Article by Amy Crumpton, Business & Mindset Coach and Founder of Social Cactus Coaching
Yet we are seeing this old-fashioned money mindset across many facets of society, with recent headlines about financially successful female entrepreneurs suffering online abuse for being open about their achievements.
But why is this still happening? Why does the gender pay gap still stand at 15.5%? In part, it’s down to money mindset.
I used to have similar mindset issues. Four years ago I had nothing in my purse, was thousands of pounds in debt, and was nicknamed ‘Thrifty Crumps’ because of how careful I was with money. I had been raised to believe that a £30k annual salary was not only desirable, but was around the pinnacle of what I could expect to achieve – and I am not alone in growing up with these beliefs.
So many of us are encouraged into employment, with entrepreneurship not considered a valid choice. Then, when we are in employment, we do what we need to keep it, and the financial security it brings. Women in particular are socialised through their lives to not ‘rock the boat’, and this is particularly true when it comes to having conversations about money.
Research has shown that women are significantly less likely than men to ask for a pay rise and that when they do, the increase is on average statistically lower. While some of this will be down to the company culture, a lot of this will be down to money mindset.
But what is money mindset? It’s simply your beliefs about money, often borne from things we were taught, shown and felt as children. If we lack confidence with money, feel undeserving of it in any way, or lack confidence in the value we bring, then we will always struggle to attract the amounts we want.
I’ve gone from living in debt to running a company with a £500k turnover, helping hundreds of women to fight their mindset problems so they can transform their success. But where should women who want to talk about money more get started?
Don’t be scared of your finances, whether they are in the black or in the red. Ever heard the saying “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”? This is particularly true with finances. Take a night to get really familiar with your incomings and outgoings. Track all sources of income for a month – not just from work, but tax rebates, finding a pound in the street, being given a free coffee – all of them.
Now you have more familiarity with your finances, how does it make you feel? Do you feel that you are bad at managing money, that you don’t have enough, or that in order to have lots of money you need to work harder? What would having ‘enough’ money look like to you? It may be uncomfortable, but explore where these feelings have come from. Journaling is a great activity to delve into those deeper, sometimes subconscious feelings. For those new to journaling, I suggest you start by writing a letter to money as though you were in a relationship – you will find it very revealing!
Demonstrate gratitude for the money that you have coming in, and learn to accept it as your norm. By recognising all of the ways that you attract money, you will attract more of it. By doing this regularly, you will learn to appreciate what you do have, rather than what you don’t have, and will become more comfortable with having more money come to you.
It is very rare that money is the end goal. We always want to earn X amount for a reason. Reasons might be to buy a bigger house; to invest in your business or development; to support charity; to outsource more tasks so you can focus on the things you love. When you’ve identified the reason, ask yourself why that is important to you? How will these things make you feel? When you are clear on your purpose, it will be easier to attract the money you want.
Every time you spend money, remind yourself that there is more where that came from. This will be much easier once you are practiced in your gratitude for all the money that you attract. By adopting a mantra of ‘there is always more money available to me’, you are training your brain out of a scarcity mindset and into an abundance mindset.
We all have the power to mould our beliefs from something that limits us and our capabilities into something that offers total expansion. By getting started with the above tips, you’ll be on the road to developing a positive money mindset and getting confident in talking about your finances.
Amy is a certified business and NLP mindset coach for coaches and service providers. She helps overworked, overwhelmed and underpaid coaches and service providers make more money while working less. She believes that achieving massive success in business isn’t about working yourself into the ground, it’s about creating a business that allows you to do the things you love. Amy is obsessed with results which is why it’s her mission to help business owners positively change their lives and business through her tried and tested business and mindset strategies. https://www.social-cactus.com/
