The Possibilities of Rejection Therapy

The Possibilities of Rejection Therapy: At Peace With Money

Everyone dislikes rejection. So the thought of “rejection therapy” may seem less than enticing at first. But when I came across this idea, I immediately thought of how useful this could be for solopreneurs. How so? By helping us learn to make the big asks!

Learning to Love “No”

In a recent podcast episode, Hillary Hendershott featured Alex Grodnik, an investment banker turned entrepreneur  who discussed “Rejection Therapy”.  His therapy practice is simple: every day he asks for something and tries to get a “no” answer. This regular practice desensitizes him to rejection, and makes it easier for him to ask for what he wants. I think this is a great exercise for any of us: we all need a little help in asking for what we want!

Make the Ask

Rejection therapy is really about encouraging you to make the ask, and remember that the worst case scenario is hearing “no”. Once you’re desensitized to that outcome, it doesn’t feel nearly as scary as it used to! What are some things related to your business that you’ve been wanting to ask for? Maybe this issue comes up for you when you’re negotiating your rates, or looking for new clients, or cutting a deal with someone. Think about the big asks you’ve been needing to make. What if you just made them?

My best ask ever was getting to visit bead makers in Murano, Italy, when I was running my jewelry business. I was planning a trip to Italy, when I realized I would be very near the studio that the beads I used to make my jewelry came from. I had practiced bead making for a little while at that point, and my heart leapt at the thought of getting to visit and observe master bead makers. Before the trip, I reached out to them and they enthusiastically encouraged me to come to their studio. I even got to use their equipment and make beads along with them! If I hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have had that experience. Making the ask made all the difference.

Can you think of a time when you made a big ask that worked out well? Think of the positive impact it made on your life. Asking is important! I encourage you to try out rejection therapy and work on asking for what you want and need. It will only help your business, and help you achieve your dreams! If you find you need some guidance or coaching, check out my packages under my Services page.

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Angela

Image Sources:  Katerina Radvanska, Jeremy Galliani

By |2018-11-08T20:18:40-08:00August 14th, 2018|Categories: Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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What is the Feminine Economy?

What Is the Feminine Economy? At Peace With MoneyAs someone who’s been involved with finance throughout my career, I love hearing about and researching new financial ideas. When I came across Proposals for the Feminine Economy, a talk given by Jennifer Armbrust, it piqued my interest. Immediately, I began to see the parallels between Jennifer’s ideas and Profit First ideology. Today, I want to share these parallels and discuss how we can apply these ideas to our business as solopreneurs!

Money as Water, Business as Art

Jennifer speaks about thinking of money as water, flowing where it is needed. She maintains that a business is a “needs-fulfillment machine.” To me, this aligns directly with the Profit First philosophy of creating a business that meets the owner’s financial needs. My objective is always to help my clients align their business profits with their life goals. This includes making sure their business is supporting them financially and meeting their needs!

She also suggests that we treat business as art, as a process of experimentation. She encourages everyone to monetize their natural skills and abilities and build business structures that allow for growth. Her emphasis clearly lies on building business and a larger economy that meet the needs of the people running them. In her book, room for growth and meeting personal goals are also needs that a business can serve to meet.

How Can We Use This?

First, if you haven’t viewed the talk yet, I suggest watching it! Jennifer’s solopreneur story is one full of creativity and inspiration.

Next, take some time to think over these ideas and apply them to your business. Perhaps it might be helpful to list out all your needs. Think about things like time spent with your family and doing social activities, your involvement in your community, the amount of money and time you’re able to give to causes you care about, your diet, health and exercise, time for creativity and expression, yoWhat is the Feminine Economy? At Peace With Moneyur spiritual needs, etc.Which of these needs is your business meeting?  Which ones are not being met, and how could you adapt your business to better serve you in that area? What are your goals? Is your business helping you meet those? Answering these questions can help you discover whether your business is truly supporting you in all the ways it could. Approaching your business with a creative eye can help you create something more supportive. That’s Profit First in action!

I hope these ideas have piqued your interest just as they did mine!

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Angela

Image Sources:  Omar Lopez , Hian Oliveira

By |2018-07-16T18:37:19-07:00July 16th, 2018|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Why Every Solopreneur Needs a Mentor

Why Every Solopreneur Needs a MentorAs a solopreneur, you have a huge amount of control over your business. You get to make all the decisions, whether they’re creative decisions, financial decisions, or simply what kind of stamps to get at the post office. But what do you do when you need to bounce ideas off someone? Who do you turn to when you could benefit from another’s wisdom? The solopreneur’s work life can easily become isolated. That’s why it’s important to reach out to others and find a mentor! Someone who can help you solve problems, make decisions, and refine your ideas can be immensely helpful to your business, especially if that person is experienced and knowledgeable.

My Mentorship Experiences

In the early years of my career, when I was living the corporate life, it was easy to have a mentor because there were so many people around and available. My coworkers and supervisors were available for me to “talk shop” with whenever I pleased. Their influence and advice proved invaluable for me in that stage of my career.

When I started my jewelry business, I found I no longer had access to that same store of wisdom and encouragement. As a result, I often made the mistake of often trying to figure everything out on my own. Because I knew I still had a lot to learn as a business owner, I turned to online courses. I took a course from both Tara Gentile about building my own website, and  a course Megan Auman, who really helped me learn more about running my own creative business. (I would highly recommend both for solopreneurs looking for a good course!) I also participated in Etsy’s Bootcamp program. As far as I can tell, they no longer host that program for sellers, but it was a step-by-step program that connected Etsy sellers and helped them prep for the holiday season. Through this experience, I found another Etsy seller who became my accountability partner and helped me work through the trials of running my own business. 

These mentorship relationships were an integral part of both my corporate career and my solopreneur life. They provided me with fresh ideas, advice, and sometimes simply the support I needed to get things done!

What’s a Mentor For?

If I learned anything the hard way from my early days as a solopreneur, it’s this: don’t try to do everything yourself. There is so much I wish I had known (particularly financial stuff!) when I started my own business, and so many ways I could have benefited from the problem-solving power of two brains rather than one. I encourage you to reach out to potential mentors, particularly if  you have specific questions or don’t have expertise in some area.

Where Can I Get One?

Where you look for your mentor depends on what kind of help you need. If you’re looking for general industry advice and people to bounce ideas off of, you could turn to your business-savvy friends or perhaps befriend some people working in the same industry. When I owned my jewelry business, networking with other creative business owners was always helpful for me.

Why Every Solopreneur Needs a MentorIf you’re looking for expertise or need answers to big questions, taking an online course or seeking out a coach or specialist might be your best bet. I know I definitely would have benefited from speaking with a Profit First Professional when I first started out! If you’re looking for help in the financial department, you know where to find me. You can read more about my services and schedule a curiosity call if you’re interested!

Happy mentor-hunting! May you find the advice and energy you need.

☮

Angela

Image Sources: My Life Through a Lens, Brooke Lark

By |2018-07-16T18:57:28-07:00July 9th, 2018|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Why Selling More Doesn’t Mean Making More

I assume that when you started your business, you wanted to put money in your pocket. Whether your goal for that money is to use it to fully support yourself or your family, or to fund a particular life goal, your business is meant to supply you with money.  As such, making money by selling product is often the business owner’s most common focus. Enter, the hustle timeline.

The Hustle Timeline

When we first start a business we have to get out there and hustle to sell something; to get things moving. Eventually we start rolling. But at some point we want to make more money, and we believe that growing our business is the way to make more profit.

So, we hustle some more. We do more gigs, we move more product, we sign on more clients. There is more money coming in, but there still doesn’t seem to be enough. Then we set our sights on a particular goal, the gig, the number, the client that’s big enough to put us over the edge so we can put more in our pocket. But it never really happens. Here we find ourselves trapped in the timeline; always hustling, and never quite reaching our goals.

The Answer

There are only two ways to put more money in your pocket: increase margins or decrease expenses. If we are using the same labor, materials or processes as we increase sales we are increasing our output, but not gaining anything. Perhaps we may have even added to our spending to buy that new printer or new app to handle the increase in sales volume. If we haven’t examined our spending, we aren’t gaining anything. Taking a good look at our margins and our business expenses is an important step to upping the profits of our business. 

Why Selling More Doesn't Mean Making More: At Peace With Money

To examine your expenses and profit margins, ask yourself these questions. Is your product or service priced appropriately, or are you undervaluing it? Comparing your prices industry standards can help you suss out an answer. So can calculating in materials, labor, and other costs. If you’re unsure how to price your product or service, do some research to get other opinions and methods!

Are you delivering your product or service in an efficient manner, or are there places you could cut time and expenses? Look at your processes, and be discerning. Have you reviewed your business expenses lately to see if it’s really all necessary?

Ask yourself these questions and review the inner workings of your business. This is where your profit is hiding. Let’s get it into your pocket.

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Angela

Image Sources:  Roman Kraft ,  Nik MacMillan

By |2018-07-02T23:19:12-07:00July 2nd, 2018|Categories: Cash Flow, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Book Review: Steal Like an Artist

Steal Like an Artist Book Review: At Peace With MoneyThere are so many good books out there that could benefit solopreneurs and people looking to educate themselves about personal finance. I’m an avid reader myself, and lately I’ve been devouring books on the subjects of small business, finance, and retirement. I thought it may be useful to you all to hear about my reading discoveries, so I’m sharing a book review of one of my most recent reads, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. 

The Read

This is an easy read. It gets straight to the point while offering up entertaining anecdotes and doodles. It starts off with the premise that creativity is something everyone has, and that the advice contained in the books can be applied to a number of professions. Personally, I believe this is great reading material for any business owner, not just creative types. After reading, I found myself thinking creatively about my own business. 

Just Start

Kleon’s points are inspiring and motivating. One of my favorites: don’t wait until you know everything, just get started. This advice applies to business so well, and is something I’ve touched on in my writing about starting a business. Feeling the need to have everything planned or figured out can often stop solopreneurs in their tracks. Kleon encourages readers to not let this stop you, and to take up a mindset of learning as you go.

Digital Vs. Analog

Kleon also writes about how he divides his desk into digital and analog tasks and materials. He goes back and forth between the two modes very intentionally. Even if you aren’t an artist working with your hands, it is important to get away from your computer. Our brains respond differently to physical and embodied tasks. If you give your brain and body different surroundings, it is likely you will free up new ideas and insights. My favorite way to get the creative juices flowing is to take a walk through the woods with my dogevery morning. On the walk, I notice if I am not listening to podcasts or messing with my phone, I tend to come up with a lot of ideas at this time. Getting away from digital distractors is an equally important piece of the creative process.

I hope some of you are inspired to give this book a read. I definitely found it inspiring and encouraging for my own inner solopreneur!

☮

Angela

Image Source: Austin Kleon

By |2018-06-25T21:03:59-07:00June 25th, 2018|Categories: Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How To Pay Yourself First

How To Pay Yourself First: At Peace With MoneyI use the hashtag #PayYourselfFirst all the time, but what does it really mean to pay yourself first? It’s a core aspect of Profit First philosophy. It’s also an important part of how I organize my own personal finances. I want to make sure all my readers know how to pay themselves first, in their business and personal finances, so let’s dive in.

Keep What You Earn

“Paying yourself first” is about having a system in place to make sure that you get to keep a portion of your earnings. In my last post on automation, I talked about David Bach’s book, The Automatic Millionaire. Bach includes the concept of paying yourself first in this book and applies it to personal finances. He suggests setting aside savings right off the top of every paycheck, even before breaking it down for living expenses. Users of this system do quite literally pay themselves first! In his system, the money goes to retirement savings accounts, but the system can be adjusted in both business and personal finances to fit your own needs.  Taking a cut for yourself from each paycheck is and important but easily forgotten practice.

Beyond Corporate

So, how does this apply to solopreneurs? If you’re working outside the corporate world, you’re probably working without health and retirement benefits. This is all the more reason to set up a system to take care of these needs. Setting aside money to address health and retirement costs is important for many people, but especially so if your main source of funding for both is your own business. 

How to Pay Yourself First: At Peace With Money

I always say I want to help my clients work with the Profit First system to align their business profits with their life goals, and I assume one of those goals is to support yourself in your health and retirement! Every financial aspect of your business can be set up with this in mind. Your products should be priced appropriately so that you earn something for yourself, rather than just simply covering costs. A part of that money should be invested into your future and your healthcare fund. This is the Profit First system at its core. This is what I want to help solopreneurs work towards with their businesses.

Take a look at your personal and business money systems and ask yourself, do you pay yourself first? Are you setting aside money to support and reward yourself? If you’re interested in more on this topic, I highly suggest downloading the first 5 chapters of the Profit First book through my website.

 

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Angela

Image Sources:  Alisa Anton, zixuan Fu

By |2018-06-25T20:39:19-07:00June 18th, 2018|Categories: Financial Clarity, Money Mindset, Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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My Profit First Story

My Profit First Story - Angela Keller, At Peace With Money

How did I get started with Profit First? Well, prior to starting my bookkeeping business, I was a mompreneuer jewelry designer for 11 years. I had a lot of good customers, and supplied a number of retail stores with jewelry including several museums across the country. I frequently had people work for me to help put together jewelry for my orders and for individual shows. By all counts, I was successful.

There was just one problem – I never seemed to make any money. Instead, I was always spending money on more supplies, or chasing the next big order or next big venue that was going to help me make some “real money.” In reality, I’m pretty sure my employees made more than I did! When my husband and I started talking about how to pay for college for our oldest daughter, I knew I was going to have to do something else in order to bring the cash we needed.

Enter Profit First

In the process of establishing my business as a bookkeeper, I came across the book Profit First. This book was a game-changer for me; it taught me how to manage my cash in order to actually get paid as a business owner. The concepts of this book strongly resonated with the struggles I faced while running my small jewelry business.

My Profit First Story and Why I Help Solopreneurs: At Peace With Money

I know many solopreneurs and small business owners could benefit from these systems, and as a bookkeeper, I am in a great position to help make that happen. I use the Profit First system in my own business and have implemented it with some of my clients. In my own life, it’s given me the peace of mind to know I’m able to pay the college bills for our second daughter, have money available for estimated tax payments, and my SEP IRA. With my clients, particularly those with varying income, I have used the Profit First system to help them overcome challenges like repaying lines of credit, accumulating a buffer in their tax account, and creating a plan to smooth out the ups and downs of the owner’s income. 

Whether you decide to implement this system on your own, or find you need the help of an accountability partner, you need to read Profit First and start using the system. The sooner you do, the sooner you can become permanently profitable! You can download the first five chapters at the bottom of my home page, and read more about the Profit First services I offer. I know the system can help you find the profit in your business.

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Angela

By |2018-03-27T01:42:14-07:00March 27th, 2018|Categories: Cash Flow, Financial Clarity, Profit First, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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