Solopreneur Spotlight: Jennifer Graham On Coping With Business Changes During COVID-19

Jennifer Graham made a number of pivots in her business to adapt to COVID-19. While we discussed her business strategies last week, this week I want to highlight the emotional strategies she discussed with me. Being a business owner during this time has been hard on many of us, and the thoughts she shared about taking care of her own wellbeing were full of insights we can all use. Taking care of our emotions allows us to be smarter with our finances, so I believe prioritizing our feelings during this time is key to preserving our businesses.

Acknowledging Grief

The first thing Jennifer mentioned doing once shelter in place went into effect, was acknowledging and holding the grief that came along with it. In addition to all the other abrupt changes, Jennifer lost a lot of photoshoot work, and experienced a total change-up in her calendar. Many people have been experiencing grief during this period, and Jennifer took time to acknowledge and care for hers.

Taking Care

During our interview, Jennifer brought up a couple other practices that have helped her take better care emotionally. First, she said making a practice of acknowledging her feelings, and asking herself “What would bring you joy right now?” has helped her stay centered. Sometimes that might be stepping away from her work to nap or take a walk, and she allows herself to do that. She also mentioned that really acknowledging the work she is doing has been helpful. Many people are currently describing their days as blurs, so perhaps this practice can help remedy that feeling.

Lastly, she mentioned working with a team of people, namely her therapist, business coach, and myself, as being particularly helpful during this time. I’ve written a few articles about how relying on a money team or money buddy can ease the decision making process and alleviate hard times. It’s great to see that Jennifer is leaning on others when it comes to making decisions for her business.

Making Space for Ideas

All this emotional self-care is part of what made it possible for Jennifer to adapt her offerings to current conditions. She relayed to me that “about 3 weeks in, the ideas just started coming,” and from there she was able to create new services that were shelter-in-place-compliant. This nimble and creative thinking is especially valuable at a time like this. Because Jennifer is able to acknowledge her feelings and tend to them, she has more mental space available when it’s time to get to work.

You can read part one of this series on Jennifer’s business here, and watch the full video interview too. You can also visit her site, her Facebook page, and her Instagram feed to learn more about what she offers. If you’re interested in a guide for business owners on adapting COVID-19, my Cash Flow Reboot Guide is available for a free download here.

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Angela

By |2020-05-21T16:41:26-07:00May 21st, 2020|Categories: Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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All About Oversaving, And Why Overcoming It Can Strengthen Your Business

Often issues with money stem from not having enough – so when you hear the word “oversaving,” it might not sound bad. However, oversaving can be a serious issue that may be blocking the potential of your business. It may also point to anxieties that need to be resolved. Let’s take a look at what oversaving is and what you can do to overcome it.

What Is It?

If you experience anxiety or guilt over spending money, even on basic necessities, you may have oversaving tendencies. You might struggle to spend money on your business or operating expenses. Alternatively, it might be hard for you to spend on something other than reinvesting in your business. Or, you might have a hard time parting with any money know you could save it for retirement or business emergencies.

Oversaving both stems from and enhances anxiety, stress, and burnout. It often comes from a fear of scarcity. While saving money is an important skill, if it’s taken to an extreme, it can keep you from spending money to solve urgent problems in your business and your personal life.

What Can You Do About It?

Saving money is a great habit, but the key to overcoming the oversaving habit is to get strategic about your saving. Rather than living in this panicked feeling of “I have to save every dime I possibly can,” create some money systems! Coming up with savings goals, establishing a spending plan, and automating your money are all great ways to introduce strategy and systems. 

Savings goals can be especially helpful, because they can lend purpose to all that saving, but they also create an end point you’ll eventually meet. Limiting and directing your savings in this way can help curb the habit and assuage your anxieties. When you use the Profit First system, you put aside money to pay yourself first, but you also save for taxes, put aside money for operating expenses, and also distribute profits every quarter, which are meant to be spent by YOU so you can reward yourself for your hard work. If you’re interested in learning more about the Profit First System, check out the first 5 chapters of the book here.

Doing some emotional work around money can also really help you clear up your oversaving. I recommend reading Bari Tessler’s The Art of Money for more ideas about this. She helps you unpack your feelings around money and combining the practical with the emotional. If you’re interested, check out my book review.

Oversaving can be a sneaky habit, difficult to catch and overcome, but I believe in you – you can do it! And anyway, saving is so much more effective when it’s done in order to meet a goal. If you enjoyed this article, I suggest looking into Profit First. If you want to chat more about these ideas and take a look at your money, you can take a look at my service packages and book a call. Doing a year-end review could help you identify a couple goals to save for!

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Angela

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

By |2022-01-12T10:57:45-08:00December 19th, 2019|Categories: Personal Savings, Personal Spending, Profit First|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Money Doesn’t Need to Be Scary

Welcome to your money pep talk. If you were looking for a sign to encourage you to level up your personal or business finances, this is it. For many people, money is a stressful subject. Talking about it can bring up a lot of fear and other emotions. But much of that fear stems from the fact that so many people simply leave their finances shrouded in mystery. Many of us don’t receive good education on finances when we are younger, and when we become adults, we either don’t seek or don’t find the information we need to have healthy finances. One of the main ways to fix this problem is very simple: self-education! Once you start learning about money and start paying attention to your own financial matter, the hardest part is over. You might find a lot of your fear has dissipated!

Thanks to a plethora of resources, self-education doesn’t have to be effort-intensive either. Perhaps you might simply choose a financial podcast and listen to it on your commute (my personal favorite method). Or pick out a book and finish it over the course of a month. All you need to do is pick a resource and carve out a specific chunk of time to absorb the information. Below, I have recommended a couple of my favorite resources for learning about personal and business finance. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook, where I regularly post blog posts and podcast episodes that I find especially helpful and inspiring. And since it is my profession, know that you can always schedule a discovery call if you’re curious about my services or need some guidance in your financial education journey!

Business Finance Resources

Don’t Keep Your Day Job is a great podcast hosted by Cathy Heller all about the business side of carving out a creative career.

Profit First, of course! Download the first 5 chapters of the Profit First book here on my site.

Mike Michalowicz also hosts the Profit First Podcast, which is full of insight for business owners looking to get more financially savvy.

Profit Boss Radio by Hilary Hendershott is a great resource on both business and personal finance topics. She focuses on financially empowering women.

Personal Finance Resources

Afford Anything is Paula Pant’s podcast, chock-full of useful personal finance info and advice.

Be Wealthy and Smart by Linda P Jones is a great pick for people who are interested in slightly shorter podcast episodes. She tackles and breaks down simple yet important topics like investing.

At Peace With Money: Money Doesn't Have to be ScaryHer Money Matters is hosted by Jen Hemphill, and also focuses on financially empowering women.

The Automatic Millionaire is one of my favorite books on personal finance. The core philosophy has been central to my retirement planning. If you’re thinking about retirement, it’s a must-read. I sing praises for this book in an article I wrote a while back on automating your finances. Check it out!

I hope you find these helpful and educational. May these resources help you conquer your money fear!

☮

Angela

Image Sources:  Clark Tibbs, Linh Pham

By |2018-11-08T19:51:18-08:00October 12th, 2018|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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What’s Your Money Mantra?

What's Your Money Mantra? At Peace With Money

When I see the words “money mantra,” I am instantly a little skeptical.

People often confuse money mantras with affirmations – statements like “money comes easily and abundantly to me.” There is nothing wrong with affirmations, but they are not the same as money mantras.  Affirmations are what you intentionally tell yourself for 5 minutes in the morning as you get ready for your day. You may or may not repeat them for the rest of the day.

In contrast, your money mantra is what your actual belief is throughout the day as you make money and life decisions. Think of it as your guiding principle in financial matters. It is rooted deeply in your belief system and affects all your money decisions, big and small. 

My Money Mantra

I uncovered my mantra almost instantly: “having money in the bank gives me choices.” I think this mantra even helped me come up with my business name; having choices gives me a sense of peace. This statement is a basis for my daily decision making process and in my plans for the future. If I say “no” to one decision I can say “yes” to something else. Being able to choose what to say “yes” to is important to me. I want to able to say “yes” to making charitable donations, to supporting artists, to paying for my daughters college, to my husband retiring early.

DIY Money Mantra

What's Your Money Mantra? At Peace With Money

You can discover your own money mantra by investigating your beliefs around money. Do a little soul searching and ask yourself some questions about your positive and negative thoughts and ideas around finance. This list of 20 questions should help get you started.

This activity can be done solo, or with a money buddy or partner! Once you’ve investigated your beliefs, some positive statements that you can use as your mantra may start to pop up. If you find you don’t have a lot of positive beliefs around money, do some digging to find a mantra that feels true enough for you that you can start operating with it on a daily basis. Incorporate it into your money decisions and see if you can track your progress. Make sure your mantra is guiding you in the financial direction you desire. I desire choices – what do you want from your money?

A money mantra simplifies financial decisions and helps you create a personal financial philosophy. Uncovering one is in itself a helpful process that can help bring financial clarity to your life. Happy soul-searching! May peace be with your money. If you’re finding you need some financial guidance with your business finances, check out my services page or schedule a discover call.

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Angela

Image Sources:  Thought Catalog ,  Diego PH

By |2018-11-08T20:11:58-08:00September 17th, 2018|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Personal Savings, Personal Spending|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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