Having a positive money mindset for business owners and entrepreneurs is vital. How you think about money, relate to money, and feel about money will affect your business and how much money you make.
If you are a business owner who wants to make a lot of money, you need to check in on your money mindset and see what’s holding you back. Nothing in business does not affect your profit line, whether directly or indirectly, and a money mindset is no exception.
There is some talk about money manifestation, and I want to address that because I feel it confuses many people.
Money manifestation
First, let’s define money manifestation. Manifesting is the action of turning an idea into a reality. When it comes to manifesting money, it is believed that you can visualize money coming to you, and it will. It’s essentially the law of attraction where it is stated that you will attract into your life whatever you focus on. Whatever you give your energy and attention to is what will come back to you.
If you spend time and energy focusing on money and how you want to have money in your life, you will manifest that money into your life by doing those actions.
Money mindset
A money mindset is different from a money manifestation as a mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. It means that what you believe about yourself impacts your success or failure.
A money mindset requires developing a relationship with money that will positively affect your life. It requires you to adjust your beliefs and attitude around money and see the possibilities of what money can do for you. Understanding that money is a tool to get what you want and how you treat that tool determines the fate of your finances.
A money mindset gives you more control over your fate with money.
As you may have guessed, I’m not a huge fan of the idea of money manifestation as I believe many misinterpret the action and believe that it’s enough to “will it” and it will come.
Money is complicated. Money is filled with emotions; many of us attach our self-worth to how much money we have.
I believe that having a positive money mindset is the first step in achieving wealth, and the second step is in action.
When I work with you, I first get a sense of your relationship with money. How do you treat your money? What are your beliefs about making money? What are your desires when it comes to how much money you want?
It takes a lot of courage to claim your wealth. To say “I want to have a million dollars in the bank” or “I want to live in a 5,000 square-foot home with a tennis court in the backyard” may feel scary to say out loud. When you have a positive money mindset, you can confidently claim those types of statements as you know you have a way to achieve that.
A money mindset helps you understand what you can do with your money. It defines your attitude around debt (i.e. do you carry a lot of debt? are you wasting your money on interest expenses?). A money mindset also determines how much money you think you deserve. If you don’t feel worthy of having a million dollars in the bank or that dream home, chances are you won’t attain it.
Your ability to grow your wealth is directly affected by your money mindset. Wealth is 80% behaviour and 20% money management skills, so ensuring that you work into creating a positive money mindset covers that 80% behaviour – because your mindset rules behaviour.
Figuring out money and your relationship with money can be a complicated journey, but if you are determined to create wealth in your life, you need to get your money mindset positive.
As business owners, you are responsible for your mindset and learning the money management skills necessary to create wealth for yourself. You can start building your skills by reading about the habits of wealthy women.
What you can do now to improve your money mindset
A money mindset is not learned overnight; you can set it and forget it. A positive money mindset requires work and creating habits that support a positive money mindset.
Here are some ways you can take action and start building your positive money mindset today:
1. Identify your money story
Everybody has a money story, which can be formed as early as childhood. Sometimes we carry negative money stories as our narrative, which has become so ingrained in us that you don’t even notice it. When you identify the money story that you carry, you can start to work to reframe those stories.
For example, if you grew up with little money in your household and carrying debt was a usual way of life, you may carry that story today and still be in debt. Knowing that debt does not have to be a regular part of your life and taking steps to change that narrative is vital.
2. Identify triggers that get you into old patterns
It’s like diet and exercise where something happens that triggers you back into your old response. When you know what triggers you, you can be cognizant and change your responses to the trigger.
For example, if you have a hard day, a natural response may be to do some online shopping that relieves your stress, but that habit is harmful and only puts you into more debt. When you change your reaction to the trigger of a hard day and replace online shopping with going for a walk to clear your head, you are setting yourself up with new and positive habits.
3. Replace old behaviours with new ones
As mentioned in the previous point, when you replace your response, which is your old behaviour, with a new and more positive habit, you are on your way to creating a positive money mindset. It takes repetition to create a new habit, so you must be aware of your reactions to triggers and change your behavioural response to those triggers many times before it becomes a habit. (Is it 21 days before a new habit can be formed?)
4. Use quotes and affirmation
Positive money mindset quotes and affirmations can be found everywhere online. I recommend you create a list of your favourite ones and post them around your environment to serve as reminders. You want to see them on your bathroom mirror, your fridge, in your car – basically everywhere – to remind you to keep your newly formed habits in check and why you are doing this.
5. Note the company you keep
Don’t they say that you are more likely to adopt the behaviours and attitudes of the five people you spend the most time with? You need to surround yourself with people with a positive money mindset who can lift you up, not bring you down. Positivity and gratitude are vital ingredients to happiness, so surround yourself with them. It’s easier to carry a positive money mindset when you feel good about yourself than if you’re unhappy and miserable.
6. Use journals
Writing is a great way to express your challenges and frustrations, so keeping a journal where you can get it all out can be cathartic and therapeutic. It’s unhealthy to keep negative energy bottled up, so having a release through journal writing will help and support you during your positive money mindset journey.
7. Read books
There are many books on money mindset that you can read, and some even offer exercises you can work through to better understand where you are at with your money mindset and what you can do to improve upon it. You will need to check in on a money mindset once things are running smoothly. Sometimes it needs a tune-up.
Adopting a positive money mindset changes your lifestyle. You must create priorities and financial goals and work daily towards achieving them. There will be days going so much better than others, but the mindset is a muscle in training. Eventually, it will become a habit, but much work is required.
When changing from a negative mindset to a positive one it requires commitment and hard work, but all that pays off in the end.
When you commit to changing your money mindset, your money habits will change the trajectory of your life. You will let go of the negative money stories that keep you stuck and gain the financial confidence to claim your wealth.
Your money mindset affects everything in business, from what you charge for your products and services to how you spend and manage your money. When you take financial control of your business and personal finances, you will see how possible it is to create a wealthy lifestyle.
A money mindset is not all about saving money – it’s very much about having the courage to claim your wealth. You need to be courageous enough to grow your business and set financial goals that stretch you but excite you simultaneously. If you want that beach house or Bentley, you need to go for it (with a financial plan)!!!!
Would you like to learn about combining your money mindset with money management skills so that you can create wealth in your business? Grab your free 5-Step Roadmap to a Profitable Biz right here and start learning about money management. Check out the She Means Profit™ podcast and get learning!
