Money loves clarity
It's hard to reach your destination if your eyes are closed
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If you’re tired of just surviving and want to move your business into a more intentional, less chaotic mode, my new business coaching membership, SUSTAIN, is for you! This month, we’re focusing on moneyyyyyyy. Get yourself in the room!
Gino was raised in a family where money wasn’t an issue. His parents were solidly upper middle-class, and he had everything he wanted and needed growing up. When he came into my coaching room, he was withering in shame. He had so many resources. He had fall-back options. And still, his finances were a mess. He’d started his own business as a programmer a few years back, and was making decent money from his clients. But when it came to paying his bills at the end of the month, there somehow wasn’t enough money. He couldn’t save, and he didn’t really know how much he was spending. He frequently overdrew his bank account, then just transferred money from his business account over into his personal checking account without tracking it.
He signed up for coaching a month after getting hit with a hefty tax bill from the IRS; he hadn’t paid quarterly estimated taxes and the high number caught him by surprise.
“There has to be a better way,” he said, looking morose. He was especially upset that his business seemed to be doing well — clients loved his work, and his rates were high. What was he missing?
One of my favorite money teachers, Kate Northrup, likes to say: Money loves clarity. And Gino, despite all he was doing well, wasn’t clear. He didn’t know where the money was coming from, or where it was going. He didn’t have a monthly financial goal, nor did he have a system for tracking his money. He didn’t know what he didn’t know — and that wasn’t his fault! As is somewhat typical in a family where money is not a concern, discussions of money were not present during Gino’s childhood. He hadn’t received a financial education. And his guilt about his lack of awareness paralyzed him so much that he couldn’t figure out where to begin now.
Gino’s bravery startled me. After all, he’d decided to purchase a coaching session — a big move for someone who felt frozen. He was starting to take charge. He told me that he was “just over it,” and ready to take ownership over his life and his money.
Hell, yes.
Gino isn’t alone. Nearly half of the people I coach initially enter into our relationship with no clarity or awareness of their finances. Avoidance makes sense — money can be a loaded, emotional, fraught topic for many of us. It’s often so uncomfortable to dive into the numbers that we avoid it altogether. Again, this makes sense — we’re protective creatures.
But if you, like Gino, want more, listen up: Start small.
For Gino, getting clarity on his finances started with just looking at the numbers. Each week, he opened up his bank accounts and looked at them. That was it.
Eventually, after a few months, he added a budgeting app to his line-up.
Then he set up Freshbooks, to track his invoices and produce profit and loss statements.
Eventually, he started using a spreadsheet to track his projects, with information about how much they paid compared to his monthly financial needs.
This process took eight months. Gino slowly, slowly, slowly acclimated himself to the discomfort of looking at his finances, eventually buying into the fact that he could handle the discomfort. During our last session, he told me that he felt “confident and grounded” about his finances — a ringing endorsement for financial clarity if I’ve ever heard one.
Gino didn’t make more money because of this tracking, although he could have. But what happened was, in my mind, even better: He became an intentional steward of his money. He started to see the power his money had, so he spent it on things that mattered to him. He took a moment to pause before pressing “purchase” on Amazon. He went to the store with a grocery list and invested in a local farm share. He decided to take the value he received from his client work and put it toward what he cared about most in this world.
What I want to say today is short and important: Get yourself some clarity about your money, stat. Look at the numbers. Open your eyes. It’s so hard to reach your destination if you’re driving with your eyes closed.
Wishing you a grounded, clear financial month.
Jenni
Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach based in Central Oregon. I have two small children and I work part-time so I can spend a lot of time with them. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with non-linear business building and teaching people how to build successful businesses that support their human needs first. Check out my coaching offerings here, follow me on Twitter & Instagram, or download my free business plan for creatives!