Listen. I know that the idea of mindset-shifting as a way to increase revenue may sound a little … woo-woo. But here’s the thing: how you think impacts how you act.
And if you think you don’t deserve wealth or believe your services aren’t worth premium prices, that WILL show up in how you market yourself.
It WILL lead to you undervaluing and undercutting your offerings.
It WILL block your cash flow and keep you from growing your business.
So embrace the woo!
And ditch those self-defeating thoughts about profit, worth, and all things money.
If you’re ready to upgrade your money mindset and uplevel in your business, here are the daily habits you need to cultivate.
First, Find and Clear Your Money Blocks
What the heck is a money block?
It’s a cluster of negative subconscious beliefs about money that prevent you from achieving your conscious desires. It may be tied to your general self-worth, or may be fueled by comparing your business success to your colleagues’.
How do you know if you have a money block? Newsflash, you probably do!
Pretty much everyone has money blocks of some kind, and that goes double for entrepreneurs. But don’t beat yourself up! Acknowledging that you have a block is the first step to breaking through it.
To get started, ask yourself some key questions:
- When you talk about money with colleagues, what do you say?
- How about your friends and family?
- What did you hear about money growing up?
- How do you feel when you spend money?
- Does spending feel different when it’s for yourself, your business, or your family?
- How do you feel about saving, and do you struggle with it?
- How often do you worry about money?
- When you hear about a colleague’s monetary success, how do you feel?
Try to articulate your biggest worries and issues around money. Capture them in 2 sentences or less, if you can, so you can begin to address them.
How to Create New Money Habits
When it comes to breaking a bad habit (money-related or otherwise), you need to understand the habit loop.
Reporter Charles Duhigg studied the formation of habits, and determined that most habits have a cue that triggers them, a routine you follow, and a reward for taking the action.
So let’s say your cue is a new client asking for a deep discount, the routine is attempting to stand firm but then caving to her demands, and the reward is the mixed bag of landing the client but at a MUCH lower rate than you want.
To change that habit, Duhigg recommends four steps:
- Identify the routine
- Experiment with rewards
- Isolate the cue
- Have a plan
This is easier if the habit is something more concrete, like aimless snacking, but it can work with money habits, too. If you know you tend to cave when clients ask for discounts, you’ve got step one down.
In this case, skip to step 3; How can you stand firm when that “cue” from a new client arises, and applies pressure to your wavering confidence about your pricing?
Jump back to step 2; How can you “reward” yourself mentally when you DO stand firm? And finally at step 4, make sure you’re prepared to repeat this new loop whenever you need to.
Start Using Money-related Affirmations
Money habits are the more tactical side of mindset shifting, but we also need to address the psychological. Let’s talk about taking action to help the money flow in and consistently upgrade your money mindset by using affirmations.
Here are some examples that you can use every morning, before client meetings/calls, or whenever you encounter a “cue” that makes you doubt your pricing.
- When I enjoy my business – the programs I sell, the way I want to grow my audience, the content I share – I make more money.
- When I give myself the space to drop the drama and come up with my most exciting, most inspired ideas, I make more money.
- When I charge what my skills and offerings are truly worth, I make more money.
Shift Your Basic Business Practices to Enable Wealth-building
Now we need to dig into best practices that will empower you to make more money in a sustainable way. Much of this is tied up in a single question: do you run your business on your own terms?
If you don’t, that may impact both your confidence as an entrepreneur and your revenue as a businessperson!
Start by examining your boundaries. Do you have established boundaries that allow you to quickly handle business, client, and team situations?
If someone doesn’t like your pricing model or asks for special treatment, are you comfortable pushing back and saying, “If this doesn’t work for you, I don’t think we’re a good fit”?
Next, do you consistently think about ways to “serve” your clients and audience?
Making money isn’t about being shrewd and charging a whoptillion dollars for simple services. It’s about giving people something they need and want—something that makes their lives better—and being paid for that added sense of ease.
Always approach every situation and opportunity with “serving” your audience: Add more value, and you’ll make more money.
