Unlocking Success: How Female Entrepreneurs Can Shift Their Money Mindset
Melanie MacIntyre
Unlock Your Feminine Edge ?? Business Strategist & High Performance Coach for ambitious Female Founders & Leaders ?? Launch ?? Grow?? Scale ?? International Speaker ?? | 3 x Bestselling Author ??
How do you feel about money??
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Does the thought of it make you feel icky??
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What about asking for it?
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Do you feel relaxed when you ask for a sale or does it give you the squirmy feeling in your tummy just thinking about it??
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Money has the ability to make us a little uncomfortable, even though we handle it every day.
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I don’t think a day goes by when we aren’t making some kind of monetary transaction. After all, it’s what pays the bills and keeps a roof over our heads. But equally, it’s a topic that many of us find tricky to navigate.
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The same can be said for business - perhaps even more so!
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You don’t have to look very far on LinkedIn to see posts discussing the pros and cons of transparent pricing or discussions around whether you should work for free or not.
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I imagine that many of you, myself included, have sat on calls with clients, dreading having to discuss your rates, worried about the silence that might follow when you blurt out a number.?
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There is a shame attached to the topic of money, but there doesn’t need to be. We need to be honest with ourselves - even if we are running conscious businesses, that align with our values and give us purpose, we are ultimately running businesses to earn a living. To earn money.
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And if we want successful and profitable businesses, the simple fact is we need to address our mindset when it comes to money.
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I say this with the caveat that this is easier said than done, but let’s unpick why that is and how we can start to change our beliefs around money and discover our worth and confidence to sell.
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Why Money Mindset Matters for Women Entrepreneurs
Historically, women have faced significant barriers when it comes to financial independence. We have had centuries of accepted societal norms that dictated that men controlled finances while women managed the household.
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And despite incredible progress in moving away from this old way of thinking, there are still remnants of outdated beliefs that impact women today, particularly within entrepreneurship.
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Research conducted by the Women’s Enterprise Scotland found that women start their businesses with 53% less capital than men . Limited access to funding is one of the biggest blockers female entrepreneurs face and it does very little to counter the self-limiting beliefs, doubts and worries women often already have about their business worth and their capabilities.
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Combined with gender bias and the pressure to balance work and family life, these obstacles compound a negative money mindset and ultimately hinder success.
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Yet there are glimmers of hope - in recent history, we’ve seen the first female head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde (who has since gone on to be the first female president of the European Central Bank) and at the time of writing, seen Rachel Reeves become the first woman to hold the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK.
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The rise of women in prominent financial positions fights the traditional narrative that we have long been fed and it lays the foundation for female entrepreneurs to take courage and control of their finances and change their mindset around money.
Common Money Mindset Misconceptions
Before we can tackle how we can change our money mindset, we first need to address the misconceptions many of us hold about money. I wonder how many of these sound familiar to you:
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If you find yourself muttering at least one of these beliefs, it’s likely to be deeply ingrained in your thinking, leading to self-doubt and ultimately underpricing your services.
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The gender pay gap will never close if we don't commit to selling our services at a price that is financially viable for us to pay ourselves well and fairly.?
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But these beliefs don’t just impact our earning potential. It also leads to a lack of personal financial planning. 48% of female business owners have never contributed to a pension, which will have a huge impact on their retirement income.
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This is often due to bootstrapping our business and paying ourselves less as we reinvest our own money into the business to sustain or grow it.
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And all of this comes from misconceptions that have been taught to us in one way or another throughout our lives - whether through direct education or even your parents attitude to money.
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But what if you decided now is the time to take action, to push past these beliefs that have held you back and start to adopt a more positive mindset about your financial potential.
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What difference might that make in your life and your business??
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Steps to Cultivate a Positive Money Mindset
A positive money mindset starts with a simple decision.
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To get more comfortable with numbers and commit to receiving more of it.
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No matter where you are currently, moving towards the goal of knowing your self-worth and having the confidence to sell your services (without selling yourself short!) will be worth it no matter how long it takes.
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Below are the steps I encourage you to start to take to move towards a brand-new and confident you!
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Awareness
Start by assessing your self-worth.
How confident do you feel on an average day in your business?
Look at the experiences that have influenced your current feeling of self-worth and how they relate to your potential.
These might be hard thoughts to sit with, but it’s important to understand your current mindset so you can go about making positive changes. That's why I always support my clients not only business strategy but also the inner work on your mindset and confidence that enables you to take the actions that lead to the biggest results.?
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Education
Empower yourself with financial literacy. Take courses, read books and seek out resources that can help you understand and manage your finances better. Knowledge is power - the more you know, the more confident you’ll feel!
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Positive Expectation
Expect good things to happen. Expect to make the sale.
Expect people to want the products and services that you offer.
Expect them to want to pay full price and to see and understand the value you offer.
This is where you can truly make a difference in your confidence and the results you create. And, it will rewire your brain for a more enjoyable relationship with money and work wonders to shift your mindset over time.
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Environment?
Look at your network - is it full of like-minded women like you who are supportive and actively working on a positive money mindset too?
If not, then it’s time to make a change. Join groups, attend events and build a community of women who are there to uplift and inspire each other.
Surrounding yourself with other business owners who are going through a similar transition or have already come out the other side will show you what is possible and boost your confidence at the same time.
This is exactly why I created my Business Incubator and Business Academy, to provide a safe space and inspiring environment to learn proven strategies and receive deep, transformational coaching whilst in community with other women just like you.?
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Coaching & Strategy
Consider hiring or at least talking to a conscious business coach or business strategist. As both a coach and strategist, I offer strategic recommendations and personalised guidance to help you navigate the challenges that can arise all whilst keeping you firmly on track and gaining momentum on your journey to a successful business and positive money mindset. And the first strategy session is on me - no charge and no catch .
Take the first step and join me in my FREE masterclass Confident to Sell.
Working together live we will identify exactly what moves you can make to connect with and convert more of your ideal customers.
We will review your existing sales strategy,
Create the perfect ‘Sales Eco-System’ and leave with a confidence-building action plan that you can work on every day to help you boost your confidence and start to adopt a positive money mindset.
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The Impact of a Shifted Money Mindset
Please don’t underestimate the power of committing to do the work on your relationship with money!
The impact of transforming your money mindset will be immense. You’ll unearth a new found confidence in your business and won’t think twice about increasing your rates or creating high-ticket products and services.
In turn, you’ll attract clients willing to pay beyond what you might have previously imagined and you’ll be able to expand your business in ways you might not have thought possible.
Don’t just take my word for it! My clients like the wonderful Libby have created some really amazing results beyond what they ever thought possible! When Libby joined The Feminine Edge Business Academy she doubled her prices and sold 2 of her new and improved offers within a week meeting her sales target for the month in only a few days.???
Huge thanks to the wonderful Mel MacIntyre for an inspiring day, and a chance to meet some amazing women bold enough to follow their hearts. It’s a week down the line and I’m still unpacking Mel’s pearls of wisdom. She is a first class business coach for women - get in touch with her if you’re considering carving your own path.
Dr Libby McGugan, Mentor, Writer & Speaker
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But the benefits of a positive money mindset go beyond financial success.
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The confidence you will gain will filter into other aspects of your life - you’ll be able to make better business decisions without being crippled in self-doubt and you’ll become more resilient and motivated to pursue your goals outside of business too.
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Would you love some partnership and support to finally feel good about selling and make those big dreams of yours a reality?
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Use this link to find some time for us to talk, remember, your first business breakthrough session is on me!?
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Your future self is thanking you already!?
Mel MacIntyre is a 2 x international bestselling author, keynote speaker, in-demand performance coach & business strategist, and the founder of The Feminine Edge Business Academy.
With 25+ years of experience as a leader, coach, and business consultant in a wide range of global businesses, Mel is on a mission to help women earn more money and claim their space without shame or self-doubt.
Her research-based signature framework The Feminine Edge is designed to help women create more wealth, balance, impact, and success without risking burnout or selling out. Because she deeply believes, we CAN have it all.
We just need to know how.
Mel is also an Ambassador for Women’s Enterprise in Scotland using her voice to represent and promote women and their businesses and has been featured in the Guardian, Yahoo Life, and BBC along with many more publications.