I love chatting all things money mindset, money blocks and business.
A topic that keeps coming up in business is having the freedom to reduce working hours whilst achieving the same if not better results.
For some, reducing hours is an easy decision to make. For others, it’s not so clean cut…or so it seems. Recently a business owner disclosed he’d moved his business to a four day week BUT didn’t like to mention it for fear of being judged or being seen as lazy. He experienced these concerns even though his business was up 25% as a result of the change. Other companies have disclosed they’ve also implemented a 4 day week with considerable uplift in efficiencies, office moral and a positive impact on profitability.
Whilst my conversations have predominantly been Australian based, this isn’t just a local discussion. Belgium recently joined the movement of transitioning to a 4 day week with other countries including Japan, Spain, Scotland and Iceland also making the move to a 4 day week. In June 2021 an Australian inquiry was commenced into the future of the working week and what this would look like for a 4 day week. Pilot programs are being rolled out in August for Australia and NZ with UK trials set for June. Iceland studies have already shown no drop in productivity , less sick days and better work-life balance and lower childcare.
Whilst it’s great to see so many embracing this, for some people this topic raises challenging emotions such as guilt and shame. When this happens a money block is being explored.
In business there are two common fears; Fear of success which is an external reaction where you fear being criticised, judged, abandoned or rejected and Fear of failure which is an internal reaction and you fear letting someone else down or not being liked. These fears quite often come into play with money blocks such as an income block, where you’re worried you might be earning more than friends, family, partner or you don’t feel worthy of earning the income.
STEPS TO IDENTIFYING MONEY BLOCKS
To help you identify if a money block is holding you back, explore this using the 4 steps below:
ACKNOWLEDGE THE FEELING – Acknowledge the emotion/feeling coming up, what are you feeling? In this instance it might be guilt or shame.
IDENTIFY THE BELIEF – What is the belief or money story you’re telling yourself? A common narrative I hear is, ‘you have to work hard for your money’.
RUN THE STORY – You feel guilty that you’re making more money doing less hours and it goes against the narrative of having to work hard for your money. You feel that you’re not worthy of earning more money doing less hours or its greedy to earn more money.
INTERRUPT THE STORY – Acknowledge that its ok to work less hours and earn more money. An affirmation you can use is – It’s safe for me to earn more money.
As business owners one of the key things to remember is we build our business to improve our lives and those around us. What would be possible if you could reduce the hours you work in your business?
Whilst mindset plays a key part in reducing your hours, so does the numbers. The key to exploring if this is possible is understanding what structures are in place and what needs to be put in place. From a financial perspective, understanding your numbers both personally and professionally is key.
Questions to consider are ‘How much money do you need to be making to contributing to the family household?’ ‘How much money is required to meet company expenses?’ ‘What are your financial goals?’
Working with a financial coach can help you to uncover money blocks and the beliefs holding you back from being financially independent. If you would like to explore this further, please book in for a free 30 minute chat.