Money Insights Detail

Yesterday was International Women’s Day – the day when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

In my work I spend a lot of time with women in business and it is fascinating to see how their relationship with money holds them back. There are two main money types which hold women back.

The Innocent

While they are committed to their business, they don’t focus on the finances of their business. They don’t organise their expenses, forget to invoice and are late in paying their bills.

The Martyr

The martyr fails to recognise their own value while they are committed to being perfect for everyone else. They charge low rates for very high specifications of work. These are the women who work 24/7 and yet, someone how, don’t seem to be making a profit.

Seek out the Magician 

Of course, no one is 100% Innocent or Martyr and most of us have a little of this in them. None of us can say, hand on heart, that we haven’t left a bill to the last minute or failed to set a fair price of a fair day of work.

What I seek to do is to bring out the Magician in you. This is the money type which sees a business woman who:

1. Has a good understanding of money and puts time aside to organise her finances. She keeps track of bills as they come in, makes sure she knows what her cash flow is like and makes buying decisions based on this.
2. Knows her own value and also the value of the work she is doing and charges accordingly. Sometimes she will set prices lower than her usual market rate because she can see the potential in the business. Sometimes, she will charge at her market rate because she is delivering value in what she does. Sometimes she will charge above the market rate because what she is being asked to do is more than what is usual and reasonable for the skills she has to offer.
3. Has self esteem and minimises self-sabotage. She is not afraid of reasonable conversations about finances with clients. She doesn’t dread putting her prices up or writing terms which protect her business into contracts. She is confident about building her business by asking for work, building relationships and seeking way in which she can add value for her clients.
4. She works on her business as well as in her business by setting aside time for administration, people management, learning and business development. This time is not at weekends or in the evening – fitting it in around the value-adding activities of what she does – but as a core component of her working day.
5. She invests in self-care knowing that issues in her personal life will inevitably show up in her business, she makes sure she is giving time and space to her self-development in order to maximise her business results. Running a business is demanding, so our business magician takes time to be well – in mind and body and spirit. She does something to give her joy every day and takes time for herself so that she is focussed and self assured.

Every business woman should know their money type

Do you know your money type? And how it shows up for you in your business? Take our money type quiz to understand your own money type.