Hnnnnnffffff.
If running your business makes you groan like a three-year-old avoiding naptime, something is wrong.
But I see this way too often in struggling entrepreneurs.
They feel like everything sucks, that the money isn’t coming in and that their business is floundering. They keep strugglebus-ing along, convinced that the world, the economy, their clients, or just downright bad luck are to blame.
Well, I call bull.
This is nothing more than a symptom of struggling entrepreneur syndrome. I know how hard it is to kick this negative identity, especially when you’re struggling to pay the bills.
But I’ve realized something. Struggling entrepreneur syndrome is nothing more than developing a nasty scarcity mindset.
The danger of the scarcity mindset
When you have a scarcity mindset, you’re convinced there’s never enough money or business to go around. This dog-eat-dog mentality puts you in survival mode but for all the wrong reasons.
Your mindset can make or break you. And yes, that goes for your business and your money. A scarcity mindset will always set you up to struggle, my friend.
Don’t believe me?
I once had a client who was defrauded by Bernie Madoff, who ran one of the worst Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. The guy lost nearly everything.
Naturally, my client had a really hard time recovering and developed a very negative view of money. Every day he talked about his money failures and inadequacies.
These complaints didn’t help him, of course.
Only after making a series of silly money mistakes did he realize the truth. He had convinced himself there was no abundance in his life — and that made him settle for living on scraps.
This mindset cost him dearly.
The scarcity mindset has the power to destroy both your business and personal finances. If you believe you can’t get clients or that you can’t fix your financial situation, of course you can’t.
And this is the kind of negative self-fulfilling prophecy that prevents entrepreneurs from succeeding.
Your mindset is your barrier, not your business plan, clients or the economy. If you want to be successful, you gotta ditch the scarcity mindset.
Forging an abundance mindset
My goal is to empower you. But you’ve got to do a lot of the legwork here, partner. The best solutions will come from your Inner Guide.
However, as somebody who’s once walked in your shoes, I can give guidance.
The key to empowerment is adjusting how we look at wealth and abundance. That means shifting your scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset.
When you have an abundance mindset, you recognize you have more than you need.
With an abundance mindset, you feel free to do the work that gives you joy, instead of living on scraps because you need to pay bills. It’s the difference between finding rockstar clients you love and not-so-wonderful clients that make you want to scream.
But why? Why do you need to have an abundance mindset to be successful?
Because when you find abundance in your life, you won’t be desperate. You’ll be in an awesome place financially, and you can be selective about your clients. An abundance mindset frees you to work with clients who will pay what you’re worth.
And your energy shifts from “Oh please work with me, I’m desperate” to one of confidence. That means your finances will be in good shape, and your business will take off. Sounds worth the work to me.
I go in depth on how you can grow an abundance mindset (and get out of a biz rut) in my Five Star Client Formula course.
In my own journey to abundance, I learned there are three steps to changing your money mindset for good.
1. Rework your money patterns
This is your time to shine. Self-awareness is the first step to changing how you look at money and abundance. Recognize troublesome money problems that throw you off track.
What’s on your mind? Is it a late bill payment, lack of savings or nonexistent retirement? Think about the patterns and habits that might contribute to these problems. Don’t take action on these habits quite yet. Just acknowledge their presence.
2. Make new rules and boundaries
I got through my darkest financial hour by setting firm boundaries with myself.
I told myself that, no matter what, I would pay my credit card minimum on time. A small thing, but this boundary helped me stay on track, even when my situation felt grim. I was glad I followed through, because I slowly rebuilt positive money habits.
Boundaries don’t mean you can’t do something. A personal boundary means you’re wisely acknowledging what you will and won’t do. You’re making a choice.
Recognizing you have choice in your life builds confidence. And that’s key to the abundance mindset.
3. Create new behaviors
Once you recognize troublesome habits and set up some good, old-fashioned boundaries, create new behaviors.
Your money is a tool to advance your goals, not a hindrance or an obstacle.
Use your wise Inner Guide to create healthy money behaviors. Align your behaviors with your life, needs, goals, and values to find behaviors that will actually work.
Remember, baby steps lead to an avalanche of abundance. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your success. But when implemented with fidelity over time, you’ll see results.
The bottom line
I know from experience that developing an abundance mindset can be difficult. But once you’ve found it, hold on. That’s the key to finding your groove as an entrepreneur.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the guest author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of MindShift.money.
image credit: Bigstock/fizkes
Jeanna is a Master Business Coach and Chief Rabble Rouser of MasterPeace Coaching. After 20+ years of liberating business owners from the curse of “not enough” and the myth of “hard work pays off,” she knows without question you can make massive amounts of money and impact millions even if you’ve been struggling for years.