What's YOUR money story?

"A lot of business is about receiving. You have to feel worthy to receive".

I heard this on a podcast over the weekend, and it really rang true for me. We have to feel worthy in order to ask people to give us their money!

Money is a very triggering topic for a lot of coaches, therapists and other practitioners in allied or complementary health. Many really struggle to charge clients appropriately for their services. Many hate having to talk about money with potential clients! But if you cannot ask clearly for the fee you charge per session, or state the fee for your specialist program or package, how will you get clients?

This, I believe, is why so many therapists and coaches take low paying salaried jobs with digital therapeutic companies, or work for not-for-profits or charities that are sliding scale based or even funded through donation - because even though it means the practitioner is not being paid anything near what their service is actually worth, and in the case of digital therapeutics they get to use very little of their taught skills, let alone expand and grow into new learning and areas because the level of support is so constrained - text only, or a very short 10-15 minute session. Being 'employed' helps them avoid that awkwardness they feel about asking for money.

Practitioners in private practice can often also procrastinate or hide in 'busywork' in order to avoid having regular - and by regular I mean DAILY or minimum 3 periods in a week dedicated to discovery calls - where they do their selling.

• If you are doing everything except sharing your calendar and inviting people to book calls;
• If you are focusing on non-client busywork like reviewing your website copy for the gazillionth time;
• If you are projecting into the future and worrying about being too busy with too many clients - which stops you sharing your calendar and inviting people to book a call NOW;
• If you are dragging your feet on setting up a calendar so potential clients can easily book a discovery call/initial consultation;
• If you are procrastinating on getting a simple payment method in place;
• If you make it quite hard for clients to connect with you or take a while to respond to client enquiries;

These are all big clues that there is inner work to be done.

On some level, you don't feel worthy to receive money from people - strangers who are willing to pull out a card and send you some of their hard earned income. Again, let me re-state that is a big block for many coaches and therapists!

I've had to do a LOT of work on my own money story and relationship with money in the past 8 years. It is still a common topic for me in sessions with my own professional helpers and mentors. As I said in a recent post - new level, new devil!

If you are in private practice and need to achieve a certain number of clients each week/month in order to cover your cost of living expenses, take a holiday every year and contribute to your pension/401K - then you owe it to yourself to do this work.

Just so we are clear - when clients come to you looking for help, and you cannot clearly ask for what your service is worth, put good boundaries in place around payments, cancellation policy etc. this is what happens:

• You attract clients who look for discounts or who pay late - who hasn't had clients who regularly 'forgot their wallet'? (In the days before Apple/Google pay!)
• You attract clients who want more from you than you normally give - ie they'll email or text between sessions for more support.
• You attract clients who do not value your service, because YOU do not value your service!
• You waste a lot of time on discovery calls that do not convert, because you can't have that clear, unambiguous conversation about your fees.

There are more than enough clients out there for everyone, who WANT help and are prepared to pay the right person for the right support for them.

Any stories you are telling yourself about the economy, people not being able to afford private coaching/therapy, you not being able to raise your fees, set a fee and stick to it (no discounts), or create a specialist package at a premium price are all untrue.

All of these stories are driven by YOUR money story. Which can be re-written.

If any of this resonates, it is worth an hour or two of reflection and journalling.

I have a worksheet I have previously used myself, that has a great list of journalling prompts that will help you clear some of your money blocks.

Comment "eeek!" if you would like a copy of this valuable worksheet!

I'd also love to hear what you think - is your relationship with money helpful, or could it benefit from a review?

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