How does it feel to say the phrase “I love money”? Even in an empty room, it can trigger feelings of shame and guilt. Or it might ring true for you. It depends on your money mindset which is essentially your perception of and beliefs around money that influence how you think about, make and spend money. So it’s pretty important for business owners as we determine how much money we make and how we allocate money to grow the business. 

What has been underrepresented in the discourse around money until recently is that money is intrinsically emotional. Our relationship with money can be one of fear and shame or one of appreciation and respect. The emotions involved in our relationship with money unavoidably impact how much we make, how much we save and what we spend it on. So what exactly do emotions have to do with money and what does that mean for taking ownership of our financial situation?

Money is emotional

The human experience of money is fascinating. I...

Business mindset is vital to business success, whether you’re a small business owner just starting out on your own or the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. How can it not be? Your mindset is the framework of beliefs in which you process information and make decisions. 

For example, say you’re in a sales call with a potential client and they question your pricing, claiming it’s too expensive. Do you respond to that information by doing a U-turn, lowering your pricing and feeling guilty for attempting to charge so much? Or do you trust in yourself and your product or service and acknowledge that it's just not right for them right now?

It depends on your mindset AKA the perspective you choose to take. In that way, your brain can hold you back or enable you to achieve ambitious goals. 

How the brain can block business success

Do you feel like you are capable of more but you’re not sure how to actually achieve more? Of course,...

What’s the psychology of success? There are very few hard and fast rules in business. 

Some people become millionaires by selling low-priced products at a high volume. 

Other people become millionaires by selling high-priced VIP services at a low volume. 

Some people become millionaires by having a really specific niche. 

Other people become millionaires by having a pretty general customer base. 

Patterns begin to emerge when you examine the mindset of successful individuals. Most successful individuals invest in inner work to consistently show up as their best selves in their business, whether they're riding high during good times or navigating through tough challenges. A great example of this is fostering a growth mindset. 

Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset

The concept of a growth mindset was coined by Carol Dweck. Her focus was on academic success in students but it’s very widely applicable. Her work relates mindset to achievement. 

If...

There’s a good reason why I built my coaching business around journaling after using it myself for years and enhancing my knowledge and experience into practice during my Journal Therapy diploma. It’s a powerful tool for achieving meaningful results.

It's not just me saying that either, it's also backed by science. Among other proven benefits, this study shows that journaling can effectively reduce anxiety and check out this study to show that it can improve physical health too! It sounds crazy I know! It goes to show that when you look after your inner world using techniques like journaling, it reflects in the outer world.  

You may hesitate because it doesn’t seem like writing down your endless thoughts will particularly help you.  However, there is a strategic way to approach journaling for self-improvement that will allow you to enjoy benefits like these.

Reasons journaling can be so powerful

As the studies above show, journaling isn't...

Business isn’t always unicorns and rainbows. It’s a lot of hard work. That’s fuel for self-doubt and procrastination to fester, leaving you frustrated that you can’t make this ‘running your own business’ thing work. Well I say - You absolutely flipping can!

YOU can find YOUR way forward so you can achieve everything deep down you know you’re capable of, become the best version of yourself and enjoy a life that fulfils your truest wants and desires.

Like I said, this business thing isn’t easy and can get you stuck in stagnation (or a downward spiral!) Let’s start with bumping up your motivation and tripling your energy levels so you can do the damn thing. How? By spring cleaning your business! 

The 4 Part Spring Clean

Spring cleaning can be more than just taking a bag of clothes you no longer wear to the charity shop or cleaning the kitchen cupboards. You can use it as an opportunity to filter out what is holding you back and...

It’s that time of year again.  The daffodils are about to blossom and spring is about to begin. And with it spring-cleaning season! Woohoo! (or not!)  Now while I’m all about finding your vibe and ditching the ‘shoulds’ to do things your own way, I do think springtime is a nice reminder to have a clearout. 

Life can get messy, especially during the wintertime when all you want to do is hibernate under a cosy blanket, but you’ve got to navigate the chaos of Christmas and New Year.  In the push to get things done, blockages can build.  Like the pile of stuff in the corner of your office that you were going to sort out 11 weekends ago but has now become a feature in your workspace.  It’s not exactly helping your productivity.

Spring cleaning isn’t just reserved for physical things.  What could do with a tidy in your digital world?  How could you bring a bit more calm to your busy mind?  Are you happy...

Is networking part of your visibility strategy?

Visibility is an ongoing conversation in the small business world. The more you put yourself out there, the more people know about your business and become interested in it. Interested enough to buy from you. There are all sorts of techniques to make your business visible such as social media marketing and SEO practices (all of which make me yawn I have to confess!)

However, I do love a bit of good old-fashioned networking. Yes, it can feel more intimidating because you can’t hide behind a pretty Instagram photo but it can be really impactful.  You’re giving potential clients, referral partners and supporters the opportunity to interact with you as a person. It’s a memorable and impactful way to be visible and for me, it's made the biggest difference to my business growth.

I hear a lot that you have to make sales when you go networking or it's pointless, but I believe making direct sales isn’t the...

Networking is a great tool in the business owner toolkit. Meeting people face to face (in real life or online) is going to leave a memorable impact (in some form! ). But there are so many business owners who avoid networking like the plague!

The idea of rocking up to a group of people and trying to get them to buy from you is intimidating - I know cos that's what I thought I had to do when I first thought about starting networking. Thankfully, you don’t have to approach networking as a long sales pitch. Yes, absolutely talk about what you do as people can’t buy from, refer to or support you if they don’t know what you’ve got going on in your business, BUT you can be human too and create genuine connections. 

Networking, when you approach it in a way that works for you, can generate opportunities, clients and money and can even be fun. If you’re not sure how to make networking work for you, here are some ideas for how to find your vibe...

If I asked you to list business growth strategies, how long would it take you to mention knowing and honouring your boundaries?  I’m guessing a little while because our minds usually go to things to do with marketing, networking and selling.  Don’t get me wrong, these are all important areas of business growth, so important that we cover them as monthly topics inside the Find Your Vibe Business Club. 

Boundaries deserve to be on the list as well because just like marketing, networking and selling, boundaries help you to find, nurture, convert and serve clients.  If we don’t preserve our ability to do those things, how are we going to get anywhere in our businesses?  So, let’s dig into how boundaries can impact business growth. 

Boundaries: What’s The Big Deal?

Talking about boundaries - defining and standing by them - can bring up a lot of resistance in people. They worry about being mean, demanding or self-centred....

Knowing yourself is the most powerful thing you can do as a business owner.  When you really know yourself, you can give yourself what you need to succeed. It allows you to finally accept that you’re really a night owl, so you ditch the 9-5 schedule and start working 11-7.  As a result, you’re so much happier and as a knock-on effect so much more productive.  It allows you to truly be yourself and that energy attracts your dream clients with a cherry on top. Do I hear big business growth calling?

A big part of knowing yourself is knowing your values.  When you are aware of your values, it’s so much easier to make decisions in business, letting go of what doesn’t feel right and generating more opportunities for what does.  I know the thought of values can feel a little bit confusing so let’s define what values are, the impact they have, and how you can start taking value-driven action. 

Defining the Abstract: What Are...