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I ran into a client of mine yesterday at a function. We’ve been working together the past month, and this is what she told me:

“Bonita, I feel so different. I used to dread calling people to follow-up with them. For years, this has held my business back. Now, I can’t wait to follow-up with people I meet, and I feel so good doing it. I don’t know what happened!”

Listening to her, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew what had happened; her mindset shifted.

With a few simple activities and daily practices, that takes her less than 10 minutes per day, the problem that has plagued her for years, and kept her from earning the income she deserved, dissolved in a matter of weeks!

What was the root cause of her mindset that sabotaged her success? It was her own negative self-talk and disempowering beliefs she told herself day-in and day-out. Old tapes tucked away in her mind that she wasn’t even aware were there.

These beliefs literally “put up a wall” against her being able to receive clients that would pay her fees. And, the more business she lost, the more these beliefs took hold, and a cycle of extreme self-doubt kicked in.

The same thing happens to many other women. It isn’t a lack of skill, capability, or experience that holds women back from getting high-paying clients that value them, and will pay for their services. It’s their emotional mindset.

How do negative self-talk and disempowering beliefs show up?

If any of these ring true for you, its evidence your mindset may be the culprit, and getting in the way of you attracting high-paying clients:

• When you come up with an idea that’ll kick your business into high gear, your mind shifts to “why it won’t work”
• You harbor negative thoughts about your value and worth (“no one will pay that much”)
• You frequently compare yourself to others (and lose)
• You keep changing your mind about WHAT you want to launch
• You waffle “back and forth” about WHAT you want to charge
• You decide on an investment level, and then decrease the fee right before launch
• You downsize your goals (from wanting 8 people enrolled to then deciding on 4)

What are things you can do to dissolve away limiting and disempowering beliefs? Here is what my client did:

1. Keep a daily journal of limiting and disempowering beliefs

What are you telling yourself, day-in and day-out? Most women are playing a broken record in their heads repeatedly that criticizes, judges, and compares.

What’s the way out to break the pattern? For 3 to 5 days, write down every limiting belief that crosses your mind. See if you can detect a “pattern” of the same thoughts that keep recurring.

2. Shift thoughts from disempowering to empowering

Once you’ve identified limiting beliefs, shift them into positives by coming up with evidence of things that disprove the disempowering beliefs. For example, some limiting beliefs could be:

“Things never work out for me as planned. I am not as successful as other women entrepreneurs are. I am not as experienced and can’t charge as much for my services.”

Then, you make an empowering list of things of things like:

“Things do work out as planned for me. The workshop I lead a few months ago was fantastic, and people got a lot of value from my content. I am a successful woman entrepreneur. I have been successful getting clients, and I will get more. I am very creative and have many ideas about how to grow my business. I am experienced. I have a degree. I’ve attended “X” training events and am a continuous learner. I can charge more for my services than I have been…”

By doing this you begin to prove to your mind that these thoughts are true.

3. Do daily affirmations

From your list of things that prove your value, read them aloud to yourself every morning, first-thing when you get up. Try your best to feel what you are saying. Feel successful…feel powerful!

You can also record you what you wrote and listen to it every morning when you get up.

How must value yourself FIRST before you will attract clients who will pay higher fees that reflect your value.

When you step into that beautiful space of being kind, loving, and supportive of yourself, your energy becomes an irresistible attractant to amazing high-paying clients!

When I talk to women soloentrepreneurs, and tell them they can charge more for their programs and raise their fees, the first thing they quip is, “I’m having trouble finding any clients.  How will I find high-paying clients that’ll pay even higher fees?”

This response is one of the most common I hear.  And, this thinking is a problem because it keeps women chasing any breathing client, usually the wrong type of client.  And, when she fails to own up to her value, the value of the work she’s doing, and this keeps her income well below what she’s really worth.

Here are two tips to help you attract high-paying clients so you earn the income you deserve for your awesome programs and services!

1. Know what an Amazing High-Paying Client ‘looks’ like

If you’re reading this and thinking, “I’ve got to attract better clients,” the first place to start is to get specific about what type of person is your perfect client.

An example of a way to think about this is your perfect client confident in her abilities?  Does she take action and implement?  Does she shop at Whole Foods, do Pilates, be easy to work with, have enough money to easily invest in a coach?  Is she a low drama personality, have her financial matters in order, have a great relationship with a supportive spouse or partner?

Write down a description of your amazing, perfect client!

2. Know ”like attracts like”

I’m sure your perfect, ideal client is wonderful!  Now, take a look at the actions you’re taking in your life.  Are you doing those things your perfect client is doing?  If so, this is awesome!  If not,  this is a major leak where you are giving up your power, because to attract high-paying, awesome clients, you must first BE like the client you want to attract.

For example, if you  want to attract clients that live a healthy lifestyle, are you living in that way?  If you want clients to invest in your services, do you invest in a coach?  If you want clients that are low drama, are you low drama in your life, as well?

Start acting in your internal and external world like your perfect client, and you will start attracting them. “Like attracts like.”

To attract high-paying clients you must own up to your own value, and be in alignment with yourself both on the inside, and the outside.

Get the inside and outside in sync, and you’ll be delighted at the amazing clients who appear at your door step wanting to work with you!

One of my Private Platinum clients showed up for her retreat last October, and said to me, “I feel so silly admitting this.   But, I have difficulty figuring out how to spend my time each day in my business.   It feels like I am working all of the time, yet not getting results.  Can you help me lay out my day so I can grow my business, and feel less stress and exhaustion?”

When I asked my client questions about how she invests her daily time, the problem became clear; she didn’t prioritize her daily activities to support her in growing her income.  Plus, there were all sorts of ‘time leaks’ in her day because she didn’t set boundaries with clients and family members.

For example, she was allowing non-urgent family requests, such as running to the pharmacy to pick up meds, to interrupt her day.  She also gave her clients unlimited access to her.  Her own priorities kept getting pushed further and further into the background.

This resulted in her working 6 days a week until 9 or 10 pm each night.  And, she was earning less than $20,000 per year for all this work!  No wonder she was stressed out, exhausted, and her income suffered.

The problem is clear: when you don’t manage your time properly, you become overworked, and work way too hard for too little money.

Here are 5 tips to help you better-manage your time so your business and income will grow:

1. Read first-thing every morning for 30 minutes to get your mind ready for the day.

I like to ease my ‘thinking brain’ into my day by investing 30 minutes each day reading something educational that gives me the knowledge I need to develop my personal mastery skills, and grow my business. 

Another big benefit of starting your day this way is it gives you creative fuel’ that will spark new ideas you can apply in your business immediately.

2. Focus on income and invest 90 minutes each day on your Bold Money Goal.

For the next 90 minutes of your day, invest time doing income generating activities directed toward achieving your Bold Money Goal. 

3. Build marketing momentum (or keep it going) by investing 120 minutes per day.

For a minimum if 120 minutes (two hours per day), plan to invest time doing marketing.  Activities include following up with potential clients, networking, social media updates, speaking, delivering a list-building teleseminar, contacting joint venture partners, referral sharing, newsletter preparation and broadcast, attending trade shows, etc.

Note: If you need clients or are new in business, a guideline is to invest up to half your day (4 hours) doing marketing activities!

The trap people often fall into is when they get clients, they then get into client delivery mode and forget about marketing.  Then, very quickly, marketing momentum is lost, and the “marketing machine” has to start all over again.  It takes an incredible amount of energy and time to restart the marketing machine!

It is much better to spend time every single day marketing.  This evens out your cash flow and income.

4. Work on 3 ‘smaller’ goals for 45 minutes.

By smaller goals, I am talking about those projects that aren’t urgent, yet they need to be done to grow your business.  It could be such things as researching keywords to optimize your website, working on creating a Facebook page, and other tasks. 

Invest 15 minutes on each of your top three small goals.  This may not seem like a lot of time.  But, take these small bites of time, and watch you accomplish these smaller goals with ease! 

5. End your day with 30 minutes of creative time.

At the end of each day, invest 30 minutes in creative free thought, and write down all you ideas.  You’ll feel relaxed, stress will melt away, and it’s a very pleasant way to close the work day.

These 5 ideas will help give you structure to how you invest time during your day.  Of course, you also need to allow time for client fulfillment activities, delivering discovery sessions, content creation, attending professional development activities, and so on.

 Get connected to the TRUE COST of not managing your time.

 Time is a non-renewable resource. When your time is gone, it’s gone. Which means: when you don’t invest your time wisely, you sacrifice your dream.

 So what happened with my client?

We restructured her workday so she was only working 5 days per week, instead of 6.  And, she set boundaries with clients by setting aside a time period each day when they could call her (rather than allowing them to call any time day and night).  She also communicated to family members the importance of her work, and set boundaries of when she would be able to take time to fulfill family needs.

By doing this, she was able to treat her business as the priority it is.  After all, she deserves to earn the income she desires…and so do you!  This allows her, and you, to serve others, as well as yourselves.

Once upon a time, one of my Platinum clients came to her coaching session feeling very unsure of herself, and frustrated. “I’ve started creating my Signature System, but then I get stuck when I look at what everyone else is offering.  It seems what they have is so much better.  Help!”

When I heard her say this to me, the problem was clear.  She was suffering from the “I’m not good enough” trap.  By comparing herself to other people, she was doing what most of us do: ending up short in comparison, and losing self-confidence.  My client is definitely not alone with this problem.

The problem is when you compare yourself to others, you take YOU and your special and unique talents and gifts out of the equation to be successful. 

This cripples your business’s growth, because when you compare, you inevitably fall short in comparison.  This is too bad, because doing this is a way women “take themselves out of the game” and don’t take the actions they need to grow their business.

Here are 3 tips to help you curb the urge to fall into the “I’m not good enough trap”:

1. Get a sense of your own value

You are unique in your knowledge, life experiences, talents, and special gifts.  There is no one else like you on the planet.  Get in touch with this so you gain a sense of your own value, what you have to offer others, and how you can uniquely help them.

Action Idea: Take out a sheet or paper and make a list of everything that contributes to the value of your work, including degrees, awards, trainings, natural skills and talents, people you’ve helped and specific results they’ve achieved, what others value about you, and what you value about yourself!

2. Create a continuous self-improvement plan

Ongoing expansion of your knowledge and personal mastery of key skills in your business is crucial to its growth and success.  Your current skill level and beliefs are reflected daily in the results you get in your business.  What’s your business reflecting back to you?

Being in business is not easy for most women entrepreneurs, because the fact is our potential clients have many choices when they want to work with someone get the help they’re seeking.  Why should they choose you?

Get in touch with the fact that part of their choice is determined by your special skills, life experiences, and talents you possess, as well as what you are learning NOW.  Keep your knowledge base up-to-date, and constantly be learning and growing to build your expertise and value in your clients’ eyes.

Action Idea: Meet with a mentor regularly, someone who will challenge you, stretch you, so you continue to grow and evolve.  Become part of a master mind group of like-minded entrepreneurs, lead be a leader who has successfully navigated the path and has ‘reached the other side.’  Attend professional development conferences, seminars, and workshops to increase your knowledge base and keep current.

3. Up-level your internal self-talk

Pay close attention to what you tell yourself, because what you say becomes your reality.  Notice what key ideas, phrases, thoughts, or beliefs keep spinning ‘round and round’ in your brain, disempowering you.  Make a choice of one idea or thought or belief to shift to something that supports you.

Action Idea: For the next 1 to 3 days. Jot down any disempowering beliefs that keep coming up for you.  Make a choice to stop these thoughts in their tracks, and adopt positive beliefs, instead.

Stop comparing yourself to others and get in touch with the TRUE VALUE of YOU.

You are special, unique, and to be successful, your business has to be a reflection of YOU.  Not someone else.  Put YOU in the center of your business, and create programs that project your expertise, what you know, and who you want to serve.  This will create ease in your business, because you will stop struggling ‘against’ yourself.

So, what happened with my client? She became aware she had a pattern of negative self talk and beliefs, and consciously chose to stop talking to herself in a self-defeating way. 

She also realized she had to focus on herself, and her business, and not other people.  She stopped struggling, and creating her programs got much easier once she stopped directing her energy outward toward comparing herself to others!

Want to learn strategies you can use to create a self-empowering mindset to support your success?  It’s no coincidence that once I started paying attention to my mindset (about 10 minutes every day), I created a 6-figure business working only about 10 to 12 hours per week.  I’m now sharing my secrets in a complimentary 6-Figure Mindset Secrets Breakthrough Session.  I’m only offering 5 spots.  To reserve your spot contact me at (847) 989-0513.

What if you teach about relationships, yet you don’t have the perfect relationship? 

What if you teach about money management, but you haven’t amassed a millionaire’s fortune?

What if you teach others how to market and build a business, yet you are still striving to achieve a certain income level?

Can you still help others if you haven’t “made it,” yet?

When I am working with my clients, inevitably, when they consider teaching others how to do something they’ve learned, and have had some success at doing, many times they still object to teaching others because they feel they haven’t “made it.”

In other words, they haven’t achieved a level of mastery they feel they should have achieved, to have the ‘right’ to teach others what they know.  They think if they do so, they’re a fraud.

I am here to tell you this is just not true.

First of all, who’s to say what destination you “should have” arrived at?  There are people out there right now who are looking for you, with your unique experiences they can relate to, and only two or three steps ahead of them.  And as a mentor, this is all you truly need to be to help your clients!

You don’t need to be the superstar coach in your industry.  There is plenty of room for co-stars to stand out, and become known for their unique offerings, and how they help.

Remember Fonzie from the T.V. hit show Happy Days?  He was not the star of the show, but he was still certainly a “hit,” and got plenty of attention!  The same is true for you, too.

If you teach about marketing, there are certain things you know, and ways of teaching that nobody else knows because your teachings are based on your personal experience. You can teach it in a way that nobody else can.

If you have something to offer, you simply cannot let the gremlins in your mind stop you from using your gifts.  What you have to teach others will change their lives forever, so don’t hold that back from the people you are meant to help.

If you’re still thinking you haven’t arrived, ask yourself, “What is the destination, anyway?”  Your life is a never-ending journey of growth.  As soon as you’ve arrived at one destination, there’s a new one to strive toward.  My point is you never arrive, because there’s always a new place to get to.

Another thing you must do is claim your expertise; this is really the bottom line.  No matter where you are on your path, claim your expertise.

My coach’s request of you this week is if you have any concerns about teaching what you know, because you feel you don’t know enough, have not arrived, will feel like a fraud, is to look at all your expertise, credentials, and unique experiences.  You can help others perfectly, today, right from where you are!

Problem: playing small, not shining, not being an example, keeps others and me small

Why the need to change: to be a model, help others grow, grow income, be self-sufficient, live out life purpose, fulfill dreams, and strive to achieve potential

How to change: recognize where you are playing small, and what the cost is to you, and what you are going to do to change

When faced with a must-change behavior we are doing, in a moment’s time it becomes apparent this behavior has to change.  The behavior I need to change is to stop playing small, hiding out, and keeping my success to myself.

Why?  Because if I am to be the leader I want to be, a ‘Leading Lady,’ I have to set an example for the women I want to help.  I have to be a model of success.  I have to show what I’ve achieved, so they can see it, believe it, and increase their own awareness the same is possible for them.

This past weekend it hit me like a brick falling out of thin air.  Because of a fear of people not liking me, thinking I am bragging, and generally not wanting people to be jealous of me, I’ve been playing very, very small.  This is my bare-all confession to you.

This weekend I decided I was tired of playing small.  I am going to step out, step up, and be the model of success and leader women entrepreneurs need to help them achieve success, too.

Part of my mission I deeply believe in is that women have the right to thrive and support themselves on their own terms, using their unique gifts and talents, and not having to conform to anyone else’s expectations of them, “shoulds,” and fears getting in the way.  The ONLY way I am going to be heard is if I step out, get this message out, and express it in my own being.

So, for me, becoming the Leading Lady of my own life means taking full ownership of my point of view, beliefs, and mission, and helping those I’m meant to serve.

To help you, I want to share ideas with you, that you, in turn, can model and step into.

I know I am a leader.  I have lived it, I’ve had amazing successes, I feel it in my bones.  It’s something I am, and am destined to be.  I can step up and be a stronger role model by expressing this to you, so you can follow me and achieve the same, rather than hiding out and keeping it a secret.

Here are ways I expressed hiding out so you can learn from them, know what it has cost me, as well as those people I was meant to help.

Not collecting enough testimonials for the work I do.  Cost:  People don’t know how I can help them, they don’t know the “whole story,” may have insufficient evidence, and not as many people hired me, which means I did not help as many people, and they didn’t reach the levels of success they may have.  It also hurt my income, too.

Not raising my fees as high as what I am worth.  Cost: This has kept my income suppressed, I did not create the security cushion fast enough, that I needed to pursue my passion full-bore, I am not attracting enough of the type of client who will appreciate my work the most, and be willing to pay for it because they know I’ve “got the goods” to help them succeed.

Not speaking of my success.  Cost: Women have not been able to use me as a strong role model as they could have, because they didn’t know I wasn’t an “Average Jane.”  The cost to other women has been high, because they may not have sought my help, when I am the best one to help them.

Not speaking of my income and lifestyle.  The reason is that I don’t want to “brag.”  Cost: Inauthenticity, suppressing myself, not wanting to make others feel bad, where it could have been used to lift others up and bring them along with me.

The total cost to me over the last three years of keeping my gifts “hidden” is over $1,000,000 in lost income.  Shocking, isn’t it?  And, I have not helped as many women as I could have by staying small, which means their incomes have been suppressed, as well.

What’s the cost to you for not stepping out, and stepping up into playing the role of Leading Lady in your life?

I am declaring to you from this moment on, I am boldly stepping into being the leader of my business that I am.  How will you know?  You will see me open up more about my point of view, what I will “go to the mat for,” and expressing my beliefs.  I will be sharing my successes, and collecting proof of the transfomration my clients get by working with me.  And, I am going to be a leading example that you can model so you can grow with me, too.

No more playing small, the cost is too high to me, and those I am meant to help.  No more.

How many times have you wanted to invest in a coaching program, but the first thought that entered your mind was, “I don’t have the money”? This is an automatic response that usually has nothing to do with money. It usually has to do with thoughts of lack, scarcity, that there ‘won’t be enough.’

The problem with this scarcity thinking is it prevents you from making decisions and taking required steps that will move you and your business forward, keeping you stuck right where you are, and actually putting you in an even worse position over time.

The truth is you probably do have enough money in your world to invest in yourself (hooray!), and get the coaching, support, and accountability you need to move your business forward.

Here are 10 places to look to find the money you need so you can invest in you, and your business, and achieve your income goals.

1. Business loan

Even though banks aren’t lending business loans as freely as they once did for small business entrepreneurs, some lending organizations are. ACCION is a microloan lender, offering loans ranging from $200 to $25,000, even for start-ups. They also have very flexible payment terms, and will work with you to creatively “go the extra mile” above and what banks will do to finance your loan.

2. Business loan from family and friends

One of the best sources of startup or expansion capital. Think about people in your life who care about you, and want to see you succeed. Reach out to them, and share your business plan.

3. Part-Time Job

Getting a part-time job to fund your dream is nothing to shy away from, or be ashamed of. You’re “doing what it takes” to get the seed money you need to start or grow your business. ALL businesses need investment to start and grow. It is impossible to grow a business without investing money in it. Period.

4. 401ks and other investments

There may be ways to get money out of your 401k to fund your business without suffering a penalty. Do the research, and ask your accountant about the rules. Taking money out of your 401k is an investment in YOU.

5. Create a program and sell it

When I invested in a 5-figure program a few months ago, I was immediately motivated to create a program and get new clients. I can honestly tell you I may not have been as motivated had I NOT invested the money. The result: I created the most money I’d ever created in 5 week’s time—$28,000.

When you invest at a certain level, you can then CHARGE at a higher level immediately.  This is an immediate boost to your fees and income!

6. Low interest credit cards

Credit is not bad if it is managed properly. Low interest credit cards can be a very good way to finance an investment in your business. Again, have a plan to turn your investment into income, and pay back the loan as quickly as possible.

7. Sell your stuff

Do you have things you’re storing away and keeping that can be turned into cash? It’s not uncommon for people to sell old cars, jewelry, and other items on eBay.  You can always create the money for a new “stuff.” You can never get back time wasted and income opportunities lost.

8. Home equity line of credit

If you have equity in your home, this is another option to get the money you need to fund an investment.

9. Streamline your budget

Take a look at your budget, look at your current spending, and decide what can be shifted around. Redirect the money you’re spending to higher priorities, such as investing in yourself.

10. Say “yes” to yourself

Decide to invest in yourself. Once you do, the WAY about how you will make the money to fund your investment will become clear to you. Getting the coaching you need will help you find the way.

Get connected to the TRUE cost of thinking you don’t have the money to invest in yourself.

Time is a non-renewable resource. When it’s gone, it’s gone. Which means when you give in to scarcity-based thinking that you don’t have the money to invest in yourself, you are giving away your dream.

Say “yes” to yourself and create a 6-figure business in 12 months or less.  To inquire about private 1-on-1 coaching with me contact me at http://www.bonitarichter.com/contact.

Many women entrepreneurs have agonizing difficulty ‘asking for the money’ when having a sales conversation with a potential client.   By not asking for a money commitment to enroll in their program, it quickly costs them thousands of dollars in lost income.

Following are actions you can implement immediately to make ‘asking for the money” a graceful activity you will begin to enjoy in your business!

To start, it is vital to get in touch with specific situations you have difficulty asking for the money.  Then, you must become aware of the financial cost of “not getting a handle” on these situations.

Typical areas women have trouble talking about money are:

• Making an offer in a Discovery Session (they freeze when it comes time to state their fees)
• Taking payment immediately over the phone (they wait for a check that never arrives)
• Making an offer to a client currently enrolled with them to invest in additional services (fear of being “pushy” / greedy)
• Asking a client to get current with payments (boundaries issue)
• Making an offer when speaking or training (fear of thinking ‘what other people will think’)

To transform your mindset into one of empowerment when ‘asking for the money,’ look at the list above and choose one situation that repeatedly crops up for you.  You may think of another situation you struggle with, as well.  Write your chosen situation down on a piece of paper.

Now, with your chosen situation, identify what it is you are secretly fear will happen; I’ve listed common reasons below.  Write down the fears that resonate with you:

• Being rejected
• Being judged
• Not being liked
• Losing love / friendship
• Losing business
• Worried what people will think
• Not being approved of
• Other fears

To make a change, you need to get in touch with the cost of not correcting this problem and calculate the financial cost.

To calculate the financial costs do the following simple math:

A. How many clients a month do you typically lose by not ‘asking for the money’ to make a sale?

B. What is the dollar value of each client lost?

C. What is the monthly cost of this situation (Multiply A x B)?

D. What is the yearly cost of this situation (Multiply C x 12 months)

If you’re like many women, you are now picking your jaw up off the floor because this situation is hurting your income BIG time.  And for many, the amount represents more than their entire year’s worth of salary from their business!

For a simple solution to immediately change this situation ask yourself the following questions:

“What if being afraid of the situation noted above were no longer important to me?”  

“What actions would I take?”

These questions are an opportunity for a breakthrough, and begin shifting your mindset around why you must become comfortable, so you feel confidence, ease and grace ‘asking for the money.’

Keep in mind that you are offering a service that has tremendous value to your clients.  By not making an offer to help them, you are depriving them of your gifts, and helping them be more successful.

Do you want to learn strategies how to generate immediate income in your business?  Stay tuned!  I’m excited about a *BRAND NEW* program I’m creating that is ALL about accelerating your income generation.

To create major transformation in your business, new patterns, habits, and behaviors must be put into play.

You have to consciously make new choices at every moment and with every action you take so that you are moved continuously closer to your goals and dreams.

It is important to recognize ways of acting that hold you back, otherwise you may never get to the heart of the problem why you can’t move your business forward. Once you identify self-limiting patterns, then you can consciously “catch yourself in the act” and make the necessary shifts in behavior.

Here’s a list of common ways women “take themselves out the game” and keeps them playing small in their business:

Overwhelm. Caused by trying to do too much yourself, not getting help, confusion about how to do things, over-scheduling.

Remedy: Take a step back and look at it from an “outside” view. What would you advise someone to do in this position? Decide what needs to be done, make a list, get help with things you don’t know how to do, get into action!

Comparing yourself to others. Looking at what everyone else is doing, and inevitably “falling short.”

Remedy: Stop comparing yourself to others because you and your business are unique. Put you, your desires, goals, expertise, and who you want to serve front and center in your business. Build your business model, marketing and income plan around YOU; not someone else’s idea of their business.

Indecision. Waffling back and forth about a decision you must make, which wastes a tremendous amount of energy and time. Common “waffle” decisions revolve around “who’s your niche,” what programs to offer, pricing issues, what to write in your e-newsletter, and so on.

Remedy: Make a decision and move forward. Don’t be afraid of failure, because it probably won’t happen to the extent you visualize it in your mind.  Things may not go as planned.  And, you can always course-correct and change your plan.

Not implementing. Usually caused by fear of failure, doubt, indecision, doing a lot of research about what others are doing, collecting data and information. All this causes your income to stay stuck.

Remedy. Make a decision. Put a time limit on the amount of time you spend on research. Remember, what you put together doesn’t have to be “perfect” or everything you know about a particular subject. Things WILL turn out okay.

Making excuses. Saying things like, “I’m not ready yet,” or blaming someone else or your coach for lack of results, being a victim, giving up your power.

Remedy: Take responsibility for results. Doing so restores power relinquished to others.

“Hiding out.” Not speaking up, not marketing enough, not being seen, hiding out behind computer, being the “best kept secret,” marketing churning (revising/refining materials, website, brand over and over and over again).

Remedy: Stop seeking perfection in marketing materials. Resolve to get out and meet prospective clients, network. Let your voice be heard in your e-newsletter, in meetings, on phone calls, group forums, etc.

Not asking for support. Not having a coach or community of people to support you in your growth, not being open to receiving help from others.

Remedy: Have people who support you in your realm. This could be a coach, a spouse, a coaching community, friends, family. People who believe in you and your potential, and will support you in your journey, provide you guidance. Anything great that’s been accomplished has never been done alone.

Over-scheduling. Being a “yes” person, over-committing yourself, never having “enough time.”

Remedy: Time block your calendar and don’t feel guilty about it. Time batch similar tasks together. Plan for creative and you time in your schedule. Say, “No” to requests that you don’t want to do or that won’t support you reaching your goals. Don’t let other peoples’ priorities and emergencies drive your daily schedule.

Perfectionism.  Working  and working it until whatever you’re doing is “just right.”  The result is you don’t get things accomplished quickly, delays occur, and your income suffers.   

Remedy: Striving for perfection is an unachievable task.  I’m not saying put low-quality work out, as this will hurt your brand image.  What you can do is strive for implementation—not perfection.  And when things aren’t perfect, try not to sweat it.  (I suffer from this one BIG time.  So, I know how hard it is.  Do your best, and keep moving.  Don’t “sweat the small stuff.”)

After reading this list you may come up with some of your own ideas how you self- sabotage your own efforts achieving success in your business.

My coach’s request of you this week is to take a look at this list and write down the ways that you are taking yourself “out of the game.” Which of the above topics resonate with you most?

Then, to make a positive shift and overcome these limiting behaviors ask yourself the following question—

“If I were to make a different choice in this moment, what would it be?”

By identifying your limiting behaviors and making better choices, you will overcome the very actions that are holding your business back on a daily basis. Once you do, your business will immediately begin to transform and beautiful things will begin to unfold for you!

When I mentor my clients on how to quickly raise their fees 20-50%, one of the very first things we work on is mindset.

A woman’s emotional mindset influences whether she will be able to successfully ASK for higher fees, or if she’ll cave into self-sabotaging limiting beliefs, such as “No one will pay that much,” “I don’t know enough,” “I’ll have to work harder and won’t have a life.”

To ask for higher fees, and GET them, you have to have a to-the-core-of-you belief that YOU are worth it. If you don’t feel this way, you’re prospective clients are going to “tune in” to the shaky vibes you’re emitting.

So, what can you do to embrace a state of mind that you are worth every penny you charge? Here are 3 ways to start:

1. Identify Self-Sabotaging Fears and Beliefs

Bring light to the negative internal dialogue you have with yourself to take the first step toward changing self-sabotaging fears and beliefs. By doing so you’ll identify what is holding you back from achieving your vision and goals.

For the next 1 to 3 days, carry a journal with you and write down any negative thoughts or beliefs about yourself that you say or think about yourself. This is the internal negative self-talk you want to banish. Pick ONE message you frequently have running through your mind and decide to shift it, right now. You’re going to feel so much lighter energetically, and empowered right away!

2. Up-level Your Internal Self-Talk

Now that you’ve chosen a limiting belief or fear to address, you want to collect “proof” that what you keep telling yourself is simply not true. What I want you to do is take that negative thought, and change it into a positive, the complete opposite of the negative thought.

For example, for the limiting belief, “I’m not ready yet,” change it to “I am completely ready right now.” To support this belief, think of legs of a table that can “hold” this belief up. Each of the legs is evidence or proof-positive that the empowering belief is true! Evidence of this belief can be 1) specific training you’ve received, 2) work experiences, 3) degrees/awards, and 4) noting all you’ve done up to this point to prepare.

Support your positive belief, and walk into any fear you feel. I assure you, what you want is on the other side of your fear.

3. Clean Up Your “Money Stuff”

Because you’re working toward up-leveling your fees and attracting higher-paying clients, it’s time to get how you handle money in order, because more of it is going to be flowing to you.

Cleaning up your “money stuff” can be overwhelming, so here’s a simple place to start…

Begin to track EVERY bit of income that comes to you, every day, to the penny. Everything counts, including your partner’s money, interest income, reimbursement checks, stock dividends, and of course all the money you bring in! The reason it all counts is because every bit of it influences your lifestyle, and adds to your net worth.

These three steps are a powerful first step to transform your sense of your own value, and prepare you to allow the flow of greater income into your life. When you value yourself FIRST, others will follow, and you’ll attract higher-paying clients!