Last week’s podcast episode on 10k months pretty much broke the internet. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but a lot of you listened and loved it – so I decided to create a follow-up. I’m really in the zone for creating at the moment, because I’m getting ready to launch my brand new coaching program the Business Freedom Elevator. We kick off in August, but pre-order starts this week. How did I come up with this new program, you ask? Well. You might know by this point that I love data. Together with my team, we spoke to over 200 people about what they were struggling with, and what they were looking for in their coaching. And the Business Freedom Elevator was born!
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I want to focus on mindset, because that’s something that everyone is always interested in, and it’s so important in business. This episode is all about the 100k mindset shifts you need to create your profitable business. Ready? Let’s get started.
Let me think back to when I was getting started. I was so excited to be making 3k months, and I felt like I was doing really, really great. And I was! Your first 100, 1000, 2000 euros is amazing. But there probably comes a point where you’re like, “okay, how do I move on to more than this? How do I fast forward?”
Today, I’m going to take you through some of the mindset shifts you might recognise and need in order to scale your business upwards.
Scaling means that we want to ensure you can increase your business and increase your revenue without necessarily increasing your workload. Scaling means that you can make more and do more without just doing more work. It might mean you’ll change your workload, and start doing things differently – all things we touch on in the Business Freedom Elevator. Newsflash! For the longest time, my laptop password was actually ‘hit 100k’. That was my big goal. Right now, I’m working on building two million dollar businesses. I’m investing a lot in myself and my team. My expenses have gone way up, but my income has scaled even further.
Right now, we’re looking at scaling to 100k a year, so you’re earning around 10k a month consistently.
Maybe you're also interested in this: How to Protect your Boundaries, Time and Energy when Life gets Busy
Mindset shift #1: Is it good for the business?
Often when someone asks you something, or an opportunity crosses your path, you’ll think to yourself, “does this benefit me now?”. Maybe you can make some quick cash or you can go and work for someone for a day, or you can take on a new client that you don’t really want to take on. The mindset shift you need to make is this: “does this benefit the business long-term?” rather than you individually.
If you keep thinking about ‘me, now’, you’ll always stay in that zone, and you won’t be able to level up your business because you’re just thinking about the short-term things. Sometimes, you’ll have to say no to something that looks really enticing so that you can work towards your long-term vision.
One thing that might help you is the Commander’s Intent, which I talked about in the goal-setting exercise. The Commander’s Intent is a sentence you create for yourself that helps you focus. That could be building an online business that makes 100k a year. Let’s say someone asks, “hey, can you come and work in-house for us one day a week, and we’ll pay you really good money for that?”. The money might even be better than what you’re earning right now. But you can look at your Commander’s Intent, which is building an online business that makes 100k a year, and realise that if you’re saying yes to that, you’re saying no to yourself.
I know how hard saying no is, but think about it as being grateful for being asked. The trick is not saying “I’m sorry”, because you’re NOT sorry for choosing yourself, your business, and your long-term vision. You’re worth more! The next time you’re asked to do something, try and think about whether it’s pleasing your ego – because it’s always nice to be asked – or if it’s actually beneficial for your business and where you want to go.
Recap: From “does this benefit me now” → “does this benefit the business long-term”
Mindset shift #2: I’m open to learning new things
I had this at the start of my business. I’d always say things like:
- “I know best”
- “It’s my business so I know what’s right for it”
- “I started this business and it’s my thing”
But in order to scale to those 100k years, you need to switch that mindset to “I’m always open to learning new things, new perspectives, and new opinions, and improving myself.”
These are business laws and business mindset shifts, so they apply to everyone – even if you think it doesn’t apply to you.
In the beginning, I was afraid of business coaching. I didn’t really know what it was, and I didn’t want to be confronted with me doing anything wrong. I see this a lot in other people too: they’re afraid that someone will hold up the mirror. I get about 6 hours of coaching a week from different types of people, and they all help me move forward by holding up the mirror. For the longest time I was afraid they would say “you’re doing it wrong”, but no one ever says that – they just help you grow.
Other people knowing better doesn’t mean you’re worth less or doing things wrong. The moment you think you know everything is the beginning of the end. I learn from my clients, coaches and mentors every day. Don’t be afraid of the mirror. There’s always room to improve, and you don’t know best just because it’s your business.
Recap: From “I know best” → “I’m always open to learning new things”
Mindset shift #3: I’ll get ready by doing
This is a big one that comes up time and time again.
- “I’m not ready to publish my Instagram”
- “I’m not ready to invest”
- “I’m not ready to launch my product”
- “I’m not ready to hire a coach”
Change that to: “by doing this, I’ll get ready”.
Start before you’re ready.
Start from a place of abundance. That’s my anchor in life. Let’s say you want to invest in a business coach. I invest over 5000 euros a month in business coaching, which is a LOT of money, but I do it so that I can stay ahead of the game. By investing in myself, I create the abundance to make even more.
I wasn’t ready to get an assistant, but I hired her anyway.
I’m not ready to buy a house, but I’m buying one anyway, because by doing that, I become the person who is ready for that.
I wasn’t ready to launch my podcast because that would mean I had to batch my episodes, but by launching before I was ready, I had to become that person.
Instead of saying “I’m not ready”, change it to “by doing this, I’ll get ready”. It’s a bit of manifestation, stepping into the person you want to be. Your main objection to my Business Freedom Elevator program is “I’m not ready to get into business coaching”. Let me tell you something. That’s the biggest pile of crap I’ve ever heard. But I don’t blame you, because I was you.
I said I wasn’t ready to buy a program because my business wasn’t there yet. But by following coaching, your business gets there.
Remember that investing isn’t a cost — there’s a return on it. But remember: objects in motion stay in motion. There’s money flying around when you invest, and it will come back to you many times over. That’s the secret.
If you think you’re not ready to invest 3k in yourself, there isn’t going to be 3k coming back to you either.
Recap: From “I’m not ready” → “by doing this I’ll get ready”
Mindset shift #4: Where money goes, energy flows
I want you to replace this thought with “where money goes, energy flows”. There is a big shift between making 3k or 4k a month, and making 10k a month, you need to be in an abundant mindset. If you’re in a scarcity mindset, abundance can’t flow. Money can’t flow. Clients can’t flow.
Energy is money. Energy is happiness. Energy is the right client coming to you.
But if you’re not letting it flow, it can’t come back to you.
I get this too. I was worried about buying a house and spending all that money because it feels irresponsible. But then I told myself, “it’s just money”. We all have these money beliefs that stem from being young, our upbringing, and our parents. Somewhere along the way, we’ve built a narrative around money that makes it much heavier than it needs to be. You want money to be moving.
I’ve reframed my mindset to “money isn’t a big deal. Money is just energy that flows.” For me, I see money in my head as golden sparkles flying round. If you’re investing in something, you’re not irresponsible. You’re investing, and where money goes, energy flows. And guess what? You can always make more money. Boom.
Recap: From “I can’t afford to be irresponsible” → “where money goes, energy flows”
Mindset shift #5: I let others help me
“I can figure it out on my own, I just need to work harder.” Have you ever felt like this in your business? It’s not unusual. But guess what, you silly person? Someone else can help you do it bigger, faster, or better.
Let’s say you’re really bad at admin. Someone else can do it really well, and actually enjoy it. For example, I’m a very visionary person, so I see it, and then I go and do it. But by the time I’m halfway through it, I’m bored with the tiny details. There are people out there actually enjoy doing it, so go and find them.
At its core, it comes down to control. If you want to scale to 100k a year, this is something that’s going to come up for you. You’re going to let it go. Even if someone fucks something up for you, you’re still in control. If you want to expand your business, you’re going to have to let go. It’s like if you have your fist closed tightly, everything is small. Now if you open your hand and spread out your hands, there’s so much more space you can reach.
Let go of control.
You might be able to figure it out on your own. But honestly, why would you?
Let other people help you.
Benefit from people’s expertise and insights.
Choose to direct your energy away from the things you don’t like.
Recap: From “I can figure it out on my own” → “I let others help me”
Mindset shift #6: I give before I ask
Change that to “I give before I ask”
My Business Freedom Elevator will cost between 2000 and 3000 euros, depending on when you buy it. No one is going to pay that if they don’t have proof of your value. They need to see how you can help them before they want to spend money with you.
Gary Vee calls this jab, jab, jab, hook. For me, I create a lot of really valuable content that’s free: videos, Instagram posts, podcasts. Sometimes, I’ll be like “do you want to buy something from me?”, and you think “yeah”, because you already know the value I can provide.
So get off your high horse in your business, and make sure you’re providing value to people. No one owes you a sale. Lead with value. Make sure you do actually ask people to buy, but only once you’ve given a whole lot of value.
People always get worried about there being too much competition. I coach a lot of nutrition coaches, and they always wonder how they’ll stand out. Well, there are 11 million people in Belgium, and most people struggle with their weight, so that’s a lot of people. And clients will choose to come to YOU because they’ve seen the value you can provide.
Clients sometimes say they don’t want to give away stuff for free. But how did they join my business coaching? Because they listened to my podcast… aka free content!
Recap: From “people need to pay me before I help them” → “I give before I ask”
Mindset shift #7: Everything is my responsibility
This is a tough one. Everything that happens or doesn’t happen is my responsibility. If you want to run a business that makes 100k a year, you can’t be blaming people. If you blame others, you step away from responsibility. Replace “I blame someone else” with “everything that happens or doesn’t happen is my responsibility”.
Recently, I launched a program for graduates of my Business Freedom Mastermind program. I didn’t do it to make lots of money, I did it because it’s fun. It didn’t sell suuuuper well, because I didn’t promote it. I barely talked about it, so how would people even know it’s out there? That’s on me.
If you aren’t selling, that is on you.
If your content isn’t doing well, that’s on you. It’s not the algorithm. It’s you.
It's so liberating, because we have control over everything that happens – so we can fix everything too. It’s like the opposite of a break-up where someone says “it’s not you, it’s me”. Well I’m here to say the opposite. Don’t blame other people or other shit. It’s on you.
Recap: From “it’s your fault” → “everything that happens is my responsibility”
Mindset shift #8: I have so much to gain from trying
Put your hand up if you ever have one of these thoughts:
- What if no one buys my product?
- What if no one signs up for my course?
- What if no one reads my articles?
- What if, what if, what if
I was scared to launch my podcast, because what if no one would listen? Or what if people did listen, but hated it? That would be SO embarrassing. I was so afraid I’d fail.
Failure is just part of the process. You don’t just have one shot at doing things.
Either realise that you have nothing to lose, OR that you have so much more to gain.
The thing is, your worst-case scenario is probably just the same scenario you’re in right now. But the best case is that you could make over 100k a year – on your own. How cool is that.
Recap: From “I’m afraid I’ll fail” → “I have to much more to gain if I try” and “failure is just part of the process”
Mindset shift #9: Done is better than perfect
You’re probably thinking that you'll be fine once you’ve done XYZ, whether that’s perfecting a new skill or updating your website.
But here’s the golden tip: done is better than perfect.
It doesn’t have to be perfect! You’ll learn so much more by doing the thing, rather than by putting everything off until it’s absolutely perfect. This podcast isn’t perfect – but it’s fine! I can always record another on the same topic if I want. Your new product or course or blog post or IGTV episode won’t be perfect, but that’s fine!
Work from a place of abundance: you need to believe in yourself. I know the quotes are cheesy but it’s true. Every time I launch something, I want to pee my pants. Every time I would go on a date, I just wanted to run away. I wish I’d always had belief in myself.
Abundance means you can say no. You can choose something else. Your instinct is always right, because you believe in yourself. With abundance, you’re not worried about things or getting overly stressed about investing in yourself, spending money wisely, and taking bold moves, because you know everything will work out, and even if it doesn’t you’ll still be fine.
Believe in yourself and make those big moves you’ve been scared about – whether it’s joining me on the Business Freedom Elevator, or any other big business decision. You can do it.
Recap: From “I just have to…” → “done is better than perfect”
This is a popular topic, so I wanted to create an extra something for you. I’ve almost finished a super cool resource, the 6 Figure Freedom Framework, to help you make the moves you need for consistent 10k months. Sign up via this link: fastforwardamy.com/freedomframework and it will be in your inbox as soon as it’s ready!
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