Fifty Shades of Green – Attn: Women in Business

Attention Women in Business: What’s a bigger discussion taboo around the dinner table?  (Adult dinner table, of course) Money or sex? No doubt about it, money.

If you’re a woman you’ve probably read “Fifty Shades of Grey” and have been talking about it with your friends. But I bet you haven’t talked about Fifty Shades of Green – a more important (but less lustful) topic to your bottom line than the characters of Christian Grey or Anastasia Steele could ever be. 

Isn't it hard to talk about money? It’s stressful and sometimes scary. Money in the world of Fifty Shades is full of fun and fantasy – palatial apartments, new cars given to girlfriends, helicopter rides for first dates. (Hello handsome, sexy Christian Grey). For us mortals though, money is hard to tell the truth about because we always think others know more than we do, or that they’re doing better than us. (Probably not true – and you can’t tell by what size house your friend lives in or how much shopping they do).  In the real world, money is mundane, boring, and sometimes darn right uncomfortable – you know all those bills we’re not paying.

But if you really want to be a successful woman in business you need to talk about money – with your spouse, with your business partners, and yes, with your girlfriends. Not shopping talk, but real financial talk. Here are some questions to get you started:  1) What are your top money stressors? 2) Who is your financial advisor and is it a woman? 3) Without talking specific numbers – are you making the money you want to be making?  4) What’s the biggest obstacle to making the money you’d like?  5) What wildly fun thing would you like to do when you have more money?  (Notice I said when, not if). Let’s make money talk less stressful and more JOYful and help ourselves and help each other succeed AND read exciting, sexy novels.

Budgets and Diets: Restriction or Freedom?

Women spend $25,000 on shoes and in Britain L 133,000 on beauty products in their lifetime.*  Saving for retirement or saving period gets pushed aside with the “I want what I want and I want it now” pattern we consumers are so good at.

One of the biggest mistakes women say they make with their money is not saving enough for the future because they’re caught up in survival today. This is an interesting dilemma because by spending today and not saving for the future, the struggle is likely to be the same in ten or thirty years. Contrast this with one young woman, Kari, who considers herself a “money hoarder.” She started saving half her paycheck as a teenager. She finds it hard to spend money on herself, but she’ll be fine in retirement. There aren’t many Kari’s out there.

Putting ourselves on a savings plan feels the same as being on a diet. Yuk. We feel restricted, limited – it’s NO FUN. Or we feel we’re in jail waiting for a chance to bust out – shoe sale anyone?  According to Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy in “A Theory of Rational Addiction*” when you're struggling economically you’re unlikely to focus on long-term activities. The immediate is much more compelling.  

There’s a mind-set change that needs to happen to be able to have some shopping fun, while keeping in mind the long term goal of having financial peace in your later years. Just think about how good those shoes might taste if you’re trying to make it at 75 on social security alone.

*Daily Express Study quoted: http://tinyurl.com/2a2cvjw  Mail Online  http://tinyurl.com/67z36fd

* The Awesome Column, Joel Stein, The Times May 2012

Women in Business & Retiree's: Become A “Boomerpreneur”

Women in Business - are you bored with your current job or career? Have you been downsized or let go? Are you trying to figure out your next step and aren't sure how to capitalize on your skills, talents and abilities?

Or are you in or near retirement and looking to increase retirement income or start a new chapter as a “boomerpreneur." “Americans 55-64 have launched more businesses than any other age group during the past decade, closely followed by those 45 to 54, reports the Kauffman Foundation.”*

The great thing about starting your own business is that you won’t get fired or downsized. But you must have the focus, discipline and persistence to make it through the first couple of vulnerable years. (More than 50% of businesses don’t and usually because of poor planning or under capitalization.)

Here are key questions to ask yourself and elements to keep in mind when starting your own business:

* Are you a risk taker?

* Do you enjoy uncertainty?

* Are you competitive?

* Really important: Have you maintained your drive as you age?

Other questions to answer:  How will you fund your business – get a loan, borrow money from your home, obtain a partner?   

Women forty and above have the wisdom and life experience to be able to hone in on your passions, skills and talents. In most economic down cycles lots of new businesses emerge. There's lots of help available from business associations, the Chamber of Commerce and local colleges.  It's a great time to stretch into a new venture as a "Boomerpreneur."  Just make sure you ground your dreams with a business plan and action steps and strategies and realistic expectations.  (* Money Magazine, “How to be a Boomerpreneur”– May 2012)

Women in Business: Are you a Financial Innocent? April is Financial Literacy Month

April is Financial Literacy month – time to pull your head out of the sand and plunge into learning about your relationship with Money. Not just the numbers – how much you make or what you spend - butwhat goes on with your thinking and your feelings about money.

Inside you is the answer to why you keep repeating the same old money mistakes over and over again. Here are some money mistakes women make: Overspending, Not paying your bills on time even though you have the money, Financially enabling others and not taking care of yourself, or a big one for women in business; Not charging enough!!

You may be like I used to be: I hated thinking about money. But, I had an awakening when I went through the training to become a Certified Money Coach.*  I found out exactly why I had the challenges with money I’d had since young adulthood. Yes, it did have to do with the way my parents handled their money. Not their fault, their parents had influenced them as well, and I was still responsible for the choices I made. But once I connected the dots and became conscious, I was able to make better financial decisions and to create less stress and more financial peace. That’s huge!! .  (*Certified through Deborah Price & The Money Coaching Institute)  Next time: Find out What The Money Types Mean and how each type shows up in your Money Life.

Taxes & Fear Go Hand in Hand for Women in Business

Why do women in business make themselves so crazy with the fear, avoidance and resistance to paying taxes? We know they’re due a year ahead of time. Yet, we procrastinate up until the last day. A hundred years ago if you didn’t pay your taxes you could be hauled off to the poor house. While that’s not the case any longer, as April 17th approaches I notice a strong whiff of anxiety as I’m out networking and talking with women business owners. It’s hard to not get caught up in fear when it’s so prevalent. But, of course we don’t talk about that feeling of fear in the air. We put on a game smile, pretend as if everything is just FINE and struggle in silence because we think others know so much more or are doing so much better than we are.  Not the case.

As a life and business coach talking to women in business every day a couple of things are clear. One – when you’re self-employed the goal has to be to SAVE enough over the year to be able to pay your tax bill at the end of the year. But many don’t. They’re caught up in daily survival, often are just making ends meet and don’t know how to develop a longer-term perspective.  Others get caught in the vicious loop of paying BACK taxes, which makes it doubly hard to pay this years taxes. Ow! And then you have folks that earn plenty, but don’t save a thing because they just don’t manage their money well. As Robert Kiyosaki, of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame says, “It’s not how much money you make. It’s how much money you keep.”  That comes home to roost as we get older.

Second, the economy has wounded the heart and soul of many women (and men) in business. Losing a house, having to file for bankruptcy, downsizing your life and expectations takes its toll. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine things getting better. But imagine and work towards this, we must.

So then the question is – how do you deal with money fears that create avoidance and exaggerate money troubles? I know you’re not going to like this but the answer is to courageously look at the facts as they relate to your money situation and create a plan to deal with it. Get help if necessary. Women in business: we get past fear by confronting what makes us afraid and by taking the daily right action necessary to stay conscious of what’s happening with our money. As Suze Orman says: “Every money challenge can be solved by the person you see in the mirror.”

Women in Business: What’s Your Greatest Money Challenge?

What do women in business consider their biggest money challenge?  I conducted a survey last week to get feedback on that money question and others. In response to:  “What’s your greatest challenge with money” - not surprisingly the two highest responses by percentage were “not enough” and “not saving enough for the future.”  When women replied to what the reason was for the lack of money 55% said they were focused on surviving today, followed up by 23% “not saving or investing for the future.” 

I understand the whole focused on today reality. Been there. Especially when raising a family, working like a maniac and trying to squeeze a little fun out of life. When I talk with young women especially, too many aren’t saving ANYTHING for their future. But, they’ll take $40.00 and blow it on a meal out, a new purse, beauty products (look in your bathroom drawers and see how much money is sitting in there!!)

In order to change the “not enough money” piece we have to take Action – preferably NOW.  I’m not a financial advisor, I’m a Money Coach with a 20 years in the field of Psychology & Addiction.  I know it FEELS good in the moment to BUY something, but take a breath, think about whether that purchase is going to do anything for you when you’re 70 or 80 and right NOW start an investment account or a savings account with an automatic deduction of $20-50 a month. You won’t miss it and in ten years those beauty products will be dust and you’ll have money saved!!  

Women in Business: Work Backwards Formula to Achieve Bold Money Goals

Now that you’ve set your Bold Money Goal for 2012 and have it in writing (see previous blog: Set a Bold Financial Goal for 2012 http://coachingmodesto.squarespace.com/blog/  you'll want to use The Work Backwards Formula to make sure you get the results you want.

To Re-Set your Money Speedometer, which may have been stuck on the same old number for too long, means you have to examine WHY you want to make the amount of money you set for yourself. Your WHY tells you what your motivation is. (To know why your WHY is the most important thing you can do as a woman in business go to this youtube clip in the TedSeries by Simon Sinek:  The Golden Circle http://blog.ted.com/2010/05/04/how_great_leade/

Now, I know the economy has dampened, or for some, even smashed the ability to dream and envision. But we have to take our power back and stay focused on what we want (financial peace & freedom) vs. what we don't want (more financial struggle)  

To Start - Here are some questions to explore your WHY: This is where you get to dream and in order to be the most successful you must stay in touch with your dream and your purpose!!

Next, write down your BOLD Goal for 2012 :  $75,000 Gross

I want to make $_______ so that I can ________.

• ·      
• ·      
• ·      

 The questions you answered above are part of your vision and dream that will pull you towards your goal.

Now fill in these Work Backwards questions:

1)    How much do you charge your clients? The average bodyworker, for example, depending on locale, charges somewhere in the neighborhood of:   $75.00 an hour  Your hourly fee:  _________

2)    How much do you need to earn a month to earn $75K a year? $6,250 (75 divided by 12 = )

3)    How much do you need to earn a week to earn $75 K a year? $1445.00  (6,250 divided by 4.33 = 1436. Rounded up)

4)    How many clients a week do you need to see to earn $1445?  19 clients a week at $75.00 a client = $75,000 Gross Income

Now you have your work-backwards formula to earn $75,000 gross a year.  

Women in Business: What's Your Money Speedometer Set At?

If you're a woman in business you need to know what your money speedometer is set at. For example, are you stuck at a certain income level and don't know why? Usually it's because of stuck places within our emotional relationship with money we're completely unaware of.  Bob Burg, author of The Go Giver says: “Our relationship with money is like an iceburg: only the very tip is in plain sight.”  How do you find out what's under the surface of your money obstacles? One way is by figuring out where your $$ speedometer is set and re-setting it.  Here's how to do so:

First: Where's Your Money Speedometer Currently Set:* Most self-employed women's monthly income is up and down so take the 5 highest grossing months over the last 12 months and add them together and then divide by 5.

For Example:  Feb 2,000 March 2,200  July 5,000 Sept 3,500 Dec 1,200 = TOTAL 13, 900 divided by 5 = 2,780

This woman’s Speedometer is set on: $2,780 That means when she starts earning more than this a month she probably gets uncomfortable. That's ok, but she needs to understand why (This is where Money Coaching's 4 step system pulls back the covers and connects the dots between childhood messages and current adult money behavior - http://coachingmodesto.squarespace.com/money-coaching/)

Re-set your current money speedometer by creating a BOLD Financial Goal for 2012. This number needs to be uncomfortable enough that it makes you STRETCH, yet not so distant that it seems unreachable. 

For example my BOLD goal for 2012 is $84,000 gross sales. That’s not a number I pulled out of the air, but by looking at what I earned last year, and planning activities I would need to do to earn $50,000 net income minus estimated expenses.

Write your Bold Goal _________.  Then create a plan of action steps and strategies for how you’ll reach your Bold Goal by working backwards.  I’ll show you how to do that in an upcoming blog. By taking ahold of our money goals and knowing how to chart our financial future we create financial peace.

(* adapted from Kendall Summerhawks Money Speedometer work)

Massage Therapists & Healers - Set a Bold Financial Goal for 2012

  “Are you living your values, but not earning enough to live your dreams”, asks Lois Frankel, of Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich. As a therapist and “healer” I was stuck in that “I’m a healer so I can’t charge what I’m worth” illusion for years. This is a common problem for women in business who are in the helping professions. We have a black and white way of thinking about money and helping people.  If we are helpers then we believe we shouldn’t be focused on earning money. What nonsense. I’ve figured out there is a middle ground and we can have both – be happy healers with a bountiful paycheck.

Unfortunately, most of the therapists/healers I’ve known over the last twenty + years are crappy business women. Meaning, they don’t market their practices or treat their practice like a business. For example, as a massage therapist, family therapist, energy healer – do you have a business plan, a marketing plan, attend networking functions, join The Chamber of Commerce, pay attention to cash in and out flow, regularly do a balance sheet and a profit and loss at least quarterly? That used to be me, but I’ve found my inner business savy and it is blooming!!

One important step to break out of the old “I’m a healer, it’s not spiritual for me to make money” rut is to set a BOLD Financial Goal for 2012. Do that today and in the next blog learn where your money speedometer is set and how to reset it to match your Bold Money Goal. When we take charge of our money we create financial peace.

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Lynn Telford-Sahl, M.A. Psychology, "Certified Money Coach":http://www.lynntelfordsahl.com, helps women in business achieve their dreams by getting their money house in order. Lynn has been coaching, speaking & conducting workshops for 8 years and has a 20+ year background in counseling. Lynn is also the author of two books: Intentional JOY: How to Turn Stress, Fear & Addiction into Freedom & The Greatest Change of All. Both books are available online at www.coachingmodesto.com. As an experienced "money coach for women in business":http://www.lynntelfordsahl.com, Lynn offers a FREE 15 Minute phone consult for any Money Challenge you are experiencing. (209) 492-8745 orlynntelfordsahl@gmail.com

Women in Business: Keep Your Foot on The Gas Pedal!

 The 1.6 Billion Dollar woman in business, Facebook’s second in command, Sheryl Sandberg says “women need to keep your foot on the gas pedal and aim high.” Ms. Sandberg who was recently speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and her subject was women! Should Facebook’s launch go as planned Ms. Sandberg will be worth approximately 1.6 billion.  She’s one of a very few self-made women billionares. Go girl!!

Sheryl Sandberg is to the promotion of women in business as Steve Jobs was to the promotion of Apple. Her focus on women makes perfect business sense for her role in Facebook as 71% of daily fan activity and 62% of all activity is driven by women*. Women need role models who aim high and are super successful. Young women flock to hear her speak because she’s so passionate about empowering them.

All high profile people generate some backlash and there are those that say her wild success is because, as a woman in business, Ms. Sandberg has had luck and advantages others don’t have. It’s true, most women in business don’t attend Harvard or Harvard Business School. But she’s noted to be “super smart and savvy,” has obviously put to good use her business education, training and “luck,” and she’s dedicated to supporting more women into upper echelon positions.  Here’s a link to a YouTube video where Sandra talks about why women don’t make it into top positions and what to do about it. Excellent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uDutylDa4  (*NY Times, Feb 5^th 2012 The $1.6 Billion Woman, Staying on Message)