One of the biggest and most common things I see with women entrepreneurs and business owners is denial. When asked this question, it often shocks people when I share this answer. I find that it’s so shocking because unfortunately these awesome women don’t recognize that denial is a part of the equation. After all, when she put her business plan together, denial wasn’t included anywhere in her strategies.
Using the word denial makes this statement a broad one, for now; let’s talk about ‘self denial’. Don’t shut me down just yet; I didn’t say you were ‘in’ denial! There is a huge difference between being in denial and the type of denial I’ll deal with in this article. You may even by default think, “I don’t deny myself.” Before you come to that final conclusion, we should explore this a little more.
“What does denial and my earning potential have to do with one another?” you ask. EVERYthing!!! Three of the most common areas that women tend to deny ourselves are:
- Time freedom/Time Flexibility
- Relationships
- Enjoyment/Pleasure
Self-denial is very common, yet an ‘evil’ so easily overlooked. Yes…I called it evil! It’s evil because this self denial is something we do, most times, intuitively and instinctively for good reasons, but…it robs us of ____ (fill in the blank). Self-denial leads to failed income results and/or missed income opportunities.
There’s a right and wrong time to deny self. I say wrong time because denying yourself is sometimes the thing to do. When you deny self at the wrong time, it robs you of fulfillment. How do you know that you got passed over for fulfillment? That’s an easy one. If your time is consumed and you find you no longer have flexibility in your schedule…you lack fulfillment. If your relationship with your mate, children, etc. are strained/suffering then you lack fulfillment. If you don’t have the opportunity to live in the moment…to feel the pleasure of ___ (fill in the blank)…you lack fulfillment.
We will bring this back to income and tie everything together now. This article is about your ability to earn the income that you deserve and what I’m about to say may upset you, but I always say, ‘If the shoe doesn’t fit…don’t wear it.” Having said that, I’m about to tell you my number one conclusion based on my conversations with female entrepreneurs.
If you are under-earning in your business, it’s highly probable that you are chasing money. You deny yourself of time freedom, relationships and enjoyment when you chase money. When you consider your business your ‘source’ it causes you to chase money. Sadly, I’ve noticed (and have been guilty of this myself) that most women in business think that their business is their source of income, whether that business is producing and/or profitable or not.
Profit in business is always the goal, so I’ll share 3 tips with you to help you bring your money chasing days to an end.
- Acknowledge God as your source. He is your source and extends unlimited resources to you. The money limitations you experience are because of the limits that you place on your true source.
- Remind yourself as often as needed that money is a resource. Until you put money in its proper place you will continue to chase it.
- Change your posture. When you practice steps 1 and 2 consistently, you’ll begin to align yourself with these truths and begin to attract money opposed to chasing it. A posture of receiving says to the universe that you’re ready for what you asked for.
Put these 3 steps into practice and before you know it your business will produce the income you deserve. What other forms of denial would you add to this list?
About Rae Jenkins
Rae Jenkins is a Mompreneur, Money Conversationalist and Holistic Money Coach of Money Authentically. She works with women business owners that are the primary income earners and frustrated with their money results. She helps these women to develop a right relationship with money so they can earn more without the stress and frustration.
- How To Earn The Income You Deserve In Your Business - June 24, 2014