Your Money Thoughts Drive Your Business Results

You know you need to invest more in your business, but you worry your clients will leave if you raise prices to cover the new expense.

You’re buried up to your eyeballs in work and your husband and kids hardly know you anymore, but you still haven’t hired help.

You missed your profitability target last month, so you decide to use some cheaper ingredients in your restaurant’s most popular dish.

These are just a few business decisions that are directly and negatively impacted by your money thoughts.  And your ability to change these thoughts can be the difference between whether your business succeeds or fails.

Why Do Businesses Fail?

 According to the Small Business Administration, about half of all businesses fail within the first five years.  

Traditional thinking focuses the blame on making poor tactical decisions such as choosing a poor location, trying to enter an over-saturated market or not investing enough in online presence and other marketing initiatives.

While these reasons can contribute and, in some cases, may be the main cause of business failures, my observations of thousands of businesspeople leads me to a different conclusion.  In the various entrepreneurial schools and seminars I have attended, the single, biggest differentiator between the businesses that wildly succeed and those that struggle is the money mindset or the money thoughts of the owner.  

Here’s an example of a money thought not serving an entrepreneur well.

Thought – “My Clients Will Leave if I Raise My Prices”

A common negative money thought among entrepreneurs is, “My clients will leave if I raise my prices.”  Thinking about raising your prices can be triggered by any number of circumstances such as:

• Considering a new expense that will help grow your business
• Trying to find a way to hire the help you desperately need 
• Figuring out how to absorb a price increase on goods or services essential to your business.

And what are some potential results? They include:

• No new clients because you are not investing in your business
• No new clients because you’re too busy running around on day to day tasks which leaves no time for marketing to attract new customers.
• Possibly a loss of customers when your most popular dish doesn’t taste as good, which is exactly what you were trying to avoid!

Try Some New Thoughts to Give You Different Results

So, after seeing how this thinking can limit or in some cases harm your business, consider these new money thoughts:

• “I can try raising my prices and see what happens.  If I don’t like the result, I can always go back.”
• “I’m willing to pay for quality.  Why should my clients be any different?”
• “My restaurant is already packed.  Raising prices may chase some people away, but may make room for others who can’t get a table!”

You can see how a simple shift in your thinking can then catalyze the results you’re looking for in your business;  whether that be investing for growth, getting help or growing your bottom line.  

The next time you have a negative money thought, spend some time with it.  Write it down. Write down the emotions associated with this thinking. Then, list some new possible thoughts that shift the way you feel, which in turn will shift the way you act.  

Feel free to DM me with the thought you’re working on if you’re looking for suggestions on new thoughts to try!