As I marched into the living room grabbing my laptop to begin tackling just one more project, I barked at my husband, “I don’t have enough time.” After all he did was so kindly offer a suggestion for my business. This was the stark reality of what my life was becoming when I entered my first business. I truly believed that more time in the business was the only vehicle to more income and more success.
Luckily, I was able to disarm this lie pretty quickly and I will preface this with, if I had not disarmed this immediately, I would not own a business today.
MORE TIME DOES NOT EQUAL MORE SUCCESS
Believing that more time spent in the business equals more success is a lie. Yes, time is certainly a factor, but working smarter not harder is truly the secret sauce. From then on I decided to lead with simplicity and intentionality in all that I did.
Now I want to share with you the top FOUR reframes for looking at time, money, and success differently.
These are rooted in simplicity, aren’t glamorous, but I promise, will help propel your success that much faster.
1. BELIEVE THERE IS PLENTY OF SUCCESS TO GO AROUND
Believe there is plenty to go around (abundance mindset) and do not say yes out of scarcity because it will bleed into the next tip.
I see so many entrepreneurs at varying stages in their businesses say yes to a project, contract, collaboration, basically any type of opportunity because of FOMO.
Let me just say that often these clients and opportunities are enticing and maybe they “could” be that stepping stone in getting you to where you want to be. However, here is a question I offer my clients to help them say yes from their best mindset, “if you were in the place you wish to be in six months, would you say yes to this client or opportunity?”
I am all for taking what you need to take to get started and seeing opportunities as stepping stones, but people tend to forget that opportunities are endless and that just as quickly as that one came, another will be on its way.
I say this because I want you to know and believe that you don’t have to take the breadcrumbs. There will always be another and better opportunity. Take some time to say yes. Often if you wait even just a few days, another one will have already presented itself, which could be even more ideal!
2. DON’T SCALE SO QUICKLY
This one is part two from the first tip. Here’s something to chew on, when you do your work with excellence, word will spread quickly—people will start talking about your ethic and happily share with others.
And unfortunately, I see so many talented business owners have difficulty setting limits with themselves. They set out to take on a set amount of work, but they begin getting word-of-mouth referrals and rather than set a limit and say “I am booked solid at the moment and can put you on the wait list or I’d love to offer you a referral,” they instead say YES and later shoot themselves in the foot.
I see this happening more often than you would think and it’s that fastest way to lose your business. They are excited to see all the work come in so they do one of two things, take it all on themselves and spread themselves so thin, or begin contracting work or hire on someone to take on the work because they don’t want to miss out on an opportunity.
Then what happens next? They can’t keep up. They’ve maybe had a business just a few years, have never had employees, and realize they can’t keep up on their work, their contractors work, and the quality plummets.
Those loyal and happy customers are no longer happy anymore and decide to find someone else to replace you. Just as quickly as word of mouth spreads from happy customers, unhappy customers spreads twice the speed. Now you are stuck paying a contractor or employee with no customers to serve. I know this may sound harsh, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this happen.
So in a nutshell, don’t scale too quickly. Grow a solid base of happy and loyal customers. Serve them and serve them well. Keep that waitlist. Once you’ve got a good handle on running a FULL business, time management, and really have some trustworthy people you might be able to slowly pass some work to (not out of scarcity), then slowly scale.
3. SET REALISTIC INCOME GOALS
Set realistic income goals where you won’t burn out. This also plays off of the last point, don’t set an income goal for yourself just because.
It’s so important you are intentional with your reasoning behind your money goal. I hear so many new entrepreneurs say, “I want to have my first 10k month before Q2 for the year.” Ok that’s cool, but why? And how?
You made 3k in your business each month so far and now you want and need to make 6k extra starting next month? Just doesn’t make sense!
How about we first look at how long you’ve been in business, how much time you have to pour into your business, what type of resources you already have set up in business, than ask yourself, do I have the capacity to take on that much extra work right away (without burning out)? And lastly, where will this money go?
If there is no intention behind why you want to make it and you set that number only because you think you should or it sounds successful, you will not hit it.
Here is a reason to want to hit a specific goal, “to have enough money leftover that I can make a big dent in my student loans or to have enough saved up for our dream honeymoon.” When you can visualize where the money will go, it makes it more tangible.
But then ask yourself, “realistically, how long will it take me to pay off my student loan or save up for that honeymoon without burning out?” Set little mile markers based off of your past earnings, time available, and resources to help support this goal. Set yourself up for SUCCESS friend!
4. BET ON YOURSELF FIRST
I see so many entrepreneurs reinvest all of their money into ads before they fully understand what their business even is. Even in year FOUR of my coaching business, I’m hiring an agency for the first time to set up ads for my book launch. I’ve dabbled with them in the past and have only lost money.
I think it’s crucial those first few years to really understand the buying behaviors of your customers. Get to know who these people are. Who is saying yes to that discount code you are offering? Who is engaging with you on social media?
Really jump into the trenches. Get dirty. Learn who your people really are and learn their buying behaviors. Yes, it may take a little longer to grow your business this way, but it’s a heck of a lot safer betting on yourself than some ads that could possibly bring in a potential customer or a small sale. Friend, trust me on this one!
If you can keep these four reframes top of mind, I assure you that you will feel more confident, fulfilled, and at ease throughout your business journey!
Ready to reframe your thoughts on money? Get our Money Mindset Guide here.
