As a business owner, money is likely on your mind a lot. Is there enough of it? How should I spend it? Is it safe to spend? Will there be enough to buy the equipment I need? Will there be enough to hire someone? What happens if I run out?
So many of these questions revolve around a scarcity of money. We’ve trained ourselves to think this way. It’s unfortunate that we live in this kind of “lack” mentality, and it’s possible to adjust your money mindset with some work.
I’m not a therapist but I am a money coach for business owners. I’ve heard a lot of money mindset challenges over the years and I’ve worked through some of these challenges myself.
My Own Money Mindset Story
I grew up in a home without a lot of money. My mom was a teacher, historically a low-paying profession, and my dad changed jobs a lot. Some of my earliest memories are of the adults in my life arguing about money. There often wasn’t enough, and there were a lot of arguments about this fact.
You might see how this might be uncomfortable for a child. It led to many beliefs I’ve had to uncover and heal in my adult life. The money script I find most prevalent, now that I have some disposable income, is this need to spend it to show that I have it since I didn’t have it when I was younger.
Now I know that doesn’t really make sense and it sounds strange for me to put that down in writing. But it’s true. I’m aware of this belief and routinely have to stop myself when I buy something to think about if I need something or if I’m buying something because of my belief that I need to show people that I can. Silly, right?
You’ve probably heard financial advice to ask yourself if you’re spending money on something that’s a “want” or a “need.”
I agree with this, but I think it’s important to take it a step further. You need to understand why you have the want in the first place. I know that my own “want” stems from wanting to prove to others that I now have money. But when I think about “want” vs. “need,” I can make a decision that I also want to have money in the future. That can help me decide to not buy the thing right now.
Changing Your Mindset
Many business owners have a scarcity mindset around money. They’re afraid to spend money because they’re afraid that revenue will drop or they’ll need money for something else down the road. And yes, that could happen. It probably will at some point. But having a scarcity mindset, which is also close-minded, causes us to miss out on so much.
I’m not suggesting that you go out and spend recklessly. But I am suggesting that you look at the possibilities out there, take control of where your finances are by implementing systems, and spend when you need to.
By allowing limiting beliefs to rule the way you’re managing your finances, you fail to look at creative ways to create more abundance in your life and business. For example, if you haven’t seen a revenue increase recently or you’re not growing as you’d like to, have you looked at your business model to see if you can make some tweaks?
A lot of gyms and fitness centers struggled during the pandemic because they had one way of generating revenue: in-person. I watched too many people close their minds to possibilities outside of that face-to-face model.
So many industries moved to virtual, including education…which may be one of the more difficult models to implement a virtual option successfully. Of course, it wasn’t perfect. But schools had no choice but to teach virtually. So they made it work. And over time, they made changes and improvements to better support kids.
We have to put in the effort and work to change our mindset and our circumstances. Sometimes that means letting go of limiting beliefs, understanding our past experiences, and changing something we’re resistant to changing.
It’s not your fault that your money mindset is where it is, but you can adjust your money mindset to break the cycle.
If you’re feeling stuck and don’t know where to go next, you might need some support to get you over the hurdle. We can help! Often another set of eyes or someone to bounce ideas off of is just the thing to move you forward.