How Much Money Do You Really Want to Make?

As the new year approaches and many people and organizations start planning their financial goals, I wanted to share a model that's far more effective than just another budget.

When I work with people who are looking to change careers, entrepreneurs or people in organizations, they also often want to know how to make more money.  

A multi-media licensing company went from $8.5 million in revenue to $12.25 million in 9 months! A retail business went from going in the hole every month to $90,000 in savings in 5 months! There were no increased expenses, except what they paid for my services, which was relatively small compared to the increase in revenue.

The approach I offer works for individuals and organizations of any size. It is harder for large organizations to implement due to embedded conditioning in language, behavior, beliefs, systems, antiquated business practices, conversations and so on. Yet it is possible.

How do I work with them?

We change the overall context of money, sales and generating income from that of a budget to that of a spending plan.

The way that most people approach managing money is to establish a budget.

What comes to you when you think of a budget? Most relate to it as they do a diet, i.e., that it’s restrictive, limiting, can be mis-managed. That there are good ways and bad ways to spend money.

The budget is based on the money currently in hand or expected to arrive. Focus is on the past and predictions, i.e., “we brought in this much last year, and due to xyz factors we expect or plan to increase it 10%,” something like that.

The alternative ...

… is based on abundance, possibility, imagination, a desired future.

We create a spending plan, asking, “What do you want to spend money on? Why? And how much?” It is not a clever name for a budget, but actually is a totally different context. It is based on desired outcomes and not predictions based on the past.

This is not positive thinking. Thoughts, feelings, beliefs and actions need to move into alignment with what is desired.

Creative thinking and strategizing with regard to sales are required.

This context is more interesting and exciting. It’s stepping into the power of declaration and opening to new possibility. Goals that had previously seemed unprecedented can be easier to reach because they are exciting, challenging and what we TRULY want instead of a little better than last year.

People are often afraid to “go for the gold,” because if they don’t make it, they feel like failures.

Imagine you are in sales, or the owner of a company and you would really like to bring in $1 million dollars this year. But last year you only brought in $750,000, so you decide you will predict a 10% increase and plan to make $825,000. Maybe you do or maybe you don’t. It’s not very exciting, so you actually may not.

But let’s say you go for what you really want: $1 million and you make $925,000. You can feel like a failure, as many do. Instead, notice: you made $100,000 more by going for what you really wanted, and you have momentum going forward!

These are key elements of a spending plan:

·      List everything you want to spend money on, why it matters to you and how much the item is. (If you are self-employed, how much you personally want to make, including taxes, is a line item.)

·      List what you are spending money on now and how much. You will create a plan to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

·      Notice the emotions that arise for each item – in both lists. If you notice any fear, doubt or sense of lack, for example, you want to do emotional work. (That is beyond the scope of this article.)

·      Notice beliefs and what you tell yourself. You want to have beliefs that support what you want. I am not talking about changing beliefs. They begin to change when you become aware of them and stop putting attention on those that don’t serve you – which are most! (80% of our thoughts are negative and 95% are repetitive.)

Working with a spending plan helps to reveal what is in the way of you making and having the money you want, whether as an individual or an organization.

Once you know how much you want to spend, then you decide pricing, new products and services, sales strategies, conversations, activities, and so on.

We don’t let the past or current market conditions dictate the future. Yes, we take those into consideration; we don’t ignore them. But we think of them as providing information.

And we bring about the future.

We want to be honest with ourselves. If we made $12 million last year and we want to make $100 million this year, that may be way too much of a stretch. It has to FEEL possible, otherwise we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.

We also need thinking, feeling, actions, a body and conversations that can “hold” that bigger number. We may need to do some work to expand our capacity to pursue that money as well as to receive and retain it.

I have found that many people tend to play small. Doing so is safe. We don’t have to see who we really are, what we are capable of and what is possible.

If you are ready to make more money, let's chat.

These are the ways I work:

·      One-on-one guiding and coaching with a customized program that is unique to you.

·      For organizations, individual and group programs designed to meet your needs.

Message me and we will schedule a time to talk.