Resistance is Futile

If you’re a Star Trek fan you’ll probably remember the Borg saying—"Resistance is FUTILE."

Many people resist looking at their finances. They view budgeting or cash flow management as a punitive, authoritarian process and, for that reason, rebel or resist it. They feel controlled and react by refusing to look at their finances. The more they don't look, the scarier it becomes.

In truth, budgeting and cash flow management provide a system of financial boundaries that you set for yourself based on what is important to you. Financial clarity will help you feel more in control and have more peace of mind. You’ll have a greater sense of security that allows you to be open to an expanded sense of who you are, why you’re here, and what you truly want.

Lack of financial clarity creates a kind of financial fog, and the resulting vagueness makes it scary to move forward. The tendency is to either stop or move forward hesitantly. If you do move forward, the combination of fear and vagueness creates tunnel vision, and it becomes difficult to see options. With seemingly limited options, it can become discouraging, and hard to see a way out.

A mentor once said, “Be careful not to mistake motion for progress.” The more that fear drives your actions, the more likely you will feel like you're on a treadmill...crazy busy but not getting traction on your vision and financial goals. This is a recipe for frustration and burnout. Being confused, exhausted, overwhelmed, and stressed out results in being reactive rather than proactive and taking action on the wrong things.

In your attempt to keep money from controlling your life, it becomes the thing that drives your priorities and causes the greatest stress. Resisting dealing with your finances is exactly what perpetuates having your needs be the last to be considered or even falling off the radar completely. Anxiety about money can also lead to contracting your needs and wants. And when you ignore your true needs, it sets up a downward spiral emotionally that can impact your self-esteem negatively.

It is essential to take a holistic view of your financial needs, taking into consideration your personal and business financial needs. Being clear about the big picture of where you’re headed and looking for how to make it work for you and your business will challenge you to stop tolerating things that aren't working and look beyond your current way of doing things. With a more realistic view of what it's going to take to fund your vision, you can get strategic and make better decisions more quickly and look for creative solutions that help you work smarter rather than harder and, at the same time, raise the ceiling on your earning potential.

Financial clarity will lead to less stress and more peace of mind and will activate your creativity. It will change how you spend your time and money because you'll be more conscious of what is and isn't in alignment. As you take steps to realign how you’re using your resources — your time, money, and energy — with what you value and where you’re headed, you’ll feel a newfound sense of traction and progress.

I have had many people tell me they manage their finances intuitively, which usually doesn’t work very well! Here's what I've found based on experience. Getting the numbers out of your head and into an easy-to-understand format will free up your creativity. It will create space for intuitive insights and ideas to come through. As long as the numbers are swirling around in your head, they are in constant motion, and it’s challenging to get a read on what is going on and what will help. Getting the numbers out of your head stops the slipping and sliding, and you can see what is needed. Trust me; there are better things to occupy your mind than a swirl of financial details.

Imagine knowing what you want, where you are financially, and how much money is enough to support your vision of happiness and success. You may not yet know how to get there, but if you continue to hold the vision of what you want and quantify how much money is enough, you are letting the Universe know your desires financially.

If you’re ready to get off the hamster wheel and get strategic about funding your vision, I invite you to schedule a complimentary Discovery Session with me.

How Much Money Is Enough to Fund Your Vision?

A question that isn't addressed very often is: How much money is enough to fund your vision?

Many business owners I work with are passionate about making a difference and say that money isn’t a primary motivator. Oftentimes though, the reason they come to me for guidance is because money is a source of anxiety. They are frustrated because even when they have made more money, it’s still not enough.

An entrepreneurial myth is that if you make more money, everything will be good. Here’s the thing, making more and more money without a conscious purpose sets up an energy of lack and scarcity. If you don't know what the money's for, it's hard to know how much is enough. It sets you up for a never-ending search for more and that feeling of being on a hamster wheel of trying to make more money, only to find it’s still not enough.

We're conditioned by the media to seek MORE, whether or not MORE feeds our soul. More of what you don't truly want is what the Buddhists call "feeding the hungry ghost.” You can't ever get enough of what you don't truly want.

Before you can clarify how much money is enough to fund your vision, you have to have a vision that includes what I call a WiiFM Factor–a What’s in it For Me Factor. This is particularly important if you are someone who has a tendency to put other people’s needs and desires before your own. If there’s not a WiiFM Factor, if you don't include your own needs, dreams, and desires in your vision, it will perpetuate the cycle of “never enough.”

Increasing your revenue vs funding your vision are two very different things. Increasing your revenue doesn’t automatically mean you’ll have more money if you aren’t proactively and strategically managing profitability and cash flow. Without a conscious, positive purpose around your finances, it often leads to resistance to looking at your finances on both a personal and business level–a recipe for financial fog and even more anxiety.

The key to getting off the hamster wheel of making more and more money is having an inspiring vision that includes your dreams, needs and desires and the difference you’re here to make. It will give purpose to how you earn your money and inspire you to maximize your resources–time and money. The shift that I’ve seen with my clients is that when there is a WiiFM Factor, they want to get clear and proactive about their finances, rather than reactive. When there’s a WiiFM Factor, they want to get in the driver’s seat of your finances and use their money in ways that are aligned with their vision and values.

Having an inspiring vision, while embracing financial reality, will mobilize your energy in ways you simply can’t force. The combination of an inspiring vision and financial clarity can be the key that unlocks the door to your creativity and prosperity.

If you’re ready to get off the hamster wheel and get strategic about funding your vision, I invite you to schedule a complimentary Discovery Session.

How Can My Business Do Well When Things Are So Bad?

This question was posed by a long-time client at the start of our coaching session. Given current trends, his annual revenue was projected to be down by 25%. And for a business with around $1,000,000 in annual revenue and a 50% gross margin, the potential hit to the bottom line was significant. But even facing such a serious decline in revenue, this business owner ended up improving profitability compared to the prior year. 

Here’s how.

My client and I did a mid-year review of budget vs. actual. It became apparent that revenue was trending downward. That day, we revised the budget through the year-end and determined the magnitude of the projected shortfall … if no action was taken. In order to head off serious cash-flow problems, a course correction was clearly in order. 

After going through the budget line by line to identify obvious cost reductions, there was still a big gap. The next step was to evaluate the pros and cons of a price increase. My client decided to make small adjustments to high-volume items. The impact on the customer was small, but the impact on my client’s bottom line was significant. 

Then my client informed his key managers of the challenge the business was facing. He asked each one to review their respective areas for possible cost reductions. One night shortly after that discussion, one manager called the owner at home at 10 pm. She had come up with a strategy to re-organize staffing that would significantly reduce payroll costs over the coming year. Another manager reorganized how cleaning was being handled resulting in a significant cost reduction. The rest of the projected shortfall was expected to be made up by proactively managing expenses across the board.

After over 35 years of business consulting and financial mentoring, I can say this client’s response is a rarity, not the norm. The “B” word (budgeting) is avoided like the plague. Many business owners see budgeting as a punitive process to avoid at all costs. To make matters worse, if the business isn’t doing well it’s even harder for the business owner to take an honest look at their financials. 

Many of us have a lot of emotional baggage attached to money so it takes courage to come to grips with financial reality. But, when you do the rewards are significant!

Can you imagine how much better this client sleeps at night? How much better he felt about himself? How his employees felt to be able to contribute to the solution? 

If anxiety about your finances is keeping you up at night – you don't have to go it alone. Imagine the relief of knowing you have a solid game plan in place to get your business on the inside track to passion, purpose and profit!