping cut costs or save money, even if it is an opportunity cost?
Am I helping by freeing up time for other team members so they can use it to create better value for themselves or the business?
Am I helping generate more revenue for the company?
Am I, through my presence and my actions, making life better for my colleagues and customers in intangible ways?

When you’ve answered these questions, you will have a much clearer sense of how you’re making a difference to your employer and if you’re in the right job. You’ll have the right language with which to communicate the tangible and intangible value you bring. And last but not least, it will be a useful yardstick to assess if you are being paid appropriately, and what is truly possible for you.

Related Read: Time Management in Practice

Goodwill for Employers

This is also an invaluable tool for employers to assess who is really adding value and who is not. There might be two people in a team who do the exact same job. One of them loves their job, shows up for work purposeful and motivated. The other person is uninterested in their job, going through the motions and is in it because it pays the bills. On the face of it they have exactly the same job title, the same responsibilities and are paid the same salary. Yet, the first team member is likely to be significantly more productive, more pleasant to be around and adds far greater value to the business than the second person.

In fact, studies have shown that on average, a happy, motivated and engaged worker is 25% more productive than their unhappy, demotivated counterpart. And yet, they might be treated the same. It is a clear example of why workplaces are not always fair and you don’t always get what you deserve.

Related Read: How to Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur

Goodwill and Value

If you’re the happy and engaged team member, it’s up to you to demonstrate to your employers the value and goodwill you’re creating for the organisation. This is key to getting the recognition you deserve, in terms of a pay rise, promotion, more responsibility and other opportunities for professional growth.

As a business owner, you’d do well to know who your real contributors are and find ways to retain them. Remember, it is often the best people who leave when they feel they are not being acknowledged or valued correctly. Finding a way to motivate your employees and creating a happy, engaged workplace makes economic sense. Happy employees beget happy customers.

If you’re the unhappy and unmotivated team member, ask yourself why you feel this way. How much of that feeling of discontent is down to you and how much is externally created? Is it that you are in the wrong job, or in the wrong ecosystem? How can you take control of your own professional fulfilment? Would you feel different if your job was aligned with the things you enjoy doing and are good at? What if you were part of a project or ecosystem that resonates with your core values? How much more value would you create for others and yourself?

How to lead an Abundant Life

I said in one of my previous articles that money is like a bird that is drawn to a welcoming and nurturing ecosystem. If you have a thriving garden with lush trees, birds will flock to it and make it their home. All you have to do is to ensure the garden remains a safe, nurturing and happy place for them.

Quick re-cap of some of the points covered in this article, in this video on our YouTube channel

What you have to offer – your skills and your demeanour – is the equivalent of this garden. The more aligned your offering is to both your own life’s purpose and an external unmet need, the more value you will create.

The more you believe in it, the more clearly you will communicate your value to others and the more likely the right people will come to you, willing to pay the right price for it.

The seeds of abundance lie in self awareness, followed by purposeful action that is aimed at creating value and goodwill for yourself and others. You have within you the tools and the knowledge to create an abundant life. Take the time to pause, reflect and reconnect with them. Open yourself to new possibilities and lead an abundant life by first learning to assess value for money and creating goodwill.

About The Author

Rohini Rathour is a leadership coach and mentor, bringing to her coaching practice two decades of business experience as wealth manager and professional investor. Rohini’s gift is making complex things simple, using visual cues, stories, metaphors and analogies.

Previously, Rohini worked as Fund Manager and Partner at a London based wealth management firm, responsible for the investment performance of £2 billion of the firm’s £14 billion assets under management.

Rohini is the author of the non-fiction book Leading Ladies and a podcast host. She has an ICF Accredited Diploma in Transformational Coaching with Animas Centre for Coaching. Rohini was voted one of 100 most influential women by India Inc’s panelists in 2019 and the Best Leadership Coach & Mentor 2020 by SME News UK Enterprise.

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