Ep #128 It's not about the money!Or is it? 

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In a recent group coaching call inside The EffortLESS CEO, one of my clients made a statement that raised my eyebrow a little bit. She said:

 "It's not about the money." 

She was saying this because she believes that her business serves a deeper purpose than just making money and supporting her lifestyle. And this is true. Her business does make an impact. It creates positive change. And it is about so much more than just generating revenue.

However, this statement is also shining a light on how we as women think and act when it comes to money. Without realising it, it speaks to our beliefs around money and how we are holding ourselves back from the abundance we want and deserve as women.

This isn't the first time this has come up in my coaching containers either. This is something so many women, especially those women who truly want to make the world a better place.

However, once you dig a little deeper you will find that a statement like “It’s not about the money” actually is actually more of a justification, a smokescreen for underlying beliefs that hold us back and keep us small as women in business.

If you dig into our history a little bit you will learn how social conditioning and how women were and are still raised today impacts our relationship and confidence when it comes to money. In South Africa up until 1994, not all women in this country were even allowed to vote (White women did have the right prior to 1994, but women of colour did not have that privilege. Married women were legally considered "minors", requiring their husband's consent for contracts and accessing credit. And this is something that happened globally. Not just in our country. Women are still paid on average 28% less than men. If you go to a restaurant for dinner, it is still very common for the bill to be placed in front of the man. Now, regardless of where you stand in terms of your opinion on this…it is obvious that we were raised and all the gender inequalities that we are still living today, have had a profound impact on how we think about, and deal with money. 

We have been taught by society, whether that was consciously or unconsciously, that we cannot be trusted with money. And so we doubt our capabilities. We don’t trust ourselves. We tell ourselves that we aren’t good with money. 

So when a woman says “It’s not about the money” I always want to know more. And when we investigate where this belief comes from and how it plays out in their business and their finances then we can clearly see how everything is about the money and how much money actually has control over them, versus they having control over it.

So let’s look at this belief:

It’s not about the money and let’s unpack it a bit.

What we are in essence saying when we say that it isn’t about the money, is that money doesn’t matter. It’s not that important. We discount it.

So we don’t set financial goals for our business.

We spend money unintentionally (often justifying the spending by saying things like…I deserve to have this…I have worked so hard…)

We undercharge for our services.

We avoid having financial discussions.

We avoid looking at the numbers inside our businesses.

And a lot of it is coming from a deeper belief that wanting money, having money is wrong. That if we want money it makes us greedy. That we don’t care about people. 

And this inhibits our growth. It actually stops us from making the kind of impact we want to and are capable of making. 

Money is undeniably a part of business. It deserves your attention. Money is a very useful tool. Having more of it will amplify your ability to serve people at a higher level. It will open doors for you to step into a new level of growth and contribution.

We need to stop telling ourselves that it is not about the money. If we care about our businesses, our clients, if we care about our country and the economy. If leaving a legacy is important to us. If making a difference matters.The money should also matter.

So, how do we shift this mindset? 

By giving money the attention it deserves. 

Pay attention to how you talk to yourself when it comes to money.

Are you telling yourself that you are not good with money?

How might this not be true? The more we question our beliefs around money, making money, managing money, the more we will empower ourselves and see that money doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care whether you are a man or a woman. It is available to us all. We simply need to believe that we deserve as much of it as we want.

Go and schedule a date with yourself to look at your money. To get comfortable with your numbers. Get your head out of the sand and take control of your money.

You can watch the video recording HERE

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