Why Some Entrepreneurs Don't Make Much Money

When an entrepreneur isn't making much money, it's usually a mixture of lack of business skills and a mindset about money that needs to change. In this article, Sue tells a story about one entrepreneur who is going broke, and what that entrepreneur really needs to change if she wants to make money.

By Sue Painter

Here’s a quick test for you...let’s say I hand you a C-note. Close your eyes and feel that hundred dollar bill in your hand. Now, watch your thoughts and see where you mind goes. Just watch, until you get a thought that comes up about this money in your hands. What is the thought?

* A good number of people will have a thought something like “I better put this away, I don’t want to lose this money.”

* Fewer people will get a thought that goes “this is a gift, truly found money. How should I use this, what can I do?”

If your thought was about keeping the money safe, I’ll wager that you think of money as potential loss rather than potential gain. And that mindset isn’t going to help you create a business where money automatically comes in and goes out, just like the tide. You can’t stop the tide. If you constantly try, you still get the inevitable but you are much more miserable over it than if you just let that tide go out and enjoy watching it as it goes. Same with money!

The other day I had someone contact me who was interested, she said, in coaching for her small business. Actually, she had two businesses, had them both for several years. The very first statement out of her mouth was not about her businesses but about her money. “I make less than $100 a month with these businesses,” she said. She didn’t tell me about her businesses, ask me how I might help her, or what she hoped to gain in working with me. Instead, she came at me from a place of lack, focusing on what she doesn’t have. That lack is fear-based, contracted energy. Behind it is a poor-me mentality. That creates a constant story of lack, a negative energy. It literally “pulls” others toward that lack. While we didn’t get far in talking about working together, she right away let me know she had little money and probably could not afford to work with me. Underneath that statement was a subtle pull on me, to join her in her financial lack by cutting a deal to work with her for less money, or to sit there and spend an hour of my time for free while she talked about her financial lack rather than asking me how I could help her go where she wanted to go. Then, we both could lack and she would have a “community of lack” going. Do you see? Very subtle, but very powerful. Watch for that from others, and don’t let that energy go to work on you.

Let’s think about this solopreneur who has two businesses that are both several years old and who makes about $100 a month from both of them together. Does she need to be more profitable? Obviously, yes. She probably needs to focus down on one of the businesses, build that to an ongoing profit, and then bring the second business on-line. She may need to ditch one — I don’t know her well enough to say. I do know, though, that it doesn’t work to approach me about working with you and ask me first thing what I charge. The money isn’t the issue. The issue is what would this $100 a month entrepreneur GAIN in working with me (or someone else) rather than what she would LOSE. If I can’t get her to focus on the gain, she won’t engage in what I suggest to her. She’ll be thinking about that money she’s losing by paying me (or someone else) rather than what she is GETTING in the process.

There are a lot of reasons why many solopreneurs and small business owners are not profitable. Many lack knowledge about the basic tools of business. These things are skills that one can easily get through classes, reading, having a mentor or a coach, or going to workshops. The bigger barrier to making money is your own mind set about money. If you focus on how little you have it will absolutely never grow. If, instead, you focus on what you can gain with the money you have (no matter how little or large that amount) you will be OK.

Here’s what I wrote to this woman. “You know, it’s never about the money, it’s about what will happen if you do NOT change and learn to invest in building your business. When people e-mail me and ask only what it costs to hire me, I know they are trying to decide only on cost. The wiser decision is based on value or what it will cost them if they keep on the road they are on. See, it would benefit you to know more about what we might do for those three months, but instead of asking me that, or asking when we might talk about it, I see that you are asking only what it will cost you, not what you will gain. So there you have a little bit of coaching for free. If you change to put your attention on gain rather than loss, you will begin to shift your thinking and your business from cost to benefit, both for yourself and for those you wish to serve.”

If you are not profitable through lack of focus, bad planning, or lack of business skills you can fix it. It takes risk, self-honesty, willingness to feel a little uncomfortable as you learn new skills and behaviors. It takes faith! But the biggest thing it takes is shifting your mind set from lack to gain. Or, from a poverty mentality to an abundant mentality. Or, from fear to love. Not only will you benefit, but those you serve will benefit.

This week, practice not leading with money questions. Practice focusing on what you gain rather than what you lose. It will shift your mind set, and in time it will shift your bank account, too!

Sue Painter is a marketing therapist whose expertise is finding the dark and murky under-places that keep your business from succeeding. She develops business plans that work, and strategic marketing plans that take dead aim at your target market. You can subscribe to her Marketing Tips e-zine at http://www.confidentmarketer.com .

Gratitude - Your Platinum Card To Prosperity

Gratitude opens doors! It paves the way to abundance and prosperity like nothing else. It can line your pockets with gold and fill your bank account quicker than a New York minute. Yet, how many of you are living from a thankful heart each day?

By Veronica Hay

Gratitude opens doors! It paves the way to abundance and prosperity like nothing else. It can line your pockets with gold and fill your bank account quicker than a New York minute.

Yet, how many of you are living from a thankful heart each day?

I was friends with two neighbors a few years back. One was the kind of person who made you just want to shower her with gifts. She responded with such joy and excitement to everything that I gave her. She raved about every little detail of the presents that I gave her, the way they were wrapped, the way her cat took possession of the boxes and took a nap on them every day. The way the item felt when she wore it or just held it in her hand. The beauty of the ribbons and bows and various embellishments. She always made me feel so uplifted and appreciated that I found myself continually on the lookout for something else that she might delight in.

The other neighbor had great difficulty in receiving and made me feel uneasy and even a little sad that she felt so unworthy of any kindness offered to her. After awhile, I just stopped giving her anything. It was too uncomfortable for both of us.

The Universe responds to us in the exact same way. The more grateful we are, the more things we will be given to be grateful for. The more unappreciative we are and undeserving we feel, the less bounty will find its way to our door.

This reminds me of the saying: “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” There is so much truth to that and it makes absolute scientific sense.

If you want more of all of the good things in life, then take some time each day to really feel grateful for the myriad of blessings that you have already received, from the little things that you take for granted, to the bigger things that you may not even be aware of yet, let alone acknowledged. Make a point of writing them down and even reading them aloud to reinforce their existence in your life. Do this before your head hits the pillow tonight and you will begin to feel your life moving in a new direction.

Since what you focus on expands, focus on your blessings and watch your blessings grow.

If you would like some help in allowing more prosperity into your life today, then I invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to our Wealth Without Limits - Prosperity Series, as well as many other goodies and bonuses when you visit http://www.insightsandinspirations.com/gift.html You will find an uplifting free audio and inspiring video there for you to use as well. From Veronica Hay - The Prosperity Poet and Insights and Inspirations Hub

Which of These 3 Self Defeating Mistakes Are You Making?

In the quest for creating and/or manifesting more money in their lives, I see many people making the following mistakes. Most of the time, they are not even aware that they are doing it, at least not consciously. So let's take a look at 3 of the most self defeating mistakes people make, and then what to do instead.

By Veronica Hay

In the quest for creating and/or manifesting more money in their lives, I see many people making the following mistakes. Most of the time, they are not even aware that they are doing it, at least not consciously. So let’s take a look at 3 of the most self defeating mistakes people make, and then what to do instead.

Mistake #1 - They get busy figuring out how they are going to make it (wealth) happen for them. They try to think of ways to save money or work more hours in order to get more money or come up with a plan of action. In short, they get in their own way.

What to do instead: Allow. Allow. Allow. Start from the end desire. Write down what it is you are wanting to have /create and then allow the universe to bring it to you. Do only those things that you feel guided / inspired to do in the direction of your goals/ dreams. Those things that feel good, and you will be led one step at a time to your destination. Remember, focus on the end result / desire, not how you are going to get there or where it is going to come from. Don’t put limits on yourself or the universe. Stay open to possibilities and delightful surprises along the way.

Mistake #2 - They feel safe “playing small”. Playing small is comfortable. Playing big would require them to move out of their comfort zone. It may require that they put themselves out there and that can be a scary thing, so they procrastinate, or avoid or delay and do whatever it takes to put things off, for just another day, or another week, or another month, or another year, or another lifetime!

What to do instead: Decide to, as they say, feel the fear and do it anyway? Take small steps in the direction of your dreams. Do one small (or big) thing every day or week that you have been afraid to do and keep moving forward with that. Pretty soon, you will begin to feel less and less afraid and more and more confident and exited about your life as you begin to see your victories and accomplishments take shape.

Mistake #3 - They focus on what they don’t want. They are caught up in their own story of lack and limitation and they talk about it constantly to themselves and to others. They speak about how they can’t make ends meet, lament about how they are so tired of the struggle, and moan about how depressing things are. The more they do this, the more stuck, powerless and frustrated they feel.

What to do instead: Simply really! Focus on what you DO want. Choose wealth and tell yourself that nothing else is acceptable. Think, speak and act as if you are already wealthy now. Imagine your life the way you would like it to be. Start by being grateful for all of the abundance of blessings you already have in your life and focus on those. Gratitude opens doors! It paves the way to wealth and prosperity like nothing else. It can line your pockets with gold and fill your bank account quicker than a New York minute.

And if you would like some help in allowing more prosperity into your life, then I invite you to claim your free instant access to our Wealth Without Limits - Self-Improvement Series - Lesson 1, as well as many other goodies and bonuses when you visit: http://www.insightsandinspirations.com/gift.html You will find a free uplifting audio and inspiring video there for you to use as well. From Veronica Hay - The Prosperity Poet