How To Get Comfortable Putting Money Into Your Business - Page 6

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Social media advertising, online advertising, and events are the top things that help spread the word about a business and help them achieve their goals. However, each of those things typically costs money. Even running a banner ad on social media isn’t cheap, if you want it to run long enough and reach far enough to make an impact. But, not all women are comfortable spending money on their own business. One survey even found that, when it comes to calculating their own salary, female entrepreneurs pay themselves 28 percent less than their male counterparts. The women said that they felt in order to compete with male-owned businesses, they needed to charge less for their goods and services, resulting in smaller pay for themselves.

So, even women who go off on their own and begin their own businesses are creating forms of glass ceilings for themselves. There could be many complex psychological reasons behind this, but the important thing is figuring out how to put a stop to it. We spoke with Domonique Worship, a Career and Leadership Development Coach, about how women can get comfortable spending money on their business.

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Think big picture

“Once you’re a business owner, you’re a CEO, and you have to step into that CEO energy and make executive decisions. It’s really important to have a growth mindset and think big picture,” says Worship. She shared that something that helped her grow her business was thinking about Return On Investment (ROI). “Everything that you do should have an ROI.”

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Sometimes you can’t quite count it

Worship says that your ROI for any given investment isn’t always an exact number. “Sometimes it’s tangible. Sometimes it’s not.” As an example of an investment with an ROI that isn’t exactly measurable, she discusses hiring a virtual assistant. “That frees up time for you to do other things that have a higher earning potential.”

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Attach a dollar sign to your time

“Your time has a dollar value attached to it,” explains Worship. “Any time you’re spending time on things that aren’t generating income, that’s money that you’re losing. It doesn’t always seem that way because you aren’t exchanging dollars in a physical sense, but when you start to think of your time as an asset in and of itself, that leads to a powerful perspective shift.”

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Don’t think savings; think earnings

Women who are afraid to spend money on their business, whether that’s through an assistant, advertising, new equipment – you name it – may be worried about saving money. But Worship reminds us that type of thinking moves away from a growth mindset. “By investing in your career or business, you’re increasing your earning potential. You’re expanding the options that are available to you.  In the long run, you will be able to command a higher salary or to charge more for your services as a result of the investment you’ve made in yourself.”

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Spend intentionally

Deciding you’re worth investing in doesn’t mean becoming spend-happy. “It’s important not to just freely throw money out the window in the hopes something sticks,” says Worship. “It helps to be intentional and have a plan.” In her own business, Worship does quarterly planning. Each quarter, she asks herself what goals she’s focusing on, what expenses are associated with that, and what the ROI can look like for every dollar spent.

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Tackling feelings of “Am I worth it?”

For some, the resistance to spending money on their business comes from confidence issues. There can be feelings of, “Well, who am I to think that I deserve to spend like that on my business?” To that, Worship advises asking yourself, “‘What does my life look like ten years from now?’ For many, it’s being the CEO of a successful business. Think about that version of you. What sorts of decisions is she making? Tap into that energy. Think big picture. Think of the end goal and work backward from there.”

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Think many steps ahead

“When we’re just blindly making decisions or making purchases without the big picture in mind, it’s easy to lose sight of why [investing in yourself] is important. Be really intentional with every step that you take,” says Worship. With each investment you make, Worship says you should have a clear sense of what return you’re hoping to get from that investment.

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Remember your Why

“In addition to what you need to do, it’s also important to focus on who is it that you need to be,” says Worship. “That’s an important distinction. We are so focused as a society on the to-do list. Do, do, do. We don’t give enough attention to how we need to be.  So if you think about the CEO version of you, she is, I’m sure, confident, grounded, measured, and intentional. So think about who you need to be in order to step into that energy.”

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Coaches can shift your perspective

You’ve likely realized by now that a lot of this will require a shift in perspective. That’s where a good coach can come in. Even Worship, as a coach, has her own coach. “That investment lasts a lifetime and essentially pays for itself,” says Worship, adding that it ultimately allowed her to earn way more than if she had not invested in that. “Your career is a journey of continual growth. There is always something you can learn or improve on.”