Upgrade your money mindset to manifest more clients in your biz
When I first started pivoting from design to coaching, I was downright terrified about money.
I knew that THIS was the work that I was meant to be doing in the world.
THIS is the work in which my Future You clients are having amazing results like:
→ Quadrupling their revenue during a year of working together
→ Landing a $5k project after only a month of coaching
→ Filling over half their spots for a photoshoot in less than a week
→ Booking a long-term client from a single newsletter
→ Raising their rates and getting paid more than ever before
And yet, I was still scared.
I was scared that I’d never be able to get enough clients to make it work. I was scared to pivot away from the five-figure design projects in search of something more fulfilling. I was once again scared of leaving something that felt safe in pursuit of the unknown.
And if I’m being honest, sometimes I find those thoughts still creeping in. Because as any entrepreneur will tell you, there will always be ups and downs and if you’re not managing your mindset during that rollercoaster ride, well, those thoughts can really get to you.
And that’s exactly what was happening. All of those thoughts were causing me to wake up with anxiety about money around 3 am.
It was like clockwork.
My sleep was deteriorating, causing a snowball effect in my everyday life. I found it hard to show up consistently to generate more leads when I was constantly battling fear, self-doubt, and lack of sleep. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy and I didn’t know a way out of the endless cycle. Sound familiar?
I’m grateful I was on-it enough to seek out the support I needed or it’s possible I would have sat in that very same place for way longer than I actually did.
Heck, I see fellow business owners stay stuck for days, months, and sometimes even years, because they haven’t done the mindset work they need to shift the stories that are holding them back and start taking the RIGHT actions that will actually generate more sales.
I truly believe that it was the exact experience I needed to have to be able to share this story with you today, to save you time, money, and those very same thoughts of scarcity during sleepless nights.
Because what transpired after completely transformed my relationship with money. It’s been ages since I’ve had that pit-in-the-bottom-of-my-stomach feeling at 3 am.
So this week, I’m letting you in on the money mindset shifts that changed absolutely everything for me and consequently helped me to sleep through the night and make more of it in my biz so you can do the same.
Try the stop sign exercise
One of my very first homework assignments from my mentor was what I lovingly refer to as “the stop sign exercise.”
The concept was simple: each time I felt myself spiraling in negative money thoughts, I was to picture a stop sign and move on.
When I say “negative money thoughts,” I mean the stressing and the obsessing that would come with wondering where my next client would come from, mentally tallying how many months I’d be able to support myself without a new client, or the little pep talks I’d give myself that would just perpetuate the ups and downs.
I was told to try it out for a week and see how it went.
At the time, I was very skeptical… “How exactly is this going to help?,” I thought to myself.
But at that point, I really had nothing to lose and everything to gain from this exercise so I decided to give it a whirl.
What happened next was nothing short of incredible.
One week later and I already felt lighter. I was still waking up in the middle of the night, but I was able to get myself back to sleep fairly quickly instead of lying there for a half hour obsessing.
And because I was sleeping better, my overall perspective was also improving.
I was waking up more refreshed, I was feeling more productive in my workday, and I started to feel more empowered about the actions I needed to take to actually start seeing the results I wanted in my life and business.
Simply put, my mindset started to shift away from scarcity and tip the scale toward abundance… even if I wasn’t fully there yet.
So I decided to keep up with this practice for another week.
THIS is where the true magic happened. I realized that clients were coming in ANYWAY, even without the worry, fear, stressing, and obsessing.
The real breakthrough was that those negative thoughts about money weren’t serving me in the least.
They certainly weren’t inspiring me to take action, and if I could just ditch them altogether and have money flow in on the universe’s schedule (because let's be serious, the obsessing wasn't making it happen on my schedule anyway) well, let’s just say I was on board to see how that played out.
I see this all the time when I start with my Future You clients too.
I believe what we focus on expands.
So if they’re taking a ride on the hamster wheel of worrying and obsessing, it’s only going to increase the anxiety and perpetuate it.
When they’re able to break that cycle and try on a new thought, THAT is when they start to see new and different results in both life and business.
Give those money thoughts a container to work within
Now all this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t EVER think about money.
You’re running a business after all and it IS essential that you have a handle on your numbers so that you can charge your worth, make a profit, and see more money in the bank.
But the way I see it, there’s a difference between those thoughts that are productive and help you to have a better understanding of your business so you know what you can shift to see more results VS. the thoughts that aren’t doing a single thing to yield more productive actions or results (aka the crazy talk 😂).
The game-changer for me here was setting up proper boundaries around WHEN I’d allow those productive money thoughts.
Meaning, I didn’t have to think about money nonstop, but rather, could give it a timeframe to work within.
Because like anything else, most things expand into the container you give them. Or in my case, lack of container, so it was seeping into every aspect of my very being.
For me, that simply meant setting time aside to review my books each week.
That was a whole hell of a lot more productive than the constant worry AND it was based on actual numbers and facts. Here’s why that’s important:
Have you ever had those moments when you just “feel” broke because you don’t have as much going on as you usually do, only to look and your bank account and find that the money’s been coming in all along and that it had nothing to do with the amount of time you’re putting in? Or vice versa.
So this allows you to draw conclusions based on what’s ACTUALLY going on vs. what you THINK is going on, helping you to make better money decisions in life and business along the way. Amazing, right?!
Fear and gratitude can’t coexist
Now even with these two mindset tips I’ve mentioned, it can be easy to slip back into a scarcity mindset when things aren’t going your way.
This next mindset hack has been an absolute game-changer for my Future You clients, helping them to shift those thoughts IN THE MOMENT so they can experience more abundance in their day to day.
Personally, I found that thoughts of scarcity would come up for me when I was enjoying the freedom and flexibility of the life I’ve created for myself.
This would mean that when I was taking off early on Fridays because I had all my work buttoned-up for the week or going for mid-day runs with my puppy ‘cause why the hell not, that I would sometimes slip into a scarcity mindset.
I’d worry that my clients would all of a sudden dry up overnight or that months from now I’d wish I had used that time for marketing efforts instead.
In those instances, I’d shift my thoughts toward gratitude instead.
“I’m so grateful my business doesn’t require me to work the standard 9–5 and I have so much flexibility in my schedule to be able to take care of myself in this way,” I’d think.
Or “I’m so grateful I used my time efficiently this week and can take off early today.”
The point is that it’s hard for fear and gratitude to coexist. That fear that the money will dry up or there will never be enough can be shifted to gratitude that you’re able to invest in things that are aligned with your values or gratitude that your basic needs have always been provided for.
I bet you know which one of those thoughts is going to feel more aligned, empowering, and create more of what you want in your life and business.
Find your money mantra
Most of us have created our money stories based on old programming.
Meaning our thoughts about money are usually ones that were instilled in us as kiddos.
Seriously. The large majority of the population is walking around never having examined those beliefs that they hold about money, not to mention make any attempt to shift them.
But I think of this as amazing news. Because once we’re AWARE of those deeply held money beliefs, (i.e. “My industry is oversaturated” or “I won’t be able to get enough clients if I raise my rates”) we’re able to make an ACTIVE CHOICE to change that belief.
I always tell my Future You clients that they get to write the script when it comes to their relationship with money.
I’m pretty sure that we’d all rather be in the light-hearted rom-com where money is flowing freely than the psycho-thriller where you have a death grip on your wallet.
As you begin to shift those money beliefs to ones that are more supportive of the kind of abundance and success you’re looking to create, it can be helpful to develop a mantra or affirmation associated with SPENDING money.
My personal favorite is one I picked up from Kathrin Zenkina at Manifestation Babe, but I believed it originated with Marie Forleo.
Both ladies suggest that each time you make a purchase or swipe your credit card, to make a mental note that “there’s always more where that came from.”
I’m not saying to be reckless with your spending or take actions that aren’t in support of your higher goals.
But what I AM saying is that this belief makes it a lot easier to put my money where my values are.
It supports me getting coffee from the mom-and-pop shop down the block that charges a bit more than Starbucks because I believe in supporting other business owners doing the damn thing to run a small business.
I ESPECIALLY love this mantra because as entrepreneurs, there’s really no limit to the amount of money we can create.
That’s what business is, after all, exchanging value for money, and I know my people are creating some incredible value in the world.
But I also love that it reinforces my next favorite belief which is that the money you put out will come back to you in one way or another, sometimes tenfold. Which leads me to...
Spending vs. Investing
One of the main objections I encounter on discovery calls is, yep, you guessed it…
“I just don’t have the money.”
And I truly believe this stems from the belief that once you spend money, that’s it. It’s gone forever and you’ll never see it again.
But what I like to coach potential Future You clients through is viewing that spend as an investment: an initial spend that will come back to them bigger and better later on.
Because if you’re constantly viewing yourself as under-resourced and aren’t willing to get the support you need to make your business work, well chances are, you’re going to stay stuck.
Here’s the thing: Starting a business almost always requires initial capital.
We’re lucky to live in a time when many of us can run our businesses online and it’s so much easier to connect with a wider audience, test and change our strategies, and deposit our checks with the click of a button.
It’s easier to let the money flow in than it’s ever been in the past.
But it wasn’t always that way. In the good ol’ days you started a business by getting a hefty loan from the bank and you worked really damn hard to pay it off.
And I think more often than not, that’s exactly what people are afraid of.
They’d actually have to SHOW UP for that investment.
It means that they’d no longer be able to sit in a story about why it’s not working and hide from actions that feel like a stretch outside their comfort zone.
Simply put, they’re afraid of having to do the work.
Girl, let me tell you. I’ve been there too.
I’ve never SHOWN UP for myself and my business more than when I was paying to work with a coach to get more of the results I actually wanted.
Because working with a coach meant I could no longer tell myself that “I’m afraid of what others will think if I’m more visible” or that “I’m being annoying when I invite people to work with me.”
It meant I had to get out of my own way long enough to do the damn thing.
It held me accountable in a whole new way, as those large investments often do, because I knew that I WAS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE for doing the work.
But it’s exactly that work that makes your investment pay off in massive ways.
It’s how you see not only the money you want more of but consequently all of the things that money CREATES in your life (the freedom and flexibility, the beautiful home, the extended vacations, you name it) that make you actually FEEL successful.
The bottom line:
Upgrading my money mindset changed literally everything for me in life and business and I want you to have that too! So let’s recap what I’ve learned:
When it comes to making more money in your business, your mindset is the one thing you have 100% control over and can create a daily practice around.
So it’s your responsibility to actually DO THESE THINGS that boost your mindset and create a relationship with money that benefits your life and business.
I mean, really think about it, that underlying money mindset is going to show up in absolutely EVERYTHING for you, from how well you sleep at night to how you go about getting your next client.
Let’s clean up those beliefs around money so you can stop wallowing in a scarcity mindset and feeling like you’re not sure what to do or how and actually start DOING the thought work.
Because it’s in that thought work that you’ll start making confident, empowered decisions that create more abundance in your life and business and create more of what you actually want.
Ready to do the money mindset work you need to take that next step and book that next client? Of course you are! Join me for my absolutely free, Next Step, Next Client coaching call where we’ll uncover exactly how you’re holding yourself back from the results you want (and are totally possible for you!) and what you can do to shift them asap and start landing clients on repeat!
Tell me in the comments below:
What’s your absolute favorite mantra to improve your money mindset!?
Photography by Jennifer Morgan Photography
