Ever wonder if that business idea, stock, or marketing campaign really paid off? Thatโs where ROI comes in. Itโs a quick and easy way to figure out how much you earned compared to how much you spent.
Letโs break it down in a fun and simple way!
Table of Contents
๐ What Is ROI?
ROI stands for Return on Investment. It tells you how much profit (or loss) you made from an investment, compared to what you spent.
Itโs like asking: โFor every dollar I put in, how much did I get back?โ
๐ข The Simple ROI Formula
Hereโs the basic math:
ROI = (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) รท Cost of Investment ร 100
This gives you a percentage, which is nice because itโs easy to compare different investments.
๐งฎ Example: A Lemonade Stand
Letโs say you spent $100 to start a lemonade stand. After selling lemonade, you made $150 total.
- Gain from investment = $150
- Cost of investment = $100
Plug it into the formula:
ROI = (150 – 100) รท 100 ร 100 = 50%
๐ You made a 50% return on your investment!

๐ What If You Lose Money?
If your ROI is negative, that means you lost money. ๐ฌ
Letโs say you spent $200 on an ad campaign, but only made $150 from it:
ROI = (150 – 200) รท 200 ร 100 = -25%
Thatโs a -25% ROI. Not greatโbut helpful to know so you can adjust next time.
๐ ๏ธ ROI Calculator
Enter the Cost of Investment, Gain and the tool will calculate ROI
โจ Why ROI Is Super Useful
ROI helps you:
- ๐ธ See if your money was well spent
- ๐ Compare different investments or projects
- ๐ Make smarter decisions next time
You can use ROI for just about anythingโbusiness ideas, real estate, marketing, even buying new tools for your side hustle.
โ Quick Recap
- ROI shows how much profit (or loss) you made
- Use this formula: (Gain – Cost) รท Cost ร 100
- Positive ROI = profit ๐
- Negative ROI = loss ๐ฌ
ROI is like a money scorecard ๐ณโand now you know how to read it!