money-money-money-1237912-639x443It goes without saying that money is just the flow of energy so if that’s the case why do so many small business owners struggle to do more than make ends meet? I have had a number of enquiries from potential clients about helping them with money blocks recently. If that’s you then I hope you find this myth busting exercise and the tips that follow  really helpful.

  1. You have got to have money to make money

What absolute bunkum! In many respects with the internet and technological advances, it has never been easier to set up a business without expending vast sums. What you do need is a moneymaking mindset. I had dinner with a serial entrepreneur last week and he explained how he made his money. He discovered a process that saved insurance companies £300 a time so they all bought it from him. He charged £299 for a solution which cost him 5p to make but it still gave the customer value as it was half what they had been paying.

Such a markup on a service or product may not be possible in your industry but no matter what the marketing funnel says, don’t be tempted to give away too many freebies. What does that say about the value you place on your own product or service?

  1. The cheapest deal offers the best value for money

Not that long ago I needed to do some marketing and someone I knew made me an offer I could not refuse. It all seemed incredible value and in some ways it was in that I paid considerably less than the going rate. This was because they were a start up business so it was a loss leader for them. Unfortunately the whole experience was rather ghastly. I had to go through a “middleman” so to speak to get to the person doing the work. This slowed the whole process up. I ended up getting emails and texts after 10pm at night and at weekends.  This is my switch off time normally so I learnt a lot about being clearer about my boundaries.  The final straw was that I got the wrong sized flyer and it took over 24 hours to get the right size which led to an increase of 30% in my printing costs because it became a rush job. The motto here is you get what you pay for.

This is so true for us personally too. This year we decided to move our daughters into the private education system. It wasn’t an easy decision as I am sure you can imagine and yet I have been quietly impressed by the school. The Friday before their first day, both their class teachers rang up to check if there was anything we needed. That to me is service beyond the call of duty and it is a reflection of the lengths staff members will go to reach out and connect and in so doing smoothen the transition.

  1. Don’t spend what you don’t have

No I am not about to encourage reckless spending and yet one thing I have learnt is that when I invest in myself then it allows the money to flow. When I started out, I said to myself that I wouldn’t allow my bank balance to go below a certain level. I still made money but it was a slog and that was because the choice I made may have felt safe but it was actually damming the flow. The effect was to put the brakes on my potential earnings. It was only when I let go of that artificial ceiling and actually started to invest in myself that I began to see a significant shift. I realised that I needed to undertake some training which was going to cost me around £3,000 and at the point I took the decision I had no idea where the money was going to come. Within a month of taking the decision I won a contract that more than covered the investment. These days I tend to work on the basis of investing about 25% of what I make into developing myself. It pays off because people can sense often unconsciously when you have new insights as a coach and so have more to share and they start knocking on the door.

  1. You need to buy into fancy systems to make money

So many people fall into this trap. They either end up spending a fortune to meet with other business owners once a month and pay a significant fee for the privilege or get seduced into buying software packages on the claim that it will take their business to the next level. The first system tends to offer a range of motivational talks and support from other members when you offer a new service; the argument around the second is that you are taking your business seriously and being more professional. Neither is a prerequisite to success but either can be tempting if you don’t think that you are enough in yourself.

Having outlined some of the common myths around making money, let me give you some tips on what does work. As with most things, it starts with understanding what is happening at the subconscious level. Here’s the thing when you were a child, you got told off by your parents if you did something naughty. As an adult, you become your parent. You punish yourself and the way many do that is by preventing the flow of money. How miserable do you feel if you can’t afford new clothes; if you feel you don’t have the means to go out? See how effective this punishment is now.

If you look at a course and think I can’t afford it; I haven’t got a spare £xyz then the likelihood is that you won’t do it. Here is the thing though your relationship with money is emotional. There will be certain expenses you never question or even feel you deserve. It is amazing what you discover when you go through your expenditure, log it on a spreadsheet and ask yourself if it is all absolutely vital.

Remember the adage you get what you pay for. The person who is running a weekend course has probably invested £1000s into their own training and so what they are asking is a fair price. If you can’t cut back on a lot, see where you can make savings and put aside a regular amount each week for a couple of months beforehand. That way you will raise the money for the course and making the investment will make you feel good about yourself and that will have a knock on effect on your business.

Others have a very strong work ethic. In and of itself there is nothing wrong with this however you are not a machine and cannot go on and on. Like a battery you will run out of juice and you can suffer from stress and exhaustion if you push yourself too far. Very often the driver for this type of behaviour comes from a sense of scarcity. If you had very little as a child then you may feel driven to provide for your family to ensure they have the security you never had.  So learn to pace yourself and take the foot off the accelerator before you have a nervous breakdown!

Finally it is okay to have spiritual values and make good money. That in itself will not make you a greedy capitalist. Become a conscious consumer, appreciate all that you have and you will receive more because you will be living in abundance.

Easy to say and hard to do you might say. It does require a shift in your mindset and this is where I can help. Using colour, which is a visual and kinaesthetic therapy, I can enable you to heal rapidly within a few sessions if you are ready. This is very powerful work as it accesses your deep-seated issues in an incredibly gentle way. Check out the reviews on my facebook business page to get a sense of the results that I have had. Not only have I seen amazing results for others, I have experienced them for myself. Because I believe in it so strongly, I am offering anyone who books a session by the end of September, 20% off the normal rate for an initial introductory session. So get in touch today to claim this offer.

Myths around making money & how to bust them
Tagged on: