Okay, some massive movement last week and this week. Two shifts in my thought processes to further my break from my upbringing and the story I had in my head about money.
Unsure if I mentioned it before, but this is what I was raised with:
- One parent who believes that if a lot of money comes to a person easily, they must have done something immoral or psychologically damaging. This is less a judgment on the person as a belief in ‘the way society works.’
- Another parent who is unwavering in the belief that all rich people are some kind of evil and can do no good (or at least that’s what I’m hearing lately).
- A third who worked 8 days a week, completely nonstop, to care for a family on a shoestring budget.
- Tons of examples of entrepreneurial endeavors, but none that really took off (i.e. the belief that while working for ourselves is the thing to strive for, it’s exceptionally hard and getting a job is the easier and more lucrative path).
- LOADS of folks who live a simple, good, happy life and are also in constant struggle with money.
So there I was, up until 4-5 years ago, using this as my ‘story’ because I hadn’t broken it down and ejected it yet.
Enter: possibility.
What’s scarier than playing a small game all your life and never stretching yourself? Doing exactly that in full awareness of the possibilities available to you. So that’s where I started – I developed my awareness of possibility. And I kept developing it until I got to where I am today, with the full awareness of how money works (it is a completely made-up thing based on an exchange of value, and value can be created from thin air, so money can too!). I’ve also grown my awareness of different styles of business, specifically two: the time-for-money equation, and the passive income equation. Add that to a strong marketing and psychology background and I feel completely unstoppable.
So, last week’s massive shift? A fabulous coach on the Don’t Keep Your Day Job FB group asked a question that I realized I couldn’t answer. She asked ‘What’s your target income?’ (or some version; I don’t remember the exact wording).
I realized I couldn’t answer.
Numbers were popping into my head, but they just felt wrong. What would it take in gross sales to cover all business expenses, taxes, insurance, and my day job’s income? Maybe $5k a month. But that number wasn’t anything close to my target.
What would it take for me to feel amazing about my progress with OHP? Something like $20k a month. Then I’d have plenty to help out my family, not to mention donate a fabulous amount to charities each month. But that still didn’t feel right.
An income target of $20,000 per month felt like a limiting belief.
So I reworded how I was thinking of my answer as a step; not a goal. After about five days of chewing on it, I realized that what felt good was “In five years I’ll be bringing in a million a year through all of the lines of business I create, with plans for expansion.”
25 year old Veronica would NEVER have sights this high. Hell, 33 year old Veronica wouldn’t either, without all the work I’ve done on my beliefs about money.
The next big thing I sorted out was the structure of my business. I’d been thinking about offering plant consultations, but that isn’t scalable if I do it myself.
So I made this rule for myself: Unless it provides value to all of my customers, I don’t work directly with individuals.
This will allow me to provide fabulous service, give people immense value, and add that ‘personal touch’ all while serving my broader customer base. It will allow me to help folks solve their plant-related problems and really believe in their ability to grow things. And I’ll feel great about every exchange – not like I just traded time I can never get back for a couple hundred bucks.
Remember, money is renewable. Time is not.
This is how I explain it to my son: it’s smart to trade time for money, as long as you’re buying your time back. In our future, that will mean hiring someone for housekeeping and yard work. It’ll mean hiring out our grocery shopping and meal prep.
Trading time for money in the other direction, though? We avoid this. Even if you’re making a base rate of $400/hr as a business coach. There’s a cap on that income, because no matter how hard you work, the length of the day stays the same.
My challenge to you:
How are your beliefs about ‘how things work’ holding you back?
How could you structure your business to provide IMMENSE value with less work?
Get after those limiting beliefs. Your life depends on it 🙂