How your money personality may be harming your business

Do you ever wonder about your money patterns and how they can make or break your business?

Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of believing that financial literacy is limited to understanding your numbers and cash flow.

But there’s more to managing money than a skill set. It’s just as important to recognise that our beliefs about money affect how we deal with both our personal and business finances.

Now, we can’t take our emotions out of money decisions but we can build awareness of our own core beliefs and how they could be impacting our business success.

When you understand and accept your money personality you can tap into the traits that will support you in your business and work on the challenges that may sabotage you from achieving what you truly desire.

I expand on these money personalities in my quiz which you can take by clicking here. None of the personalities are good or bad and most of us can relate to several of them.

We all have deeply rooted beliefs about money that are shaped by our upbringing and societal norms. These beliefs (known as your money personality) are at the core of our relationship with money and associated behaviour.

Psychotherapist and author, Olivia Mellan, has focused extensively on money personalities. Let’s take a look at her five major personalities and the potential challenges of each for entrepreneurs.

You love to spend. Your money is used for your immediate pleasure and you enjoy spending on gifts for others. It may be hard for you to save money and prioritise financial goals. Some spenders have no problem spending money to project an image of wealth and success that might not match their bank account balance.
Potential Challenges:  You may get into debt very easily and max out your credit cards. It’s common for you to spend money to reward yourself every time something goes right or to cheer yourself up when things go wrong. You probably buy courses that you never complete or software systems that you never use. Your inability to save consistently may leave you unable to meet your financial responsibilities (such as tax) and ill-prepared for unforeseen expenses or a downturn in income.
Tips:

• Set up an automatic transfer of money to a buffer account for unexpected expenses.
• Identify the essential costs of running your business and monitor your cash flow. Resist the temptation to buy “all the shiny things”.
• Keep a journal and track what you buy, how much it cost, how you felt at the time and how you felt after the purchase.
• When you get the urge to buy something, write it down and see if you still feel the same way in a few days.
• A spending plan (budget) will help you work out your financial goals, reduce debt and set boundaries around how much you spend.

You’re very good at seeking money and don’t like letting go of it. You shy away from spending on luxuries for yourself and those you love. Security is your first priority and you’re a conservative investor. You resist debt and excel at saving. Sacrificing short-term pleasure for long-term goals poses no problem for you and you look after your future self. You enjoy prioritising financial goals and budgeting and you know every single cent coming into and out of your business.
Potential Challenges:  Cash security and a healthy bank balance is more important to you than business growth. You may have ample cash flow but be overly cautious about reinvesting money into your business and personal development.
Tips:

• Your obsession with numbers may cause you to lose sight of what is important and stunt your business growth. Ask yourself what you want your business to do for you. What investments can you make that will give you the biggest return on your investment and help you achieve what you desire?
• Managing your money requires balance between what feels good to support financial stability whilst giving generously and allowing the energy of your money to move in and out of your life. Saving is important but so is treating yourself when you deserve it.
• Develop trust and let go of your inner control freak. Take some calculated risks. Life is too short to wait until retirement or later in life to enjoy it. Money is just numbers if it’s sitting in your bank account.

You choose to bury your head in the sand when it comes to money matters. You have very little knowledge about how much you have, earn, save or spend. You procrastinate or allow someone else to make financial decisions for you. You see financial record keeping as a nuisance.
Potential Challenges:  You may feel overwhelmed, disempowered or inadequate when dealing with the details of managing your money. Your tendency to ignore money problems can result in financial stress. You may have trouble keeping up with payments and may be behind on some bills or loans. You may give away your power by trusting others to handle your money.
Tips:

• As an entrepreneur, accept that the buck stops with you with regard to the financial health of your business.
• Map out a spending plan (budget) to give you a roadmap to follow and a clear picture of where your money goes.
• Find someone to hold you accountable. This might be another business owner, a supportive partner or a money coach.
• Set-up financial recordkeeping systems so you don’t go into a panic at tax time.
• Don’t rely too heavily on the services of a bookkeeper and/or accountant. You need to learn enough to understand what financial information is telling you about your business. Paying attention to your numbers allows you to take action to mitigate problems before they occur and shows you where you need to focus your attention to increase your income and profits.

You view money as the source of power and self-worth. For you, building wealth creates confidence. When you have plenty of money to spend, invest and save you feel most alive. You have a strong desire to produce value. Your financial knowledge is sound and you are good with numbers and planning for your financial future. You like investments with high and quick returns.
Potential Challenges:  You may be motivated by the fear of losing control of your money, power and identity. A lack of money may diminish your confidence and lead to feelings of emptiness or depression. You may be driven to overwork and have a tendency to obsess over generating more money.
Tips:

• Be wary of getting sucked into the “numbers” and losing sight of your values and what is really important to you.
• Your workaholic tendencies put you at risk of burnout. Create your schedule around a healthy work/life balance, including self-care and time with family and friends.
• Engage trusted financial professionals to assist you to manage some of the details of your financial life.
• In your quest to make more money quickly, take care not to fall for scams.
• Speed up your decision-making by putting self-imposed limits on the time you spend on research and weighing up options.

You tend to feel guilty about having money and that it’s bad to have too much of it. You worry that an influx of a lot of money may cause you to become greedy or selfish. You are generous and want to help others in need, often at the expense of your own financial wellbeing. You see money as a reflection of your moral values and tend to give money to charities and social causes in lieu of spending, saving or investing.
Potential Challenges:  You feel you need to over-give for every dollar you bring in. Sales conversations intimidate you. You often give away, undercharge or discount your services. Others may take advantage of you financially or you may feel resentful because what you give is not reciprocated.
Tips:

• Do the mindset work to strengthen your financial boundaries and empower your voice around money. Remember, that money doesn’t determine who you are.
• Start owning your true value by charging what you’re worth and working with clients that will appreciate what you have to offer.
• Set some financial goals and start taking incremental steps towards them.
• Create a spending plan (budget) that supports your financial wellbeing as well as allowing you to contribute to causes that are close to your heart.

Do you see yourself in any of these personality types? Click here to find out your money personality.

I’m an Amasser. I’d love to know your dominant money personality and one thing that you’re going to implement as a result of this post. Let me know in the comments!

I work with my clients to set-up smart money management systems that play to their strengths, giving them permission to stop beating themselves up for not having their finances under control.

If you’d like to know more about how I can help you, book in for a free complimentary session with me here.