Can we talk money shame for a moment?
“I’m feeling vulnerable, ashamed and like a failure”
“Tina, if I told you the truth about my money situation you would lose respect for me”
“I’m too afraid to look at my numbers – they are out of control”
When I have these conversations with my fellow biz owners it breaks my heart.
There is SOOOO much shame wrapped up in our money. And as long as we keep sweeping it all under the rug, hiding from it (and hiding it from others!) that shame has a hold over us.
I assure you there is nothing that you’ve done that I haven’t done myself (and maybe done multiple times over) I’ve…
- Spent too much on something (more times than I can count)
- Cheaped out in areas where I should have invested (and kicked myself later)
- Been 10’s of thousands of dollars in debt (for years – I just paid off this debt this past May)
- Didn’t charge enough for something
- Charged too much for something else
- Had a loss in my business at year-end more than once
- Wondered how I was going to pay my bills at the end of the month
- Wondered where the hell all my money went?! (especially painful when I started making more money)
- Felt like a fraud because I wasn’t making ‘enough’ money (even though I was well into the 6-figure range)
Money brings up all of our ‘stuff’ – all of our worries, doubts and fears. And we can either get mired in our ‘stuff’ or we can be willing to look it in the eye.
There is no shame in money
but there is TRUTH
Money doesn’t lie. Like the numbers on the scale show us our state of physical health – money tells us the truth about how healthy our business is (or isn’t!).
If your numbers aren’t working for you then something needs to change. What exactly that is will vary from person to person.
- Maybe you need to tweak your pricing.
- Maybe you need to improve your sales process.
- Maybe you need to stop spending too much in the wrong areas (or start spending more in the right areas – which strangely enough can have a HUGE impact on your bottom line.)
- Maybe you need to stop selling something so you can start selling something new.
- Maybe you need to learn how to manage your cash-flow and build ‘profit first’ habits (this changed my biz 2 years ago…)
All of these things are fixable if we are willing to get real with our money – to look it in the eye. Even when it’s scary. Even when we feel ashamed – especially then!
Nothing can be fixed without the truth being present. And nothing gets fixed by avoidance, crossing our fingers and hoping the universe will take care of it. (Believe me, I’ve tried 😉
Put simply – this is business. Money is one of the key measures of success in business (not the only one of course.) We all have our ups and downs. We all have moments that ‘pay off’ and others that don’t.
It’s time to ditch the money shame.
To stop beating ourselves up for these choices and look at the truth of what they are – an opportunity to change. To grow. To learn more about what success really is and to commit ourselves to a profitable business. One that we can rely on and be proud of.
If you are ready to stop making money ‘mistakes’ be sure to join me for the first ever Profit First Summer School.
After implementing the Profit First formula I increased my owner’s pay by 30%, paid off 5-figures of debt and – for the first time ever – have 5 figures in a PROFIT savings account…. and I did it all without a big increase to my revenue. After years of sleepless nights I never worry about money anymore.
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