Season Two, Episode 16: When spending and making money feels great with Erin Marshall

Today on the podcast I am joined by Erin Marshall. Erin runs a digital marketing agency that helps coaches and clients automate their sales process by creating sales funnels for them. Erin and I are talking about spending money, charging for our services, and the belief that either of those things can be hard to do.

Charging your worth

Many business owners believe that people will not pay higher rates for their work. For example, when an entrepreneur’s business coach tells them that their service or product is valuable and that they should raise your rates so they can make more money, all the while the entrepreneur is thinking no one is going to pay more than what they are currently paying. So, instead of listening to their business coach, the entrepreneur does not raise their rates.

Because of this, the entrepreneur can’t afford to grow their team, advertise, to pay for higher ticket software, etc. The link between these things is that the entrepreneur doesn’t believe they can spend money because money is scarce so, therefore, everyone else feels that way too. The entrepreneur believes mo one has money to invest in a business and therefore no one will pay higher rates.

Self-perpetuating truth

This becomes a cyclical, self-perpetuating truth because what you believe is what you create. And everything you create, you believe. If you believe that no one will pay more than what you are currently charging, you will keep attracting the clients that will only pay that amount and will never be higher-paying clients.

You end up telling yourself money stories and then believe these stories even though you have never asked anyone to pay more for your products or services. That mindset will also come out in your marketing copy, your conversations in Facebook Groups, in any of the content you put out – which won’t resonate with business owners who have the abundance mindset and who would invest in their business or themselves.

Your mindset attracts people of a similar mindset

The idea that when you pay for things or are investing in something of a higher ticket price should feel good and should not make you feel resentful. How you talk about money and your attitude about money becomes the basis for everything you do in business.

In Erin’s early years, she was convinced that she needed to be really wise about what she did with the money she earned. She thought investing in making her business easier for her to run was frivolous, but in reality, it enabled her to not feel burned out or overwhelmed. By spending money on her business, she can provide better service that results in more referrals, more business, and making more money.

She quickly realized that when she invests in services, tools and a team, the return on those investments are greater than what she puts out, so the money keeps flowing. Many people think they are scooping out “water” from a bucket, rather than seeing that water - or money - as a river that is constantly flowing and moving.

The flow of money

The best way to stop the flow of money is for you to become a dam. You think you’re going to collect more money by not investing it in things, but instead, you end up with a limited number of resources that prevent your business from growing.

There is also a fear of being greedy by charging more. By trying to attract higher-paying clients, Erin felt she was telling the world she didn’t want to help those starting out in business but she quickly realized that wasn’t the case. She needed to work past this perception for the improvement of her business.

Erin realized that she can create a business that allows her to offer assistance to businesses who are not at the same level and cannot invest in her because she has created a framework where she has the freedom to now offer free resources, such as checklists, Facebook Lives, etc. If she was constantly working with numerous low-paying clients as opposed to one or two higher-paying clients, then she wouldn’t have the time to devote to creating free resources that can help entrepreneurs just starting out.

As Money Mindset Mentor, Denise Duffield-Thomas says, “it’s either free or expensive.” More business owners should look at this statement in order to create a sustainable business that allows them to provide free resources to those just starting out or cannot pay your higher-end rates.

Moving past scarcity

Take the fear and scarcity out of making and spending money. Once you do this you can change the way you do business and you can grow your business. Change your rates incrementally so that you are stretching, but also feeling comfortable and confident about charging that amount of money. And then once you become too comfortable, think about raising your rates again.

Don’t feel you can’t raise your rates because no one will pay it. It’s not true. Chances are someone out there is paying those rates right now for the exact same service. There are people out there who will pay your rates – you just have to find the right people.

Once you do this you will find yourself enjoying your business more and being able to grow your business.

To find out more about Erin and how she and her team help businesses grow through automation, visit ErinMarshall.biz

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 30-minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

Podcast editing done by Eric Wellman

Season Two, Episode 9: Taking time for yourself is you working smarter with Marie Shinmoto

I am joined on the podcast today by Marie Shinmoto, a physiotherapist and the owner of M.A.P. Physiotherapy in Orleans, Ontario.

We are talking about a belief I know a lot of people struggle with, including myself. The belief is that “real” people work at least five days a week and that if you're not working a lot, you're lazy.

Working to make ends meet

Marie grew up watching her dad work six days a week and never being around. He worked to make ends meet for the family and to make sure they had what they needed. But all Marie remembers was him working, working, working, working. She grew up in an era where most moms stayed home. It was mostly dads that went off to work, and they all went off to work Monday to Friday. A lot of them weren't back at supper time even. And that's just what you did if you had a job.

Besides that, work wasn’t known to be fun. Work was hard. You went to work, you made the money, and that's what you're supposed to do. You worked to support your family.

Marie started her career working in a hospital - your typical Monday to Friday, nine to five kind of deal. And that pretty much fit the model that she was used to. It wasn’t until she started in private practice that she had more control over her hours. But, she was still under the impression that she needed to work five days a week. The only weekdays you take off are holidays. And that's just what you do when you have a job. Even if you're self-employed, that's what you're supposed to do - keep going every day! You do your thing, and you don't take time off unless you're sick or there's a holiday.

The self-employed difference

But once Marie started her practice things changed. She realized that when you are self-employed you have the potential for other income flows than just what you're able to do yourself in terms of what it is you’re known for i.e., for Marie seeing physiotherapy clients. This opens doors to having passive forms of income and increasing your income.

However, Marie was still under this impression that even though she had this other source of passive income, she was supposed to go to work five days a week even though she didn’t really need to anymore financially. Wrapping her brain around being financially able to take half a day off a week or a whole day off a week or two days off a week was totally foreign to Marie because the messages she always got as a kid were that you have to work, work, work to make ends meet.

Money Mindset

Even when the numbers told her differently, Marie still had this thing where she had to keep working all the time. And really the only way that changed for her was doing some mindset work. Marie worked with Megan O'Neill (check out her Biz Podcast episode by clicking here). Working on her mindset was super helpful in changing her beliefs around money. She dug into what money means, how you earn it, and what you need to do to earn it.

There’s so much out there for small business owners, like Facebook Groups, that sort of thing, where the message is always that you have to work hard; you have to run yourself into the ground; you have to work these crazy hours, and that's just the way it's done. And if you're not doing that well, then there's something wrong with you. And that's a big message to overcome because it's overwhelmingly out there.

Working smarter

Entrepreneurs need to realize there are other ways of working. If they don’t then people start burning out and they can't do their jobs anymore. They're running so hard that they crash, burn and can't do anything. And that's not better either.

Working with me as a business coach, helped Marie in a few ways. It changed her mindset, but also made her ask herself how much money she really needed to make to make ends meet in her personal and professional life. She looked to see if she could tweak things and make more time for her family and for herself.

As entrepreneurs, we often think that time is money, which is true, but then the converse is also true: money can give you time. So, if you have a little bit of extra money from however it is you earn it, then maybe you don't need to work five days a week, nine to five. That money can buy you time off.

For Marie, that means only seeing clients four days a week. Her Fridays are her administrative days. And in the summer, she prioritizes getting outside and doing activities she loves, like kayaking. She takes the mornings off and goes kayaking, and maybe does a bit of admin work in the afternoon.

Learning this has made huge difference in Marie’s quality of life, and a huge difference in her family life, but it was a big hurdle for her to get past that idea of “real” people work five or six days a week and if you don’t then you’re lazy.

Entrepreneurs need to see slowing down as an act of self-care. When you're in go, go, go, go, go mode, you don't have time or space for new ideas to come in. You're too busy doing everything else. When you slow down and actually give yourself the room to just let your brain quiet down enough to feel inspired, all kinds of amazing things come up.

The never-ending to-do list

There will always be a to-do list with 75 things on it, but when you realize that those 75 things are still going to be there next week, you can relax about it a bit. And as long as you have gotten through what is important, i.e., if there's anything time-sensitive or if there's something specific you want to work on, then let the rest go and do something for yourself. Recognize that it helps you be a better business owner, parent, friend, partner, etc. if you put yourself on your own to-do list!

It’s important to remember that you’re doing a lot of good in the world by making sure you can keep doing your job by taking care of yourself.

Why are you working all the time?

An important question to ask if you are working all the time is, "Why?" And what is the motivation behind that? Maybe it is financial, but if you have some financial wiggle room in your business and you're still working 24/7 then you have to ask yourself why. And maybe it is because of some old belief making you think you need to work six days a week, or for some people seven days a week. And maybe that belief just isn't serving you anymore.

One thing Marie has learned most since owning her business is to put her own oxygen mask on first. She realized that if she burns out and can’t work that she certainly can't help her clients, let alone help her family. “You need to take care of yourself first, and doing that is not self-indulgent. It's called survival. And if you get really good at it, it goes beyond survival. It becomes a serious quality of life.”

Working and making money doesn’t have to hurt. We don't have to have physical pain and mental pain and believe that it is just life and that life is hard, and keep doing what we’re doing. We may have to look at things differently to make that work, but there are ways to do that and by taking the time to do so you may find yourself working smarter.

Learn more about Marie and M.A.P. Physiotherapy at mapphysiotherapy.ca, and follow them on Facebook.

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 30-minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

Season Two, Episode 8: Why making money is good for the soul with Sara Yamtich

Sara Yamtich is the CEO of Resonate with Sara, a Facebook and Instagram ads agency whose mission is to transform the planet for the better.

In this podcast episode, Sara and I are talking about a belief that stops many mission-driven business owners from making money. That belief is: if you’re doing good in the world then you shouldn’t want to make money from that.

Behind this same belief is the thought that to do good in the world you should have minimal stuff, i.e., not have fancy clothes, etc. But, as Sara says, this belief does not serve us or our abilities when it comes to making an impact on the world.

Sara grew up with a single mom in a trailer in Southern Missouri, so it did not come naturally to her that she was worthy enough to make money and that it was morally okay. The transition happened over a couple of years after she started her agency, but the shift did not happen easily.

After she got her Master’s in social work policy, Sara had a job in government policy, making low six figures. She was making good money, but when it came to charging money to individuals, that was a huge switch for her. Her ability to feel good about making money came from her heart and mind. She wanted to help people and knew the work she did could do that.

It can be hard to realize you’re doing good and still make enough to have the life you want.

Money as energy

One of Sara’s mantras is, “fill my cup so I may fill the cups of others.” She doesn’t make money and hoard it away in her savings account. Instead, Sara brings in money to pay her team, to give them bonuses when she can, and to support other local businesses. She thinks of bringing in money as energy – she brings it in to then spread it out.

Think of money more energetically. It is not a capitalist item, you’re not oppressing people, instead, you are creating abundance in the world that you can share.

Money is not a bad thing

Money is often thought of as a bad thing, and there are a lot of good things you can do with money. The desire to make money can be thought of as inherently evil, but that mentality can hold back the people who want to do good. 

Spiritual people can make money

The thought that spiritual people shouldn’t make money is shifting. When you think about spiritual figures of our time, such as Eckhart Tolle, who is a monastic philosopher, remember that he runs Facebook ads. He also has a monthly membership program where you can have access to him and through that, he is generating income to pay the people around him so he can continue doing the work he does.

Sara has similar clients, they have entered the realm of accepting that it is okay to make money in their spiritual work so they can pay their teams and themselves and continue to do spiritual, mission-led work.

Letting go of old beliefs

If you find yourself blocked by the belief that you should not make money doing spiritual work, then you need to let go of your old belief system. Accept that you can make money doing good in the world. You have to believe you can create wealth and that it’s all okay. So many money beliefs keep us from making money – and there is nothing wrong with making money.

The importance of self-worth

Female entrepreneurs, in particular, who are making money and doing good in the world also need to have self-worth to open the door to making money. Self-worth can be a pesky belief. You need to believe you are worthy, inherently worthy, and that all the work you do has a monetary value. You can’t do it all for free… free doesn’t pay the bills.

Find self-worth and you will be able to fight money beliefs and make the money you are worthy of making. You will also be able to feel joyful about your work and will realize it is not selfish to make money. 

Learn more about Sara and her agency at ResonatewithSara.com, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 30-minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

Season Two, Episode 7: Overcoming your fear of sales with Laura Wright

Sales is a topic many business owners need to bust through so they can find success in their businesses. For many business owners, the first thing that often comes to mind when thinking about sales is, “Ugh, I hate sales!” Everything around sales is heavy, and there is this belief that sales are terrible.

Laura Wright is a super salesperson Ninja, which is one reason I invited her to be on the podcast. She is all things epic at sales and is also a strategic growth coach. She likes to help empowered women sell with ease and do things in a way that creates more income, more growth, sometimes more clients (sometimes less) and really maximize what they have. This is her 22nd year of doing all the sales things that she does. If there is a sales thing to be uncovered, she has probably done something around it.  

Sales stereotypes

Most stereotypical sales techniques are coercive. They can be a little sleazy and slimy and not feel good, but if you are not ready to buy and someone's pushing and forcing, it's not going to feel good. Sales is a service. It's meant to feel good.  

Even as a business coach, when I get to the end of a sales conversation and I've collected the credit card and someone says to me, “thank you!” I think, “Thank you? Thank you for taking my credit card?” That sounds nuts, but it's because we have created this belief system where sales can’t feel great.

Most business owners don't want to be pushy. They feel that anything that is beyond just very gently telling people what they do is being pushy and makes people feel uncomfortable.

Is sales in your make up?

According to Laura, anyone who has the feeling that they're afraid of being too pushy and too sales-y, should know that they will never be too pushy and sales-y. If you think like that then sales is not in your make up. It’s also important to note that sales is not something that you do to someone.

Sales conversations are meant to be a joined thing and Laura believes it’s a bit like a buyer psychology. If someone is uncomfortable buying something, they're going to clench up and not buy.

Whenever Laura gets on a sales call, she thinks about a few of her clients. They are sitting beside her on every single sales call. One of them was a woman who recently took Laura aside and let her know that she actually saved her life! Laura knew that things were pretty dire with her business when they met, but she didn’t think she understood the full picture of what was going. The work they did together to help her finally gave success in her business, and saved her life. Laura thinks about her every time she gets on a sales call because what if the most loving and kind thing you could do for somebody is stand up and be their advocate? What if instead of you selling at them, you're their partner in creating transformation?  

Believe in what you’re selling

The idea is to truly believe that what you're doing is helping. You need to believe that you are creating something that they want in their lives. When you're asking people to commit to something they don't want to do, that is when it feels like too much or too bold or too in their face.

If you're having conversations with the people that you don't really align with or who don't really align with you (because it goes both ways) then that conversation can feel hard.

Another thing that makes sales hard is when you don't know what to do on a call or you're doing something different. When you talk to 30 people and only two people said yes, that can start to bring you down. Then you start to change things you probably shouldn't change. When you have a formula that you can follow, you can actually relax.

When you have a sales process that is flexible and breathable and you can enjoy it, you can detach from the outcome and also know what you can expect. It will just feel better.

Know what you’re selling 

You need to know exactly what you're selling. According to Laura, you should be deeply, madly, passionately in love and lit up with all your offers – she is with hers! If you're not passionately excited about your offers or if you don't really believe in them then it will be harder to sell them. Create ways to work with people that don’t just get results, but also allow you to really enjoy the process and be in a great community.

We need to feel good about what we are selling and how we are selling – that makes a big difference in how we have sales conversations.

How to get comfortable with sales

Laura suggests business owners write out a list of people that they would like to sell to. It can be five, 50, 100, that doesn't matter. Then look at this list of people that you would feel really excited to sell something to or bring them on as clients. Then circle all those “hot prospects” first.

Then flip this list upside down and if you have names on your list that you don’t know or don’t feel attached to then I want you to reach out to those people first. Have a couple of conversations, get into a rhythm that makes you feel comfortable. Talk about your offers, and practice your rates like they're a fact. After you're in that rhythm and feeling good, then go to those hot and warm leads and make your invitations.

What will happen is, you'll be well-versed, well-practiced, relaxed, and by the time you talk with those people that you actually feel a little bit attached to, you will have taught yourself how to have detachment and I bet they're going to say yes.

Laura loves to teach sales! If you would like to learn more about how to do a sales call so there are no objections and if they show up, how to walk through them so you can relax and enjoy the process, go to Epicatsales.com/gift. You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Epicatsales

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 30-minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

Season Two, Episode 1: Welcome back!

It’s been a while, but I have missed you guys!

I am so excited to be back for another season of The Biz Podcast. This season I will be focussing on rules and beliefs.

I hope you’ll join me for the next episode of The Biz Podcast by subscribing to the show on iTunes, Soundcloud or Stitcher and thanks for following along!

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 30-minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher