I hope I’ve helped you to see over the last few posts that you CAN have the business of your dreams.  That you do have the power to make the changes that will set you on a course of victory over these traps that may have held you back.

Wrapping up the list of the money sucking mindset blocks comes #5 – which is the belief that I’m not ___________ enough to be successful. I coach a lot of coaches and other people who are service providers, and I hear this from them sometimes. It sounds like…

“I’m not educated enough”
“I don’t know how to market good enough”
“I’m not experienced enough”
“I’m not connected enough”

This one was one of my personal struggles when I started doing coaching back in the day. Partly because I have a Master’s Degree in Counseling and felt so proficient, educated, credible, and established in my old industry, that when I started something new, all my insecurities came flying up to the surface. I remember telling a more seasoned coaching all the reasons I “wasn’t enough” essentially and he looked me in the eye and said, “Give up your story…YOU ARE FULLY COOKED.” It was the first time I had considered that what I brought was valuable. And so what I did was to decide then and there that I’d figure out what more I needed to add to my skill sets and then get that so I no longer had the “but-I’m-not-enough-cuz-I-was-just-a-therapist-and-didn’t-have-a-corporate-background” crap I had been telling myself.

(The funniest part? The thing that I was feeling my “not enough-ness” around is the thing today that makes me the most unique and is what allows me to command good money for my expertise. How crazy is that!)

When I work with my clients, one of my joys is finding those places where they don’t own their value and then turn it in to the pearl that makes them unique.

The trick here, like all the other mindset traps is to first become aware of your story. Next, do the Byron Katie work or other awareness exercises to turn it around, and then “act as if” so that you begin to start breaking the patterns that keep you playing small.

I’d love to hear from you.  Post a comment or shoot me an email and let me know your mindset blocks and how this blog series has helped you.

Blessings,
Therese

So you’ll remember from last post, I outlined Trap #1 which is I have to do it all myself syndrome. Have you asked yourself those questions?  What difference has it made for you so far?  I’d love to hear about your journey by leaving a message in the comment section.

Who else is sick of hearing about the economy and lack of business? Mindset block #2 is the belief that People won’t pay higher fees. This mindset gets you in the trap of having to try to keep your rates low, under charging, and feeling guilty if you ask your clients to pony up their dollars for your services. For me, I need only go to one of the restaurants in my city (Scottsdale, AZ) and notice just how many people are spending money!

The trick here once again is to discover if there is any part of you that pulls back from either asking for the sale, or from raising your fees. Usually there is a story underneath that it’s not right to ask for that much money or the tendency to jump into other peoples’ financial situations and make decisions for them. I think the heart of this mindset block is two fold. The first could be a lack of boundaries and a tendency to take in the ‘popular opinion’ which you must stay away from! If you find yourself believing that no one will spend more, begin to notice things to the contrary. Go to malls, nice restaurants, or car lots. See evidence that while some people are constricting in their spending, there are still loads of people who are willing to pay for good service and value. And stay away from the nay-sayers or any negativity that could lead you to buy into the lack consciousness.

Next is to understand the value you provide. If you have the story that people won’t pay for your services, it might be because you haven’t done the work on getting the clarity you need around the results you bring. I guarantee that if you really take a stand for what you offer and believe that deep in your core, you won’t pull back from offering your services. How to do this? One way is to ask your past clients to list what they have gotten from your work together. And you don’t want to stop at the surface level…do the ‘deep dive’ with them about how they were impacted 6 months later, 2 years later, etc. If you charge someone $1,000 but your client was able to get new business and bring in $5,000 that year, imagine the lifetime of their business and the results gained from your expertise. Its mind boggling to think of the reach you can have.

I’ll also give you a link to a short visualization where I guide you in getting clarity on understanding what you bring: http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WP6c64cx.
It’s about 6 minutes long, and will give you a jump start on identifying the value you bring. Once you own this, you’ll not again have to worry if someone can afford your services.

Join me next time and discover the simple steps involved in mastering Traps 3 and 4.

Blessings,
Therese