3 proactive ways to overcome your money shame issues

So you have a business.

You have products and services that help people do something? Anything from file their taxes, to sorting out their health, find the right lipstick shade to never having to create another social media meme again.

The type of business you run is neither here nor there.

Because you still feel ikky talking about money…right?

You don’t want to put your prices on your website, you undercharge, you are afraid to be visible online, (especially anywhere your friends or family might see you) and you procrastinate on launching new things?

Why

Money Shame!!!

It’s that feeling in the gut of your stomach that screams

“You greedy cow”

“Money won’t make you happy you know?”

“Nobody is going to like you if you are TOO successful”

“Nobody likes a showoff”

“I’m gonna look desperate”

It’s the thing that keeps you playing small in your business, that holds you back from scaling up, that keeps you in your comfort zone.

Trust me I’ve been there.

In the words of my friend Brene Brown (did I ever tell you about the time she tweeted me the night before my last marathon??? #truestory)

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change”

I used to feel it so deeply (probably my working class roots to blame) and so I have been doing a whole lot of work on money mindset over the past 5 years with the ever so brilliant Denise Duffield Thomas…I was just sick of carrying that unnecessary load, business is hard enough without having that to deal with too.

And trust me shame can go two ways, it can be shame around not making the kind of money that other people do in their business “poor tramp shame”, and also making a lot more “rich bitch shame”. The thing is ultimately we are the only ones who can rid ourself of our shame….then it’s up to other people what they do in their judgement of us.

As I always say,

“Shame is something other people feel on my behalf…I’m good”

So the question is how do you overcome years of programming…cos this stuff starts early. Here are 3 practical, proactive ways you can declutter the shame every day in your business.

Set Clear Money Goals (and review them regularly)

If you are not clear on how much money you want to make in your business and why, how can you expect people to believe in you as a business owner. This is not about how much you think you can make given your sector, skill level, age, gender…or any other bullshit excuse you want to use….it’s I repeat, about how much you want to make and WHY.

The WHY is the important thing here, it’s the bit you have complete control over. It’s where you get to decide what you do with that income. If designer bags and expensive holidays are your thing great. If giving half your wealth away to good causes is instead super. Got a fuck off student loan to pay back…hey I see you. No judgement. Find the thing which lights you up and really zone into the change that additional resources could make in your life.

Your money goals dictate the scope and scale of your business…a personal trainer who wants to make ￡3K per month functions in a completely different way to one who wants to make ￡30K per month…and YES both are totally possible.

Communicate your WHY

I don’t need to know what you are going to spend your money on, but I do want to understand your values and the things which drive you. Its how we connect to businesses ultimately, it’s about brand value. It’s why socially driven businesses have a competitive advantage in many cases, because they attract like-minded consumers.

I want to know what your future world looks like, what world problem you are solving through your work, what impact you want to make…AND I want to know who’s coming on that journey with you (cos I’m nosey like that).

When I understand the end game for a business owner or brand, and I know I am contributing towards it, I feel part of their journey, and I get to celebrate when they celebrate… it’s exciting.

I remember when my business coach bought her new forever house, there was a part of me that was like “yay…0.0000000002% of my money helped her do that for her and her family” and that felt good.

Get used to celebrating your money wins

I have been tracking my income and my value in (freebies etc) for the past 4 years, and you can bet you I celebrate when I smash my income targets. I can remember the first ￡300 I made in my business from the first weekend sales of my first ebook….I brought new knickers yay!!

I can remember selling out 500 t-shirts, and reinvesting some of that money back in new stock….and the rest in a short family holiday.

And you can bet you when I had my first ￡15,000 month last May…I was sure to share that news with my mastermind buddies, business friends and anyone else that was remotely interested…because I refused to feel ashamed of that success.

Look.

Business is quite simply just an exchange of value.

I give you something you want or need, and in return you give me what we both agree it is worth…if we both walk away happy, its a win win…shit even the taxman wins right?

While you hold onto shame around making money you do yourself a disservice, and your customers, the economy more generally, and the evolution of this world.

Staying poor, and economically trapped helps nobody.

Trust me I know…I’ve been there and have no desire to go back.

So be brave, be bold…deal with that money shame, get out there and sell the true value of your products and services, and let’s do some good in this world with our wealth…or buy more shoes…shoes are always a brilliant second option.

If you would like to learn more about how I overcome money shame and take inspired action to inject cash into my business, join my FREE 10 day money challenge which starts on the 13th September.

Whether you’d like to make your first ￡1000 or make ￡10K in 10 days it doesn’t matter, I am going to show you the tried and tested system I have used over and over again to grow my successful coaching businesses.

Sign up here

Oh…and while I have your attention. I dare you to copy and paste this post, and share it on your social media feeds. Use it as an opportunity to share some of your own thoughts around money mindset….feel free to use the hashtag #iblamejulie and I will come and have a look at what you are up to.