Building a successful business can certainly bring with it many challenges.

While there are practical steps you can take to overcome some of the more common business obstacles (such as marketing, planning and setting up key business systems), it’s the inner challenges that are often the most difficult to overcome.

Especially when it comes to fear, like:

• Fear of success
• Fear of failure
• Fear of not being liked
• Fear of being judged
• And the list goes on

Left unchecked, fear can cause all sorts of issues for us including three common things that can potentially shatter your dreams of building a successful business.

Recognise any?

1. Doubt

Self-doubt and lack of self disbelief can certainly shatter the dreams of any heart-centered entrepreneur.

As Marty Rubins so aptly says: “Self doubt inflicts the deepest wounds.”

Is your doubt and fear inflicting deep wounds?

Is your inner critic working overtime by saying:

• Others can achieve those things but I’ll never be able to.
• How on earth can I possibly reach that goal?
• There’s just no way…it’s impossible for me.

Then heed William Shakespeare’s words, when he said: “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”

Is your fear and doubt stopping you from even trying to build a successful business?

As Vincent Van Gogh said: “If you hear a voice within you say: ‘you cannot paint’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”

Isn’t it time you silence your inner voice? YES!

2. Disregard

Do you need to make a decision that has the potential to take your business to the next level?

• A new coaching program that has you investing in yourself at a much higher level – yet scares the crap out of you.
• A joint venture opportunity that you never thought possible – yet has you holding your breath as you realise you’re now going to have to play a much bigger game.
• An opportunity that would allow hundreds of people to hear your message – yet has you scared stiff because you fear speaking in public.

Ignoring, avoiding or ‘putting off’ having to make your decision is just fear keeping you stuck.

As Aeschlus said:”There is no avoidance in delay.”

And, the cost of avoiding the situation is far greater than you may realise.

Ivana Pejakivic B.Sc., M.A. identified 5 major consequences of avoidance.

Even though she was speaking about parents and teenagers the consequences still relate to entrepreneurs, namely:

• Feeling disempowered
• Low self-esteem
• Low self-trust
• Unhappiness
• Bad habit formation

As you can see, the cost of avoidance and disregard is HIGH!

Isn’t it time you STOP fear in its tracks by taking the courageous step forward and making your decision? YES!

3. Distraction

Demanding to-do lists (i.e. busyness syndrome), drama and disorder in your business and life are all great ways of stopping you from focusing on the decisions (or actions) that will drive your business forward.

Busyness syndrome can give an entrepreneur a false sense of hope and security believing that what they are doing is helping them grow their businesses.

It’s not.

Being busy does not mean you are being productive.

Are the tasks you’re working on bringing you closer to your goals in the most efficient and effective way? Be honest.

As Christel Quek wrote in her article Busyness Kills Business: “Busyness gives us less time to think, hope and dream. Do not let Busyness kill what matters to you.”

Are you ready to STOP letting busyness get in the way of building a successful business? YES!

In closing:

Fear and doubt are NOT your reality. Your fear and doubt is just your ego trying to convince you to remain stuck, which is something my mentor often reminds me of.

While your ego is strong; know that YOU are far stronger.

So, how do you overcome your fear?

By taking a courageous step forward.

Eleanor Rossevelt sums it up perfectly when she says:

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in face. You MUST do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

And from Dale Carnegie: “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Let me ask you this:

• “What if fear and doubt were no longer important to you?”
• “What would you have to believe to make that possible?”
• “What decision would you have to make to make it possible so you can go out and get busy?”

What action do you need to take to make this happen?

Perhaps signing up for one of my Business Breakthrough Strategy Sessions so we can pinpoint some of the gaps and the RIGHT action steps you need to put into place? YES!

What are you waiting for?

Let’s get busy – TODAY!

Pricing.

Ugh!

It’s a topic that many heart-centered solopreneurs dread because it’s confusing and raises many questions, including:

• “Where should I start?”
• “Will prospects see the value I offer if I charge that much?”
• “Why are some businesses able to charge a high fee (that nearly had me choking) yet I’m stuck pricing myself at the lower end and still struggling to sell my services?”
• “I’m pricing my services at the lower end hoping to attract more people – and it’s still not working. What am I doing wrong?
• And the list goes on…

HELP!

So why do so many solopreneurs (including you too, perhaps) struggle with their pricing?

I’ve identified three reasons:

• Your Money Mindset, which impacts:

• Your Self-Belief and Self-Worth, which impacts:

• Your Influence and Impact Status.

Let’s look at each of these three areas more closely.

1. Your Money Mindset

The beliefs you have about money (i.e. your money mindset) will either help you or hinder you from getting paid what you’re worth.

Is your money mindset helping or hindering you?

For many years my money mindset hindered me.

“You have to work hard for your money” was what I heard growing up, and is the unconscious message I continued to tell myself as an adult.

I ‘assumed’ that making money was hard – so for many years struggled and worked to the point of exhaustion and frustration. [Thank goodness I now have a MUCH healthier and supportive money mindset and belief].

Did my parents mean for me to create this unhelpful money belief and have it impact me in such a negative way?

Of course not.

They wanted (and still do) the best for me. They wanted me to have a strong and conscientious work ethic.

They were doing what they felt was best for me; they had my best interest at heart.

As did your parents.

The great thing is that I know now that I HAVE A CHOICE and CAN CHANGE MY BELIEFS.

And SO CAN YOU – these following articles will help you get started:

• 3 Common Money Mindset Beliefs that can Keep You Stuck
• Magnetic Money Mindset: Are You Attracting Or Repelling Money in Your Business
• Women Entrepreneurs: How Your Money Story Can Keep You Stuck

2. Self-Belief and Self-Worth

Is your level of self-belief and self-worth energetically pushing potential clients away because you doubt the value you offer?

A lesson I learned years ago was that it was vital for me to operate at a vibrational level where I wanted my clients to step up to.

That meant if I wanted clients to invest in my high-end programs, I needed to be investing in high-end programs too.

The excuse I kept telling myself “I can’t afford it” was keeping me playing small. And, the unconscious message I was telling myself (when I kept repeating "I can't afford it") was “I’m not worth investing in higher end programs.”

So, I made the decision – NO MORE! I AM worth it.

I raised my level of self-belief and self-worth, stated that I WAS worth it and invested in a high-end business coaching program.

It was the scariest thing I had ever done – however the payoff was incredible.

My confidence increased, I started to attract high-level clients, and I quadrupled my fees, with clients happy to pay me what I was worth.

I’m sure this would never have been possible were if not for me believing in myself, recognising I WAS worth it, and valuing the work I offered my clients.

Do you need to raise your level of self-belief and self-worth? Check out these articles:

• How Rich is Your Self-Worth Account
• The Self Belief Movie

And if this is something you want to bust through FOR GOOD, why not apply for one of my Business Breakthrough Strategy Sessions.

3. Your Influence and Impact Status

How influential and irresistible are you to your prospective clients? Do they seek YOU out rather than your competitors?

To stand firm and confidently in your pricing you MUST continue to build your credibility, visibility, and desireability out in the market place.

If not, it’ll be difficult to increase your pricing to a level that you are being paid what you’re worth.

Have you defined your niche or are you trying to be all things to all people? Being seen as a Jack-of-All-Trades and a Master-of-None is unwise and NOT what you should be striving for if you want to get paid what you’re worth.  Being seen as a specialist however, will.  Niche, Niche, Niche.

Do you have a powerful Signature Brand that distinguishes you from your competitors and confirms why YOU are the go-to person in your field?

Are you marketing and communicating your programs as THE solutions to your ideal clients needs in an irresistible way?

You should be – especially if you want to attract high-end clients who will pay you what you are worth.

Here are a few articles to help you:

• Niching: Aim Small to Grow Big
• Pricing Perils: Why Selling on Price & Not Value Can Cripple Your Business’s Growth
• 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Pricing Your Services

Another thing that will negatively impact your reputation, influence and impact is to slash your prices or offer discounts as the only way to get clients.

Here’s why:

• Your prospective clients may just think you’re not experienced or not very good at what you do if you’re too cheap.

• Getting into a pricing war with your competitors is NOT something you want to get caught up in, especially if you want to position yourself as a specialist and get paid what you’re worth. Do you want to continue feeling undervalued and underpaid? I hope not.

• Lowering your prices and offering discounts is sending the wrong message to a prospective client that you are a cheap alternative. You’ll also continue to attract the wrong type of client – the demanding client who pays very little yet expects you be at their beck and call. Do you want to continue attracting that sort of client? NO!!

Strengthen your self-belief and recognise the value you offer; stop telling yourself you can’t afford it and recognise you ARE worthy of investing in higher-end programs yourself; and continue to take the actions steps that will help you build your credibility, influence and impact so you can continue to increase your pricing and offer high-level programs that your ideal client will love and want to invest in.

Are you an ambitious entrepreneur? Looking to grow a successful profitable business?

I’m frequently asked the question “What can I do to get more clients?” which got me thinking that YOU might have the same query.

So, I’ve scoured through hundreds of my previous posts and have compiled the following list for you.

These 7 articles will get you thinking about the key things you’ll need to have place to attract a steady flow of ideal clients who will pay you what you’re worth.

I hope you find them helpful!

Bonus Tip – Don’t Give Up – How to remain focused

Building a successful business can often present numerous obstacles and challenges.

If you feel like you’re at the brink of giving up – don’t! This article shows you three things you can do instead to turn yourself around to ensure your success.
→Feel like giving up? Don’t! Three powerful steps to ensure your success

1. 10 Quick & Simple Actions Steps

Time poor?

Here are 10 quick and simple things you can do to boost your visibility to get you out in front of your ideal clients → 10 tips to help you get more clients

2. Random acts of marketing

Are you an entrepreneur who likes to ‘go with the flow’?

Don’t set yourself up for disappointment because you’re doing one of these → 5 random acts of marketing that will stunt your businesses growth.

Avoid them at all costs.

3. Niching – one of THE KEY foundations of a successful business

Think that by offering your services to anyone and everyone you’ll grow your business much more quickly?

I’m sorry to say – you’re mistaken.

My article → Niching: Aim small to grow big will show you why it’s so important to niche and get clear on WHO your ideal client is.

4. Boost your credibility with great content

Want to build your reputation as a specialist in your field by creating articles, tips and resources your ideal client will love?

→ Build your credibility with content your ideal client will love will show you how.

And, I’ve also got some tips on how to overcome writer’s block to get your creative juices flowing.

No more staring at a blank computer screen (or blank piece of paper)!

5. Increase your authority and client list with a blog

Heard about the value of building a blog but unsure on how, or where to start?

Perhaps you just don’t have the time to keep your blog up-to-date?

→ Learn key tips and strategies on how to increase your authority and client list with your blog and why as a service-based business your reputation and business’s survival depends on it!

6. How to nurture your list / database

Disheartened about the number of people who unsubscribe from your list each time you send out a newsletter or email to your database?

Perhaps it’s because you’re doing the things I’ve written about in my article → Help! People are unsubscribing from list. What am I doing wrong?

Stop doing them!

7. 51 ways to increase your credibility, visibility and hireability

Still looking for more ways to get more clients? Here are → 51 ways to increase your credibility, visibility and hireability

Which steps are you already doing? Are they working for you?

Which steps will you be doing moving forward? Let me know!  It’s always great to hear from you!

Recently, when speaking to a group of entrepreneurs, I asked them the question:

“What is it about running your own business that you love?”

To which many responded:

“Being my own boss; being of service to my clients; and being able to make a real impact in their lives.”

The passion they had for their work was certainly obvious.

What about you?

Are these some of the reasons why you love running your own business, too?

Interestingly, with these entrepreneurs, while they loved their work and the difference they were making in the lives of their clients, one of the things they didn’t enjoy when it came to running their business was having to price and sell their services.

In fact, the sales conversation and answering the question “So, how much do you charge?” was something they dreaded, continued to struggle with, and would much rather avoid.

Do you find yourself struggling with this as well?

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’d have heard me mention over and over again (in my newsletter and my Ambitious Entrepreneur Show podcasts) about the importance of moving away from charging by the hour by creating packages and programs.

Why?

Because charging by the hour:

• Devalues your expertise (as business owners will often undervalue their expertise and therefore undercharge);
• Has limited income potential (as there are only so many hours in the week); and
• Makes it difficult to position yourself as a specialist. Rather, you become a commodity because prospects will often do the ‘comparison ring-around’ to compare your hourly rate with other coaches. There’s nothing worse than having to justify your fee to a prospective client.

While I’m excited to see so many coaches now developing and offering packages and programs to their prospective clients, there are still 3 common problems I see occurring.

Problems that continue to undermine and undervalue their services so they still end up underrating and undercharging for their expertise.

Here they are so you can avoid them:

1. Including way too much in your packages

While it’s important to create value across all levels of your programs, it’s important not to add too many things in each package.

Filling your packages with too many elements can overwhelm a client, and an overwhelmed person will often end up doing nothing so remain stuck. Something I’m sure you don’t want your client to experience.

Another thing you’ll want to avoid (and this is a HUGE no-no) is putting too much access to you in your lower-end packages.

Remember, your time and your expertise is valuable so being accessible at any time of the day, whether it be via email, a private Facebook group, or any other platform that you have incorporated into your program is NOT valuing your time and expertise.

Increased access to you should be included in your higher-end program where clients are paying you well for the additional time you are available to them and expertise you offer.

Are you providing too much content and too much access to you in your lower packages? Make sure that revisiting and tweaking your packages is something you do – pronto!

2. Differentiating your packages with access to you

Creating lower- to higher-end packages with the only difference being access to you is something else you should avoid.

For instance:

• Package 1: 3 hours coaching with you
• Package 2: 5 hours coaching with you
• Package 3: 10 hours coaching with you

Why?

Because it doesn’t pass the ‘irresistible and impact’ test and it’s far more difficult to get prospects to invest in your higher level packages.

Instead, include other elements in your packages, such as video or audio recordings; done-for-you templates; step-by-step worksheets; a luxurious spa experience; or a complementary VIP ticket to one of your live workshops, just as an idea.

I’m sure you’ve got lots of content that you’ve created over the years that you can bundle and incorporate as a value-added element to your packages. Make that a priority!

3. Your description is boring and uninspiring

In my article Magnetic Marketing: How Irresistible Are You – Really I spoke about the importance of creating benefit-driven, creative headings and program descriptions.

This is crucial with your packages as well.

Are you naming your packages Bronze, Silver and Gold or Sapphire, Ruby or Diamond Packages? These titles are quite vague and again, would find it hard to pass the ‘impact and influence’ test.

One of the key steps I take all of my clients through as we develop their Signature Brand is to identify their Primary and Influencing Archetype.

Once we know their Primary and Influencing Archetype we’re able to come up with some fantastic on-brand program titles by incorporating key words and phrases that describes their core brand message perfectly.

For instance, if you were the Primary Archetype of Alchemist you may include words such as Transformation, Possibility or Change in your program titles and descriptions.

• Declutter Your Home & De-Stress Your Life VIP Intensive

If you were the Primary Archetype of Artist– you may incorporate words such as Authentic, Freedom or Unique in your program titles and descriptions.

• Unlimited Potential: Craft Your Authentic & Profitable Signature Brand Workshop

Do your package titles and program descriptions sound a little lackluster? Take out your coloured pencils and your creative juices and come up with something that’ll knock your prospects’ socks off and have them lining up ready to invest in you!!

YOUR SAY:
Do you need to go back and revisit some of your packages? What unique elements have you incorporated into your packages that is making them irresistible Let me know – it's always great to hear from you! And, please share this article with your friends and colleagues – I'd really appreciate it!

I’m sure you know how important it is to have the correct systems and tools in place to ensure your business’s growth – right?

But what about having the correct money mindset?

Do you realise it’s vital to have the right money mindset to ensure your business’s growth, too?

Every single one of us has a money mindset – these are the beliefs and stories we have regarding money.

These beliefs and stories can either be helpful – so you can attract clients, opportunities and money. Or, your beliefs and stories can be unhelpful – making it difficult to secure clients, opportunities and money.

And, unfortunately for some people, their money mindset is such that it repels clients, opportunities and money.

But, more on that later.

A question my clients often ask me is: “How are our money mindsets developed?”

Our money mindset (the beliefs we have around money) are developed when we are very young  - shaped by what we heard and observed as our parents managed (or in some cases – mismanaged) their money.

Can you remember what you heard your parents say about money as you were growing up?

What about how they managed their money?

My parents had experienced a war, where not only money was scarce – but also food.

Several years later with three young children under foot, they migrated from Holland to New Zealand and had to start over from scratch in a new country with very little. Later when I can along, it meant that the stories I heard growing up were: “You have to work hard and look after your money, because you never know what may happen in the future.”

Every cent was carefully managed and nothing ever went to waste, was what I observed.

So for me, I develop the belief and money mindset that to get anywhere in life, I had to work hard.

Extremely hard – and often exhausting.

Thankfully, I’ve been able to work through a lot of my unhelpful beliefs and repelling money mindset through my training as a Money Mindset Breakthroughs Coach, so that money, opportunities and clients who pay me what I’m worth, is much easier.

Through my work with clients – here are 9 unhelpful money mindsets and beliefs that I often will see that are not magnetic at all and continue to repel opportunities and keep them stuck.

How familiar are they to you?

1. Prospects won’t see the value and won’t invest in my services
2. I have to work hard to get new clients
3. If I get busier I’ll lose my free tie
4. People will judge me and think I’m no good
5. People won’t be interested in what I have to offer
6. I’m not worthy
7. I’ll always struggle to stand out
8. No matter how hard I try – I just can’t sell
9. Wanting more money is being selfish

Guess what? [And this is important to know]:

• If you believe your prospects won’t see the value and won’t invest in you – you’re right.

People you speak to will fail to see the value in your packages and programs and they won’t hire you.

• If you believe you have to work hard to get new clients – you’re absolutely right.

You’ll have to work hard and every step will feel exhausting and difficult.

• If you believe you’ll struggle to stand out in the market place – you’re right.

You’ll find it hard to attract the attention of your ideal client and will most likely remain invisible.

I could go on – however I’m sure you’ve got the picture.

Even Henry Ford said:

“If you think you can – if you think you can’t – you’re right!”

Why is this? Because you’ll continue to seek the evidence you need to prove your belief is true.

That’s the way it works.

You see, your values and beliefs are at the core of who you are.

A belief is an internal feeling that something is true for you – even if that belief is untrue, exaggerated and/or irrational. Your beliefs impact the decisions you make and the actions you take – or don’t take. And, the actions you take (or don’t take) impact your outcomes.

If you think people won’t see the value you offer and they won’t hire you, you won’t spend the time you need to properly define your idea client. You won’t understand their needs and desires, which will prevent you from putting together an irresistible offer, so your prospect won’t resonate with your message and therefore won’t hire you.

Guess what – you’ve just sought out the evidence you needed to confirm your belief is true, which in this case is that no-one will hire you.

Your money mindset/belief creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Is it possible to change this situation?

Absolutely?

How?

By changing your beliefs.

Change Your Beliefs –> Change Your Outcome

Let’s try it by changing: No-one will hire me TO “My ideal client will love what I have to offer and will hire me” and see how that can impact your actions and your outcome.

See how powerful it can be?

It’s up to you. Which do you choose – Scenario 1 or 2?
YOUR SAY:

Do you recognise any of these unhelpful money beliefs? What action will you take to change your belief?

It saddens me…

What – you ask?

To see talented coaches – who despite offering incredible programs to support their clients achieve their dreams and goals, continue to struggle to get new clients and achieve their own dreams and goals, which is to build a successful coaching business / practice.

Can you relate?

Despite your best efforts and ongoing marketing, no-one is signing up to your programs; your list is growing at a snail’s pace; and each time you send out a newsletter the number of people who unsubscribe from your database is frustrating and disheartening.

If you’ve been following me for while to create influence and impact with your ideal client you’d have heard me stress the importance of:

• building the elements of know, like and trust with your ideal client;
• being familiar with and using the keywords and phrases your ideal clients uses; as well as
• showcasing your ability to provide a solution(s) to your ideal client’s problem(s) in all of marketing messages – from your tweets, posts, sales pages, right through to the titles of your programs.

It’s vital.

However, if you’ve changed and tweaked your marketing messages and your prospects are STILL not converting into clients – don’t despair or give up.

It may just mean that the language and phrases you’re using in your message is not as irresistible or magnetizing as you think. In fact, what may be happening is that you’re repelling your prospect because your word choice and marketing message is complicated, unclear and confusing.

Here are three common ways I see coaches confusing and turning away their ideal client because their marketing messages are complicated, unclear and confusing.

See if you recognise any:

1. You’re using jargon:

While you may be expertly trained in the latest modalities and methodologies that can support your clients in overcoming their problems, providing a lengthy explanation about the ins and outs of these modalities is NOT what will make your irresistible.

I remember attending a meeting where a Life Coach provided a detailed explanation of the modalities she used in her programs including who developed them and what they entailed.

By her second paragraph the energy of the audience had plummeted and people’s eyes were glazing over. They had no idea what she was talking about and had switched off.

In fact, after she had finished speaking – two people at my table were chuckling between themselves – commenting that they felt like they had just ‘escaped the twilight zone.”

Very sad.

Here was this Life Coach with an amazing ability to support people who were experiencing grief and loss, however because of all of the jargon and industry terminology she had used to describe her services – the message had become complicated, unclear and confusing.

Lesson:  This is where the KISS principle comes in beautifully – Keep It Simple Sweetheart.

2. You’re using too many concepts:

While I’m all for being creative and having unique, on-brand titles for your programs and packages, ensure they don’t include too many concepts.

Too many concepts in the one heading/title can confuse people.

For instance, as a Life Coach you may be able to help people within their career, their relationships, their finances or reclaiming their purpose and passion. However, trying to include all of that in one program title would be confusing.

As a Career Coach you may be able to help clients define their ideal job, write a powerful resume, and help them develop influential interviewing skills, right through to hitting the ground running as they transition into their new job – and everything in between.  Trying to include all of that into one program title again, would be confusing.

Lesson: Don’t include too many concepts, and don’t include unrelated concepts into your program headings/titles.

As an example: Stand Out, Get Hired AND Get Paid What You’re Worth VIP Intensive Program, or the: Explore & Define Your Life’s Calling in 30-days VIP Program would be better.

3. You’re using vague and uninspiring phrases/words

This is the opposite to point number two, where the descriptions and headings are vague and uninspiring.

I’ll often see coaches title their packages Bronze, Silver and Gold or Sapphire, Ruby or Diamond Packages, to name a few.

While there's nothing wrong with using these phrases in your packages, because so many other coaches are using them, you won’t be able to stand out in the market and you won’t create magnetism or become irresistible to your ideal client.

Read these titles:

• Bronze Package
• Silver Package
• Ruby Package

Do any of these titles jump off the page and have you wanting to learn more? Do they have you itching to make an investment?

I wouldn’t think so.

In my work with coaches once we identify their Primary Archetype we are able to come up with on-brand program titles by incorporating key words and phrases that describes their core brand message perfectly and resonates with their ideal client.

For instance, if you were the Primary Archetype of Romantic you may include words such as Connection, Magnestism or Caring in your program titles and descriptions.

• Become a Client Magnet 30-day VIP Intensive

If you were the Primary Archetype of Ruler – you may incorporate words such as Dominate, Influence or Elite in your program titles and descriptions.

• Dominate Your Industry in 90-Days VIP Intensive

Lesson: Stay away from the overly used program titles and incorporate descriptive words that are on-brand, magnetizing and irresistible to your ideal client.

You’ll soon have prospects flocking to your door wanting to know more and how they can work with you!

Try it!

YOUR SAY:

Do any of your program titles needs to be tweaked? What ‘aha’ did you have? Perhaps you’ve got a program title that is generating lots of interest already for you? Go ahead and share. It’s always nice to hear from you!

Yesterday I shared the following my money mindset tip on my Facebook page, which sparked a number comments and reactions:

Bartering because you can’t afford help? This could be a barrier. What’s stopping you from making the income you need to hire someone?

One of my community members asked:

“What’s wrong with battering? Makes a whole lot more sense all the way around than spending money.”

Interesting!

I say ‘interesting’ for a number of reasons.

1. Your Team is an Investment NOT a Cost

I don’t believe that hiring staff is ‘spending’ at all.

I look at it as an investment in your business – especially if you hire the right staff for the right jobs.

Why?

Because as a small business owner, with only so many hours in your day, you want to make sure the activities you work on continue to get you out in front of, and connecting with, your ideal client.

Working on general administrative and other tasks that a support team can support you with will NOT enable you to work on important income-generating tasks.

One of my 6-Figure Business Success clients recently told me that she had been doing her own bookkeeping (a task she loathed and dreaded) for years. However after one of our coaching sessions, she realised just how much NOT hiring a bookkeeper was costing her.

It wasn’t just costing her the 3-4 hours it took her to enter, reconcile and report her quarterly financial information to the taxation office.

It was also costing her dearly in terms of energy and concentration.

Without fail, two weeks or so leading up to the reporting deadline she would start getting anxious and annoyed as she knew she was going to have to work on her bookkeeping again.

Her frustration prevented her from concentrating fully on the tasks at hand, which significantly impacted her energy and productivity levels.

Thankfully, she had a breakthrough and invested in her first team member.

The bookkeeper she hired took less than an hour to complete the work and my client was able to use the 3-4 hours she would previously spend on her financials on revenue-producing tasks.

This was a HUGE money breakthrough for my client AND has been so successful that she’s now in the process of hiring an administrative team member to take on some of the clerical duties.

Lesson:  Not investing in team may be costing you more than you think. What’s the real cost to you and your business by not investing in the support you need?

2. What You Focus on Expands

Abundance or lack.

Guess what you’re focusing on when you barter because it’s the only way you can afford to get support?

Lack.

I don’t know about you – but I certainly don’t want to expand ‘lack’ or strengthen the belief that “I can’t afford help” or “I’m not generating enough income to be able to invest in team.”

Years ago when I first started my business I didn’t have the money to be able to invest in staff either. However I knew it was important for me to have an abundance-focused mindset that was working towards growth and expansion. So, I set a clear intention that I WAS going to be able to hire team – eventually.

With every client/job I received I put away a percentage of that income specifically for the purpose of getting support.

That amount grew steadily to the point where I was able to invest in support on a casual/part time basis and as my business grew, so did my support team.

Lesson: Set a powerful intention and take the action you need to ensure you are focusing on what you want to expand. Abundance and Growth!

3. How to Avoid Disappointment

Battering relationships can turn sour – especially if you don’t have a formal agreement in place.

Unfortunately, I’ve heard of many situations where a bartering relationship has ended in frustration and disappointment because one of the parties was either not able to complete the work or it wasn’t completed to the expected standard.

To avoid disappointment make sure everything is documented, including all expectations and requirements and the required completion date.

Lesson: Document everything down so that both of you are aware of your obligations AND what will occur should either of you not be able to deliver what you had agreed to.

MY PERSONAL MESSAGE:

YOUR SAY: What do you think?  Go ahead and share your comments below. It’s always good to hear from you!