Category Archives: Underearning 101

The Threefold Path to Prosperity Explored

Underearning 101

I believe that in order to step into true abundance, you have to journey down the “threefold path to prosperity”. Below I write about these paths in more detail, with questions for you to ponder. In future blog posts, I will take each path deeper and deeper. Consider this the “threefold path overview”.

Emotional Money Path

The first path, emotional money, takes a deep look at why we do what we do with money. Many of us have deep seated beliefs about money—many of which are unconscious. We may secretly fear that to desire more money is greedy and we may mistrust wealthy people. This unvoiced “noble poverty” wreaks havoc on our ability to earn money.

How do you feel about the wealthy?

Some women feel great about money but secretly hope that somehow they will be “rescued” from the fate of having to earn it all themselves. Feelings of shame and undeservedness arise. These are all very common feelings, wrapped up in our childhoods and societies often confusing messages about money and work.

Do you hope something will rescue you so you don’t have to do this all alone?

Other women may feel less conflicted about money but have a hard time tapping into their personal drive and ambition, and feel ambivalent about money. The path of emotional money is where you dive into your feelings, give voice to your fears and name your beliefs. While these beliefs may no longer serve you, until they are brought to light, they will drive your behavior around money.

Practical Money Path

The second path is the practical money path. This is the path where you learn the skills around asking for more money, from how to set and raise your fees to how to comfortably negotiate for all your needs.

How do you feel about the money you charge? Do you need to charge your clients more money?

However, to come to the place of asking for more, it is helpful to vanquish the money fog that so many people live inside of. The money fog keeps us confused as to how much our lives really cost.

Do you know where your money goes and how much your business is costing you to run?

The practical money path also helps us figure out exactly how much money we need to earn to live a truly abundant life—a life that encompasses not only our needs and our desires but also security and freedom in the future as well as the ability to give money away.

Do you know how much money you need and want to make?

The Metaphysical Path

The final path, metaphysical money, is where you learn to consciously train your thoughts and change your feelings around money, to bring about the results you desire. There are many techniques to learn. This is the most advanced path and requires work on the other paths to be truly effective at this level.

For example, you must be aware of what you believe and be able to name your feelings before you can shift them (emotional money path) and you must know exactly what you desire (practical money) before you can focus on the result you want.

Do you know what it is you want to affirm for your life? Do you have an “abundance practice” that feeds your soul?

While a lot has been written about various “surface” aspects of the metaphysics of money, such as affirmations, this is a very deep path and goes straight to the heart of true prosperity and abundance. Some people meld this final path into their spiritual path.

Stay Tuned

I realize this can sound like a lot, but the truth is that our relationship to money is a complex relationship. This blog is devoted to these three paths, so you’ll see many posts that address how to embrace each path. It is different for everyone. I think we all naturally gravitate towards one path, which is great. But the question is, what do you need to work on that doesn’t feel “natural” to you? Read over the paths again. Can you embrace a part of each one?

The New Face of Underearning—Is It You?

Underearning 101

Years ago, when I first encountered the term “underearning”, I used the definition of “earning less than you need”. While this is accurate (the pattern of earning less than you need is indeed underearning) it does not describe many women out there. This narrow definition seems to say that only women who “struggle” or are just getting by, fall into this frustrating pattern. But is it okay to go from surviving to thriving?!

I know countless savvy women who don’t see themselves as “strugglers” but they don’t see themselves as financially abundant either. They make decent money, as relative as that is. And they are really frustrated. Why? Because they know in their minds and their hearts that they could make more. They know, at some level, that they are earning less than their true potential.

Sometimes this is brought home to them by seeing men who do similar work to them, asking for and receiving far more. Sometimes they have female colleagues who just always seem to make more— money appears to flow easier for them. Oftentimes it is a gut feeling—these women know that the work they do is simply worth more. They get amazing results for their clients. But these results simply don’t translate into more money.

“Underearning” is simply the pattern of earning less than YOUR potential. It is about the pattern of chronically, but often silently, underselling yourself. (Many women do not consistently ask for the money that they truly deserve. This is the most obvious facet of underearning.)

Underearning knows no professional boundaries. It affects consultants, doctors, therapists and countless women who run their own businesses. Sometime when women are in professions that others think of as lucrative, such as the legal profession, they don’t see themselves as “underearners” because they know others don’t see them that way. But this just increases the sense of isolation and frustration!  Just because you “should” be making a lot of money doesn’t mean you do! I know plenty of lawyers who work really, really hard and still don’t make enough to live the life they long to live. They offer a very valuable service and still many of them indeed earn below their potential.

This is truly a silent epidemic —countless amazing women earn far below their potential, and very few people call this what it is: underearning. Tons of experienced women are frustrated that their hard work is not yielding more money. These are women who are very good at what they do, but this work and skill does not necessarily bring them the level of financial abundance that they desire and deserve.

What about you?

Take a moment and look back over your career—look back over the last ten, twenty, thirty years… Do you see a pattern? Do you see a pattern of repeatedly earning below YOUR potential, or less than you could have earned?  If there is a pattern, as opposed to a one time occurrence, than it is time to look deeper. It’s not about surviving. It’s about thriving.

Join me this Wednesday evening

Underearning 101

It’s true—I haven’t posted for a while. I am busy doing a ton of writing, as well as working with a new marketing consultant. I’ll be “debuting” new content for you soon. In particular, I’ve been working on the “metaphysics of money”. I believe that now more than ever, we need to use every tool in our arsenal to stay on top of earning what we are worth. So stay tuned…

In the mean time, please consider joining me this Wednesday  night (March 4th) at the Women’s Earning Institute in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. I am putting on an evening seminar on how to conquer underearning, even in this economy. I’ll go from 6:30 to 9pm. It is a pretty intense evening and women really rave about. We will:

* Identify the five hidden forms of underearning (and how they may be costing you money!)
* Explore the concept of “noble poverty”—is it holding you back?
* The impact of the “money fog” on our earning ability
* How women under price themselves and what to do about it
* Two powerful negotiation strategies that conquer the “good girl syndrome” and bring you more money

It’s only $59. http://www.womenearning.com/an-evening-with-mikelann-valterra/

If you are far away, stay tuned for more teleseminars.

Seven real reasons why women are behind in retirement

Underearning 101

I can’t resist commenting on this bankrate.com article titled Why Women Fall Behind in Retirement, by Sheyna Steiner. I was pretty impressed with it. It didn’t give simple answers. The reality is that we are behind in our retirement savings for complex reasons—a huge one being that we don’t make as much money as men do!!!

But this article also commented on the fact that so many women are ambivalent about finances. They find finances “boring” and let their partners handle it. Working women also do way more chores than working men and thus have less time to attend to personal financial planning. (I say that the greatest discrimination in the United States happens in the home!!!) And women are so focused on taking care of other people (like funding their children’s college) that they risk their own futures.

When you add to these reasons the fact that women are more risk adverse then men and report that they feel less confident then men do with managing money, well, it is no surprise that only 20% of women feel they will have enough money in retirement. It’s a short article and packed with a lot of food for thought. Share the article with other women and start talking about these factors. Silence does us no good.

What did I have to give up to be successful in self-employment? Being scattershot

Practical Money Path, Underearning 101

In a recent interview, (The first one- 12:58 minutes long) Melody Ivory asked me a great question— “What do I have to give up, in order to make money?” What?? You mean, we don’t get to have it all? Nope, we don’t. I always think of the saying: You can have anything you want. But you can’t have everything you want.

I told her that I’ve had to resist becoming scatter-shot in my business offerings. I’ve had to hone my message and develop a more laser-like approach to my marketing. This is hard because there are many things I like to teach and write about.  For example, I could teach seminars on how to get out of debt, or how couple’s can communicate about money better. I have done these things and I do offer seminars on them sometimes. But these topics don’t come up in my primary marketing message. If you are seen as a “jack of all trades” you are not perceived as a specialist or go-to-expert for help in a needed area. You water down your message.

I think this is very hard for women .We have so many interests that we worry we will become bored with a single topic. And we naturally gravitate to being multi-dimensional since we seem ready made to multi-task. (Yes, I really can cook dinner, pay bills and supervise my son’s homework while talking to my mom on the phone! And I know you can do this too.) 

But if we practice a scattershot approach in our work and constantly change what we offer, we will confuse our audience and target market.

I had a colleague say to me, “I really admire that you can still focus on one topic. I get too bored to do that.” Well, first of all, it helps that my “topic” of women’s money and earning issues is very complex. It keeps me interested, to be certain. And if I did change horses (now I am the get-out-of-debt expert, for example) then what would become of my marketing from two years ago? I can’t tell you how many times people call me up for help and say, “I heard you speak three years ago…” What if I’d moved on to a new service? As much as we don’t want to hear it, it takes time to build a business. Don’t be scattershot. It just doesn’t pay as much.

So what have I given up? I’ve had to put a lid on some of my professional passions and interests. But I’ve learned that  if I target my meta marketing message, I still have room to offer other things that interest me, to my audience. But I don’t confuse my audience. And you shouldn’t either. If people are not crystal clear about what you do and what you offer, they will simply move on. That sounds harsh, but that is what everyone does. One of the keys to earning your worth is focusing in on what you offer. Trust me. You’ll make more money. (listen to Mikelann’s 12:58 minute interview)

Small Business Recession Woes: avoid the temptation to discount your services

Practical Money Path, Underearning 101

The word “recession” is in the air and lots of people are nervous. Businesses are reporting that new business is down and current clients are taking longer to pay. What is a small business gal to do? First of all, don’t panic!! This is normal. Yes, it is normal. The economy goes up and down, and business slow downs are a normal part of life. And I know you may be tempted to discount your services, but resist. Remember, you are charging people for the value you bring, not the exact amount of time you put in.

One key to surviving a recession is to focus on your current clients. It is far easier to sell to current clients than it is to bring in new clients. Bringing in new clients takes time and money. Marketing is expensive, even if you shoe-string it. And remember, your time IS money. (I am not saying to stop all marketing. No, no, no. You want to keep your pipe-line full. )

A former client emailed me to say that she is picking her 10 most high-value clients and taking them out to coffee or lunch, one per week, to thank them for their continuing business and referrals. Since she has more time on her hands due to business slowing down, this is a great way to spend it. But she is not discounting her services for these people. They know her and like her.

Instead of discounting, can you find a way to add more value to your current clients? (The woman above took them to coffee or lunch!) Perhaps you can offer an additional service to your current clients, with their pocket book in mind. In my case, I run groups. It is less expensive to attend my groups than to work with me one-on-one. I’ve had some clients cut back their one-on-one time with me and attend these groups. This way, they get lots of value and pay less.

 

Stay focused on your current clients and take good care of them. But always go the added-value route. Not the discount route.

Escape the Money Fog and Earn More (article from Mikelann’s newsletter)

Practical Money Path, Underearning 101

A dense fog surrounds some of us—a money fog. This fog wraps us in a fuzzy embrace, whispering that perhaps everything is ok. Maybe you have enough money. Maybe everything will be just fine. Maybe. But an ever-present anxiety seems to go hand in hand with this fog.

When you don’t know exactly how much money you have, how much money you owe, or where all your money is going, you are in a money fog. It’s that last one that is a particular problem when it comes to earning enough money to live the life you want.

Think of it this way—if you don’t know where all your money is truly going, (not what you THINK you spend) do you really know how much money you need to earn?

Of course this gets complicated fast because many of us are uncomfortable with where some of our money goes. And some of us feel that there is not enough money to begin with, so looking at our financial lives feels depressing. (We just know we need to earn more….) But this leads to vagueness and stress. If you walk around saying “I need to earn more money!” this will likely lead to free-floating anxiety. It is simply not very helpful. How much more do you need to earn, really?

I had one client track where all her personal money was going. (Gulp!) After a few months, the money fog started to recede. She got clear about what she actually needed. (And yes, she did make some spending changes when she saw what was actually happening.) Then, when we looked at her small business, we were able to see exactly what she needed to earn. We broke this down into how many more clients she needed to see. I had her raise her rates. We started planning her business spending. And one day, she realized that that ever-present anxiety was gone.

Here are the common signs of being in a money fog:

  • You don’t balance your bank account
  • You don’t know where all your money goes (both in your personal life and in your business)
  • You don’t know what you owe in debt
  • You are not clear on your investments
  • You have no plan for how you want to spend your money in your personal life and your business life.

If you identify with any aspect of the money fog, start by picking ONE action you can take. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Do you know a friend who regularly balances her bank account? I suspect she would be happy to share with you how she does it. Can you pull out your credit card statements and write down all the balances on a sheet of paper?

If you are feeling foggy and overwhelmed, try this: print out your on-line bank statements from the beginning of the year and write down all your income deposits on a sheet of paper, by month. You will see what you are earning each month. Do this for June also, and you will have six months of data to look at. (If you divide the total by the number of months worked, you will have your average monthly income.) Then double this six month total. If you continue to earn at the same rate, this is how much you will bring in for the year. How do you feel about this? (Is it time to charge more money?)

Coming out of the money fog is a process. It takes time. But when the fog clears, you can see your life ahead of you. Possibilities take shape. You are in control and life is good.

I raised my fees after my self-employment mentor kicked my butt

Practical Money Path, Underearning 101

I recently flew down to San Francisco and stayed with my mentor and colleague Karen McCall for two blessed days. Karen is the pioneer of Financial Recovery Counseling and introduced me to this awesome field. It is she who introduced me to the concept of “underearning” and the importance of getting out of the money fog. (And staying out!)  In fact, I dedicated my book to her.

 It felt sooo good to share my business and my business numbers with her. I spend a lot of time in other people’s small businesses (and personal finances), coaching them on underearning and spending issues etc. But sometimes I confess that the phrase “physician heal thyself!” or “the cobbler’s children have no shoes” drifts through my head. What about me! Sometimes I think we are too proud to ask for help in what is supposedly our own area of specialty.

To make a long story short, she asked me what I was charging private clients. This was after she listened to me be-moaning my tight schedule and my desire to free up time for the other aspects of my business. I don’t want to give up private clients. But I am also running several business support groups for self-employed women. And I want to write more. (Oh, and did I mention I have a family??)

In her oh-so-tactful way, Karen says to me, “You know, I just read this great book on how to set and raise your fees”. I rolled my eyes. (It is the workbook I wrote, in case you don’t know.) Then she told me to charge more. According to my very own guidelines, I am niched, experienced and have too much pressure on my schedule. Oh, and I’m not experiencing enough price resistance. Damn. So I took her advice. I guess that means I took my own advice!

Rates and Pricing Info for multimedia and web design

Underearning 101

Karyn Greenstreet’s article on pricing (previous post) tipped me off to Brenner Books—check out this site if you are unsure how to price any web design and related desktop (including writing) work. This site and its books boast “The world’s largest collection of prices and pricing related support tools for the desktop professional.” They sell eBooks and hardcopy books, as well host a pricing database, that gives current rates for writing, editing, graphic design, DTP, prepress, multimedia and web design and development. I’m not even sure what all of that is. I’m not a techie by any stretch of the imagination. But rule number one around pricing is to do your research, so this might make it easier for some of you. You will feel more confident if you can see what others charge. Just thought I’d pass it on!

Only Work with Ideal Clients

Underearning 101

For a while now, I have only worked with my “ideal clients”. I politely refer out people who don’t fit my ideal client profile. What a difference this has made! I love my work more and I find I get more done in sessions in an easier manner. Ideal clients are also happier with our work. I noticed that when I had disgruntled clients, or people who were slow to pay, they were inevitably the type of clients whom I didn’t enjoy working with anyway.

I was thinking about this when I read virtual assistant Danielle Keister’s latest 10-day e-course installment: “Ramp Up Your Billable Hours” (you can get this by going to www.therelief.com) This stood out:

Unideal clients take up twice, even triple, the space of ideal clients in your practice. When there isn’t a fit, clients become needy and demanding. They will seem hard to please, constantly changing their mind.
Unideal clients will nit-pick your hours and rates. They will disrespect your work, and stress you about payment. They increase your administrative hours, and prevent you from paying equal attention to other clients.

It is so true! We may think we can’t afford to turn someone away. But the cost of taking “unideal” clients is simply too high.