Shelton Marchman is author of Give Me Credit for Trying. He has been a business credit expert for the last two decades. Today we are going to chat into how to use debt to leverage your business correctly.
Consumer debt and business debt are two different worlds. You don't want consumer debt as this type of debt isn't useful. You definitely want to pay down consumer debt and get yourself out of that unfortunate situation.
When you want to start building wealth, your views on credit need to change. If you're going to wait on cash or plan to have cash on hand for everything, it's going to take you a lifetime to get results. As Shelton brings up in this article, he doesn't know of one business that's never had to leverage credit. When you use your credit, remember to learn to use it properly.
Entrepreneurship and Debt
Shelton's advice for entrepreneurs is to go into debt. "I don't know a single person who has successfully navigated entrepreneurship without taking out some debt. Honestly, if you make less than $200,000 personally, I don't know how you would navigate your entire life without having some debt. Whether it's a car, a home loan, or something like that, you know, some people think it's all cash. Debt is a tool. You don't want to be paying for that vacation you took to Cancun for the next five years. However, if you're buying something, that's going to help you to build credit, then that is a good move."
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/using-debt-to-leverage-your-company-with-shelton-marchman-part-1
Michael “Coach Burt” and I talk more about thriving in a crisis economy, by starting with a driving factor some of us have experienced - it's called prey drive.
Prey drive is a drive inside of you that is typically activated by an external factor. A prey drive competition can activate a prey drive, a fear of loss, losing connection, or debate.
Your prey drive is the mindset that kicks in when you feel you are losing out on something important to you, so you go into prey drive and create a higher level of what you were going to previously present or show to others.
What Business Owners Can Do to Thrive Despite Challenges
Coach Burt advises business owners who are doubtful about the current economy. "Remove any consideration or hesitation that people are not spending money because that will prohibit them from taking action they need to take, then activate prey drive. Move to an explanation of your service, selling your system, followup, and the extraction of referrals. Next, move to the person of interest."
Coach Burt hasn't strayed from his system; he has only increased the intensity by making more phone calls, engaging at a higher level with current clients, and working better for his top 25 associations.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/activating-your-prey-drive
My mentor, coach Michael Burt is going to discuss sales in a crisis environment.
I've joined his coaching program, and, as a result, we've got more clients, more residual income, and we were able to hire a sales team.
Your Product or Service Isn't Going to Sell Itself
When you have a powerful primary skill, there are all kinds of problems you can solve with that skill, and people compensate you for your expertise. If you can prove to another person that the small investment they put into you is going to give them a considerable return, then you're going to be able to sell something. You have to do the selling, your product or service isn't going to sell itself.
Many business owners expect either social media or the sales page of their website to do all the selling. In reality, this is just one part of the puzzle, which is what I teach in my Persuade to Profit program. You still have to talk to people and sell, mainly if you're doing high tickets, which is what my program focuses on.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-your-business-can-thrive-in-a-crisis-economy
I'm never comfortable, but look, part of the mistake I see in many business people, and they've admitted it, they got comfortable when their company was excellent.
I saw many business owners online who could be making a killing right now. They could have started pivoting their businesses three years ago. That's what we started doing in the event of a market correction. They'll admit, they're comfortable, they thought everything would be great. That's a lesson I have learned one too many times, the hard way. You can not allow yourself to get comfortable.
This isn't just coping. This is a conversation for those that are hunters. When we talk about people getting comfortable, here's what I see from the small business, medium, large enterprise. Our sweet spot we work with is typically a minimum of eight to 10 million or one to 300 employees. Even in those companies, people are comfortable, and it's because they're not hunters. We've gotten too comfortable in just having leads fed to us or having a business.
A hunter mentality starts at the top. As a CEO, I'm a hunter, I'm looking for where I can hunt. Our next remarket will be hit and run. We're going to see the difference between the marketers and the salespeople because the salespeople are going to win.
Listen in to find out:
• Why you should be a hunter
• How hunters will win in the new market
• What to do when deals aren’t coming in to your business
• Why you shouldn’t let the COVID storm take you out
• Why everyone has something to sell
• Why you should have a fiscally fit company
• How others got comfortable when business was good and how this is coming back to bite them financially
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/ladawn-having-fiscally-fit-company
LaDawn Townsend and I chat about the characteristics you need to move forward on her show. These attributes and actions are vital to you, the entrepreneur, so let's jump into my talk with LaDawn Townsend.
LaDawn Townsend is the CEO and founder of the Voss group, and its mission is to grow your bottom line. Voss is a strategic advisory firm based in the United States with a large footprint internationally, currently expanding to the Middle East and Asia. "I deliver solutions to companies saving them over a million dollars in payroll, increasing revenue by 25% within four months, improving shipping and logistics by 42%.
Should You Sell Your Business? Recession Compared to Pandemic
LaDawn answers this question "What do I do? Your time to pivot is now. This is your time to get off your bum and make your mark in your industry."
The last recession of 2008 was not the same situation we have today. This was the same old bullshit of sorry financial markets and millennials being hit with one crisis after another. I'm wondering why we are still having the same damn conversation ten years later? Did no one learn their damn lesson?
LaDawn and I were the middlemen between candidates and fortune 500 companies. I saw people get laid off, so in 2013 I quit. I figured I might as well do my own thing because I saw the business world starting to shift and move online. Now people are vying to get online. Six months later, I launched my book with Amazon's bestseller status and ended up doing content marketing for the likes of Discover, Wells Fargo, Capital One, and TransUnion. I became known as a financial expert. I'm a minority woman; statistically I should not be where I am if you pay attention to statistics, which I don't do. Are the statistics, right? Only if you let them be right.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-to-prepare-pivot-adjust-and-move-forward-with-ladawn-townsend
Part 2 of my discussion with Chief Financial Officer, Carla Titus of Wealth & Worth Within. We dig into the topic of mindset.
Here are the top money mindsets or beliefs that have helped me throughout the last crisis and this crisis to make sure business is always thriving.
Struggle Is An Opportunity to Overcome
Instead of seeing the struggle as an opportunity to overcome, take action, and understand that making money is not as hard as people think. Once you start prioritizing and dedicating your time to the next step in your business, you're going to realize that money is coming without reworking and reselling.
Listen in to find out:
What I did not realize during the last recession, was that I was going in blind and putting one foot in front of the other. People were looking for information on money, and I was providing them this service, and that led to income.
That is how we create value. People are ready to pay to either fast track a solution or learn something that they don't want to figure on their own. There are free resources on the internet, however; it might take you a hundred hours to learn a new skill someone could easily teach you in a few days. You'd rather pay someone who can help you to figure out your issue quickly or coach you in the right direction. You can also purchase an efficient system they have created that you can directly implement and see results. Opportunities show up in many different ways.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/carla-wealth-worth-within-prosperity-in-recession-economy
My Journey of Resiliency:
Talking about my failures gets big fanfare as a result of a lot of bullshit in the online space. Many people faking and pretending everything is hunky-dory when their reality isn't. In life, there are going to be challenges. From working through my problems, I have become a big believer in the idea that our journey is about resiliency. Whether in business or my personal life, I have realized that my journey is about learning to become the best version of myself. In doing so, you have to take on the challenges in life. A life without challenges is a life without growth, and this is where self- mastery comes into play.
My Personal Journey Includes More Failures Than Successes
I most likely have more failures than successes from the last ten years of my life. Despite this fact, what most people see is my business making good money. And although I have some big wins, there are many mistakes and failures in between my successes. I think that's the part you guys are craving - the authenticity, the times in between my big wins.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-to-turn-failures-into-successes
Practical steps created in the process of mental transition can also be a physical transition. A couple of years into my writing and coaching career, I noticed three things. Number one it's not scalable. If I wanted to make more money, I would have to take on more clients, work more hours. Number two, I was quickly getting tired of getting close to but not quite reaching my goal income of $10,000 a month. Number three, and this is real; my hands started to hurt from all the typing.
Not Every Decision You Make is Going to Be a Win
If you've been to a point where you've thought this could never happen for me, pivot your thinking. One of the things I've noticed is the multiple numbers of projects on my desktop that have been 'failures.' One of the things I've seen is that failure does not exist. These are all lessons I've learned. You either learn how to do better or learn how to pivot, but there is no failure.
Learn How to Walk
When a kid is learning how to walk, they're going to fall, trip, wobble. This is the process of learning something new for the first time. You're going to have a bunch of ideas in business that are not going to work. However, it would be best if you learned from them; this is a part of the journey, a part of the process. Learn to love the game; love this idea of mastery, and self-discovery because that's where the gold is.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-i-went-from-getting-rejected-60-times-to-60k-in-sales-part-2
Five years ago, I was trying to sell coaching packages and was rejected 60 times in one month. Today, in early March, I ran my sales numbers for February and took in $62,000 in sales and contracts. I usually share this with clients who've hit walls or received a lot of "no."
One year after I launched my book, Make Money Your Honey, I'd been asked to partake in a tele-summit for eight international women's networking groups to talk about money and money mindset. There were 200 women on the teleclass, and I offered a free consultation. Attendees booked me solid for three weeks straight.
This situation was intense for me at the time because I wasn't used to being so booked out. Additionally, I was still wearing too many hats. I was also making real rookie mistakes. My pitch was good enough to be booked solid for three weeks with consultation calls, and during those consultation calls, I was pitching these women with coaching packages before I created Persuade to Profit.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-i-went-from-getting-rejected-60-times-to-60k-in-sales-in-30-days-part-1
Learning How to Create a Sustainable For-Profit Business
Elena is one of my Persuade to Profit students and owns her own social media company. Elena was finishing up her degree and had a large following on Instagram that she felt was moving upward, with many of her people reaching out for advice. She helped people give out free advice, but this wasn't a sustainable model. Elena recalls, "I remember me shifting to thinking I have something here, but what can I do? I don't know where to start."
Elena found me on Instagram and started looking at my IG stories. While looking through my stories, Elena related to my message. "I'm this person that's fearful of being worthy of earning something." She recalls getting on the webinar, joining Persuade to Profit, then coming up with a business idea to test.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-elena-went-from-0-to-6000-clients
Best Birthday Lessons I've Learned Since Last Year
I started with a birthday post of one lesson I learned for each year of my life. At 25, I gave 25 lessons I've learned in 25 years. I'm 32 now, and to list 32 lessons would be too much for one blog. To distill my lessons, I'm going to give you the main lessons that I've learned since my last birthday.
My biggest lessons are around the team and being a leader. For some reason, this concept seemed different in my mind. When I decided to train my team, I had to learn how to allow people to step up for me.
I never expected people to step up, to be honest. I never expected people would want to go hard for me like that. When people started stepping up, I was resisting that someone would want to go hard for me.
I've always felt like I had to do everything alone, albeit rugged individualism. After ten years of building a company on my own, I had to allow people to step up for me, and at the beginning of 2019, it was tough. There were lots of things that didn't work out. That started shifting on March 31st of 2019. After that first quarter, delegating started to shift, and we began to see some progress.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/birthday-episode-3-lessons
Many of my clients over-complicate their situation and create the small dollar items first because they don’t want to invest in the bigger dollar items as they are afraid they will lose money. I'm going to tell you what's worse than losing money, losing time. Most likely you are already wasting both time and money by not investing in your high dollar product.
Many of you may be under the assumption that you need to have money sitting in your bank account in cash before you can make an investment. Entrepreneurs usually use a credit card and then hustle their way to go find the money to pay off their debt. They also could have made a commitment without knowing how they were going to pay off their debt, but decided to do a payment plan and hustled until their plan worked out.
You also block your abundance and financial blessings because you’re not investing in help because you don't believe in your ability to make money. Your financial models are not set up to make yourself money. Your focus is in all the wrong places and your money has been allotted in all the wrong places.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/block-keeps-women-from-earning-money-part-2
We hear, "Another day, another dollar" and "An honest day's work for an honest day's pay.". We hear these quotes from a young age from our parents and others. In addition to these money beliefs, women have an added layer of drawback, which is known as perfectionism. We have to have everything perfectly figured out before we're able to create the abundance we desire in our lives.
I know this all too well as I'm recovering under earner. The struggle to escape this mindset and create a new journey for me correlates to this example. The scary part is, when I'm not paying attention, they come up and start destroying my business and attempt to sabotage me.
Listen to my story about how I fell into the trapped mindset of doing more work and not focusing on the right path. Learn how I realized this was happening and what I did to break out of my old mindset haunting me and back into an abundance mindset.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/block-keeps-women-from-earning-money-part-1
Picking up from the last episode, this episode starts off with how you can change your mindset to avoid blocking your money blessings.
If you're not making enough money to survive, then you're worried about your own survival and the 24 inches around you. When this occurs, you can't self-actualize or have the ability to come up with creative solutions to problems. You'll be extremely focused on your lack of money. I understand this is a societal influence we have going on right now. Our society and culture have really done a number on us in terms of how people see the money. The result is we aren't having positive conversations about money. Allow yourself to want money, give yourself that permission because it's okay to want money.
It's all about realizing that all the power is in your hands. You can start today to get your financial life together, and you don't have to wait for somebody else to tell you to start. Regardless of your past experiences and choices with money, you can start making different choices. Start making different choices to obtain your financial goals.
Change is hard. It's easier to blame other people for why you're broke or say that your family was broke, so I'm going to be broke. I mean, I guess we're all just screwed, and that's just the way that it is. I'm here to tell you, that's your perception, and when you change your perception, you'll break yourself free of the negative money mindset in which you imprison yourself.
Listen to my story about the last recession. This story is good because this was when I realized that there's always somebody making money, even in a down economy. I didn't realize it at the time, but this was actually one of my first mindset lessons around cash. Find out how you can turn your negative money mindset around, why you should avoid shutting down and my story about my trip to Jamaica and what I learned as a result of that trip.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/live-training-part-2
My fellow female business owners, this episode is especially for you; however, this information does apply to all business owners. I want to tell you about a business epidemic that I'm seeing more and more as I coach my clients.
Many people have the same fears about money. You want to be consciously aware of your mindset about money, the conversation you're having in your head about money, and your relationship to money. If you don't start becoming aware of these critical aspects of a money mindset, you're going to see a lot of the same bullshit in your life concerning money.
We're conditioned to believe that to make money, we have to overwork ourselves to the bone to make more money. However, we all have the same 24 hours and 1410 minutes in a day. Some work really hard and make very little money, and others are working very little and making millions. There's a false sense we have about money that comes from cultural conditioning. When we operate with this type of mindset, we end up blocking our financial blessings.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/live-training-part-1
You hear so many myths and stereotypes about "rich people," and I want to debunk common myths that might be keeping you broke. To have money, you have to want money. You can't have one without the other.
I've heard people say that wealthy people are luckier or have a better life". Wealthy people receive the same 24 hours in a day that you receive, the same 1440 minutes in a day which they, and you, choose actions that can move you forward or backward. Rich people are human, the same as you and me. Others say that all rich people "are highly intelligent." Before you put that myth in your head, I can introduce you to people of average intelligence who are multimillionaires.
There are obscene amounts of money on the planet, and you have to learn how to get some for yourself and if you want to get to a point where you have money, you have to check your judgments at the door.
Listen in to find out:
Common rich people myths people believe that are not true
How people sabotage themselves with negative self-talk about money
How I grew my business and overcame my own emotional obstacles about money
Challenges associated with moving towards your next level of wealth
Why rich people are rich
The mindset you need in order to become wealthy
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/money-myths-about-rich-people-that-keep-you-broke
The only reason my company doubled in 2018, and exponentially grew in 2019, is because I am disciplined and I am focused. I know what I want, and I go after it, period.
Now, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm in the middle of scaling my company, and I'm not enjoying the process. There have been several challenges along the way, but I know it's going to get me to where I want to go. So I have the passion, and the desire, and the faith to see what I want and see the vision in my mind. I have the purpose, the discipline, and the focus to do whatever the hell it is I have to do to get there, and I do it all with a sense of urgency.
Ready for a real game changer in your life? In this episode, I'm going to share with you a framework that came to me in a meditation. I was meditating on focus and this framework showed up in a meditation. I've named the framework PDF Squared. PDF Squared, cause there's two parts to this framework. I've started using this framework in my own life when I'm not living up to my potential.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/pdf-squared-framework
Wouldn’t you love to experience personal transformation and have the end result of your transformation the ability to make more money and have more freedom?
I love the person that I have turned into because of my economic transformation. I love what I've discovered in life, that I've seen what I'm made of, and have more strength than before. I have more discernment, wisdom, and money. However, money aside, what I realize is that my financial journey has changed to whom I have become as a person.
I also see many of my clients who went from making an income to get by to closing multiple five-figure clients in three years. When you see the immensity of these transitions, and you see how this process changes people's lives, you get excited about the result. Today’s show is all about the journey, and what I want you to do after you listen to this episode is to go out and make one small baby step toward a more secure financial future and start your personal transformation today!
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/real-reason-to-get-your-money-right
You've been freelancing for a minute beginning to realize, "Oh sh*t, I only have so many hours in a day. I need to start scaling." Or "I am sick and tired of dealing with clients who act like my bosses. I need a little bit more freedom."
If you are finding yourself in one of these situations, you may be ready to transition from freelancer to business owner.
In this episode I’ll talk about the Cashflow Quadrant and how you can move from square one to four.
Listen in to find out:
• What is the difference between a freelancer and a business owner
• How to become a business owner
• What is the Cashflow Quadrant and in what quadrant you currently reside
• How to move from employee to freelancer quadrant
• The benefits of becoming a freelancer
• What you need to figure out as a business owner
• How to create a team
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-to-transition-from-freelancer-to-business-owner
Four Questions You Should Ask (and be comfortable with the answer) When Hiring Your Next Coach.
Let's talk about the basics, what you should be looking for, and red flags. These are the exact same strategies that I use when I'm choosing who to work with. That's why I take the time to research and ask the right questions before I choose whom to work with and give my hard-earned money. When I use these four strategies, I don't get screwed. If anything, I've been disappointed, or have realized this coaching program isn't what I wanted to do after I get in the program. These questions are very beneficial and helpful to use and ask as you are looking into hiring your next mentor or coach.
Make sure to ask the proper questions when choosing your coach. Here are four questions you should ask when selecting your next coach.
Listen in to find out:
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/category/how-to-not-get-screwed-by-a-business-coach-part-2
Take Personal Responsibility For Your Choices
That's right, I'm starting with you first.
Are there bad coaches out there? Yes, some unskilled people talk and don't deliver in every profession. Then there are people who are looking to scam vulnerable people. I believe in love and light, but I am also a realist. One of my teachers says, "Know the truth, but respect the illusion." The illusion is you got a whole lot of narcissists out there taking advantage of people with very low self-esteem, and it's nothing new.
Your key to finding a good coach is to make sure you don't get scammed. To avoid getting scammed to the best of your ability, you must first start with you and your responsibility in choosing a coach.
Listen in to find out:
Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!
We are giving away a $100 Amazon gift card. Leave Make Money Your Honey podcast a five-star review on iTunes, and I’ll enter you into our giveaway. Enter now, as I’ll be choosing a winner on January 31st!
Do You Have Money Trauma?
Even if you grew up in the most wonderful household, all you had to do was walk outside the door, and you'd already start getting hit by other people's trauma about money. I often hear people beating themselves up about money because they feel they should have had their finances together before they decided to get them together with an "I should have known better" attitude. Honestly, how are you supposed to know better if no one ever taught you to manage your money any better?
Let’s get into this New Year by changing your mindset about making money. Remember, this is a process and a new habit to form. If you’re going to make money, you have to think like a person who is making money and throw out the old habits and beliefs around money you’ve been surrounding yourself with previously. Remember, only YOU can decide to make money. When you do, you take back financial control of your life and start looking for those money-making opportunities you’ve been missing right in front of your eyes!
Listen in to find out:
Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!
We are giving away a $100 Amazon gift card. Leave Make Money Your Honey podcast a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and I’ll enter you into our giveaway. Enter now, as I’ll be choosing a winner on January 31st!
Welcome to 2020, a new decade. We decided to bring in 2020 with some fun and also a "Thank You!" to many of our podcast listeners. To show our appreciation, we are hosting a giveaway for a $100 Amazon gift card. To enter, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and you will be entered in our drawing to win $100 Amazon gift card. We're going to be choosing the winner at random on January 31st. Thank you for being such loyal listeners!
Let's get into this whole new year's resolution, "I'm going to get my life together in 2020; new decade, new me, new year." Many of you are in a position where you want to make more money, start a business, quit your job. Maybe your goals are based around health, and you want to go back to the gym. I hear many of the common goals every new year - travel, business, health, and finance.
Listen in to find out:
An Invitation To Join Me in my Webinar:
"How to Make Your First 100K Online Even If No One Knows Who You Are." Text the word "Influencer" to 3056801407 to sign up today! See you there!
For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/how-to-not-self-sabotage-your-new-years-resolutions
Today, I'll walk you through an end of year inventory. I've done this exercise for many years as this process helps me to take stock of what happened in the past year and mentally prepares me for the year to come. This time of year lends itself to reflection. I'm just going to walk you through my step by step process.
Listen in to find out:
What Questions to Ask When You are Taking Your End of the Year Inventory. When taking your end-of-year inventory, ask yourself these questions, and write them in your journal:
Learn the four steps to successful goal setting in 2020! Find out the biggest mistake people make when setting their New Year’s Goals!
For more information, or to join me in Persuade to Profit, visit the show notes at https://www.amandaabella.com/my-new-years-eve-ritual