By: April Carson
The conversation about money should be reserved for the analyst. It should not matter what you earn. It should not matter how much other people earn. You are paid to do a job, and you are being compensated for your efforts. How many times have you heard someone say, "I just want to be compensated fairly for what I do?" How many times have you heard that from an employee? How many times have you said that yourself?
Despite the fact that there are many topics considered to be taboo in a typical workplace, money is still one of them and remains as such. For leaders this can prove detrimental to their teams or even organizations because it prevents people from discussing important issues about finances which could potentially lead into team success or organizational development.
When it comes to talking about money, entrepreneurs are no different than everyday citizens. Just like anyone else, when they start a new business or shift their focus to expanding the business when speaking about finances can often result in an emotional response. With this emotional response it becomes very difficult for entrepreneurs to speak intelligently and objectively about how much they should be charging their clients.
It's not that money is difficult to talk about; it's that talking about our feelings about money is tough, which can help explain why even those with financial advisors may be afraid to discuss it. However, it is a necessary discussion that needs to happen long before a business becomes successful.
The root of the problem is that entrepreneurs are willing to take great risks financially in order to launch their businesses, but once the money starts coming they often become too scared or prideful to discuss what they're doing with it. And this often results in an inability to plan for the future.
"They are so afraid of asking, that they don't do it," says Deb Nelson, founder of Nelson Motivation Inc., who has helped many entrepreneurs learn how to make money work for them in business by making sure their practices are in alignment with their values.
One of the main reasons why entrepreneurs have a difficult time with talking about money is because they don't want to undercharge for their services or products and in some cases, they don't even know how much to charge someone. If this is the case, it becomes very easy for entrepreneurs to not only misprice their products but also give the impression that they do not know what they are doing.
In business it is important to have the facts and figures before you, but this has to be done in a way that doesn't necessarily overwhelm your client. The key word here is balance, something that every entrepreneur should strive for.
When entrepreneurs can overcome their fear of talking about money and start putting a price on their products and/or services, it provides them with several crucial advantages such as:
1. The ability to prove that they are worth investing in, which also gives them the confidence needed to keep fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams without having to doubt themselves.
2. The opportunity to make more money by charging clients more for their products and/or services because when an entrepreneur undercharges for their products or services, it makes it difficult for them to either break even or make a profit.
3. Makes it easier for entrepreneurs to justify the money that they spend on their business and makes it easier for them to come up with a clearer picture of what they should be spending their money on instead of going into debt because when entrepreneurs do not know how much something is worth, they will end up spending a lot more money than they should have.
4. The opportunity to turn down less-than-ideal opportunities that an entrepreneur would not have been able to turn down before because when entrepreneurs know how much their services and/or products are worth, it makes it easier for them to say no to things that do not make sense for their business.
5. The opportunity to negotiate with clients who want more than what the product or service is worth because when entrepreneurs know how much their services and/or products are worth, they can say no to clients who do not understand that their product or service is already an amazing deal.
My advice to entrepreneurs is simple. If you are afraid of talking about money or getting paid, do not let your fear stand in the way of expanding your revenue stream.
Although you may be afraid of talking about money, if you know your product or service is worth it and what other people will pay for it, then you can afford to say no and turn down less than ideal opportunities. If entrepreneurs do not overcome their fears of talking about money and getting paid they're going to miss out on a lot of opportunities to make more money.
As owner of Bossbabymav.com, I personally know how important it is for entrepreneurs to overcome their fears of talking about money and getting paid. If you don't ask, you won't receive!
Bossbabymav.com is an online store for all baby clothing and necessities. We provide super soft Organic Cotton clothing and products, baby shower gifts, plush toys, books and items for new moms!
I hope that this article helps everyone understand why it's important for entrepreneurs to know how much they're worth and to turn down less-than-ideal opportunities when necessary.
DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT BILLY'S PODCAST - MENTAL ENSLAVEMENT IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY!
ORDER YOUR BOOK NOW!
Comments