Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 051 – 5 practical steps to becoming the breadwinner
Are you behaving like a breadwinner?
Thinking like the primary income earner is one thing, taking the action to be a responsible adult and a good custodian of money is another.
In this coaching episode we continue the theme from episode 49 (Are you ready to be the breadwinner?) with 5 practical steps you can take as you step into being the financial leader and primary income earner via your business.
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome back to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
As promised in last week’s coaching episode, which is number 49, on being ready to be the breadwinner, today I’ve got the practical side of actually becoming that primary income earner.
If you haven’t listened to that episode make sure you go back and check it out – they’re related but you can listen in any order.
Before we get into that though, I want to give you a reminder that I’m currently taking on new clients in IGNITE, my private coaching program.
This is you, me, one on one, working on your business for 6 to 12 months and setting you up a solid foundation to grow and scale from solopreneur to working with a team or leading an agency.
We do an audit of your business right at the start to see where you can streamline things, whats working and whats not.
I help you identify your zone of genius, the type of work you do, and get you sharing that with the world so you’re easily attracting your ‘perfect for you’ clients.
Theres too much noise out there in the online world, lets stop being fluffy or general, its time to be super specific and direct – tell people exactly who you are, what you do and who you work with!
We create your Goldilocks offer, the one thats got the ‘just right’ balance for you and your clients, and implement a pricing structure that meets your financial goals within the next 12 months.
And every step of the way I’m there help you with strategy and implementation so you never feel like you’re having to figure everything out on your own.
If that sounds like your kinda thing, send me a DM about IGNITE! I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on both Facebook and Instagram.
You’ll also find me on LinkedIn, or you can email hello@deirdreamies.com – you’ll find the links to all of those in the description and in the show notes!
Right then! Continuing on from episode 49…
What are the practical shifts needed to support you becoming the primary breadwinner? Lets get into them!
1 – KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Yes, its time to be a responsible adult and know your numbers!
This is about knowing your survive number AND your thrive number.
Your survive number is the minimum to cover costs.
How much money do you actually need in order to pay your bills, put food on the table and live a comfortable standard of life? This is constantly changing as interest rates go up and inflation is all over the place, but thats even more reason to know your numbers.
Your thrive number, on the other hand, is what you need to be earning to feel free of mortgage stress, clear debt, pay all your bills and still have plenty of fun money to play with.
This is your freedom number, because it really does feel like freedom to not worry about how you’re going to pay for something.
As a Connector money archetype I would LOVE to ignore this part and trust that it’ll all work out, but thats also very irresponsible. We ALL need to have at least a basic understanding of how much we need, where the money comes from, and where its going.
Yes, you need a budget. It doesn’t have to be a rigid, scary system involving spreadsheets and tracking every cent, although thats always a smart idea, and Accumulator money archetypes will have this in place already!
It can be as simple as having a list of recurring expenses with the dates and amounts, and looking at your bank account on a daily basis to make sure everything is as it should be.
Knowing your numbers means you can easily see if you’re undercharging, when you need to bring in more clients, or be more mindful of where your money is going.
2 – DELEGATE OR OUTSOURCE
You are not Wonder Woman, you are not a superhero, you don’t have to do everything!
What can you eliminate, delegate or outsource in your personal life to make more time and space for your business? Ask for help!
If you’re currently carrying the full load of household chores and caring for the family, setting some boundaries for yourself is essential.
I know, its not easy, but its essential. Personally, I need to know that everyone is on an even keel before I can relax and truly focus on my business.
By that I mean is everyone mentally and physically ok right now? If one of my kids is struggling with something, even as a young adult, I still need to support them through it for my own peace of mind. I can’t give my attention to helping the world and everyone else if one of my own needs help.
You can’t be the one to carry the load for everyone. Tell them what you need and why, share your dreams and goals, and get your home team on board because this is for their benefit too so you can step up and be the breadwinner!
It doesn’t mean the kids will actually unload the dishwasher until you lose your shit a few times, but you still have to tell them WHY you need their help in the first place. Communication is this magic thing that makes everything easier!
What can you outsource? There will be tasks in your business that aren’t the best use of your time, energy or expertise. Hand these over to someone better suited to it, whether its a bookkeeper, VA or some other specialist support person.
Outsourcing at home could be a cleaner who comes in every week or every couple of weeks, to do the deep clean on the kitchen, bathroom and everything else that doesn’t need doing on a daily basis.
You can get someone to run errands for you, pick the kids up, get a neighbour who’s kids go to the same school to help you out. Order your groceries online to be delivered.
So many things that don’t HAVE to cost a lot of money but they save you a ton of time and energy thats better utilised in your business as you become the breadwinner.
3 – TIME MANAGEMENT
Love it or hate it, time management is kind of important because we only have 24 hours in a day, you can’t save it, so lets use it effectively with a bit of structure and focus.
⏰ Where are you focusing your time and energy?
⏰ Could you be more productive and efficient?
⏰ What are the absolute essential things that need to be done in order for you to make money in your business?
THAT is where you need to focus your attention in order to build a solid foundation that your amazing business empire is going to be built upon.
When I need to work on my laptop without distractions I write in Evernote rather than Google Docs. All the tabs I have open in Chrome are very distracting when there are notification dots appearing on email or social media tabs! There are pings as messages come in, its annoying!
At the conference I went to a few weeks ago we received goody bags, and one of the items is a cube timer to challenge you to get tasks done in a time frame. I used it as I wrote my notes for this episode and trust me, racing against the clock is actually FUN!
If you’re faffing about creating graphics when an image isn’t even needed, or a simple selfie or dog pic will do just fine, you’re wasting precious time and energy that is better put towards you stepping into leadership as the breadwinner.
Help yourself make more money!
Outsource your graphic work to someone who has more skills and creativity than you do in this area! Get them to create templates so you’re halving the time it takes you to create each one.
I talked about this in a bit more detail in episode 41, titled “Where are you hiding?”
The tasks you’re filling your time with can be holding you back from making the money you want and need to be the legit breadwinner, standing tall and proud, knowing you did that. YOU made that money and created the life you want.
Stop faffing about, ok?? YOU GOT THIS!
4 – SELF CARE
I like to call this soul care, its all encompassing.
This one probably seems counterintuitive, especially if you’re a Ruler archetype who is laser focused on getting things done in the shortest time available.
But the worst thing you can do is throw yourself 110% into being the breadwinner, achieving your goal, and not look after yourself in the process.
If you burn yourself out overdelivering on something you’re sabotaging your own success.
I’ve seen too many amazing entrepreneurs go all in with launches, they’re not sleeping, trying to nurture everyone who needs help, and they fall sick, or need a week off to recover afterwards.
That roller coaster shizz doesn’t help anyone, least of all you. Ruler archetypes have a tendency to push yourselves to achieve a goal with no regard for your own wellbeing.
Structure, automations, planning ahead and strategy are your friend in business, they’re a form of self care in that they create breathing room and reduce stress.
If you’re burning yourself out trying to do all the things, ask for help to get more structure and support in place so you CAN take a breath and relax for more than a moment.
Set yourself up for success around your energy cycle. I’m at my best in the mornings, and earlier in the week.
Leaving everything to Friday afternoon is NOT a good idea for me, but that could be perfect for you. I’m a morning person, you might be a night owl, in which case the 5am club people are absolutely mental as far as you’re concerned. Don’t worry, I’m not a 5am type either, I have more of a 7am vibe these days!
5 – FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND MANAGEMENT
This differs from knowing your numbers and having a budget in that you’re being a responsible adult AND a good custodian of money.
This is about having a system in place, such as the Profit First framework, where you distribute your income across different accounts as soon as it comes in for different purposes.
When tax time rolls around you’re not stressed because you know you’ve already got it covered, you’ve set that money aside rather than winging it and leaving everything in your main business account.
I’m not a financial advisor, bookkeeper or accountant, I have no desire to be any of those things, so this should not be taken as financial advice or anything along those lines.
My purpose is to bring your attention to a simple way of managing your finances that could work for you and help reduce anxiety or overwhelm with the official formal money stuff.
I highly recommend you check out Profit First, its a book by Mike Michalowicz. I’ll link to the book in the show notes.
There are Profit First accredited accountants around the world who can assist you with implementing it, although theres certainly enough information in the book to get you up and running too.
Be a good custodian of money so you can grow your business, your income, your PROFIT, and be the breadwinner.
Our financial education is up to us, we all know it would have been handy to know in the school education system as we were growing up, but that didn’t happen, its still not happening, it is what it is.
So there are my 5 practical tips to help you become the breadwinner, lets just recap those:
1 – Know your numbers. Know how much you need to earn to survive, and also to thrive. Aim for the freedom number!
2- Delegate and outsource. Get your home team (aka your family) on board with your plans to become the breadwinner, you need their support as much as you need a VA or any other business support.
3 – Time management. Be strategic about what you’re doing with the time you have available, however many hours that is. Make it count.
4 – Self care. You can’t help the world if you’re not looking after yourself along the way. Plan your time out so you don’t end up burnt out.
5 – Financial education and management. You didn’t learn it in school so its now up to you. Your breadwinner status hangs on your ability to be a good custodian of money.
Pick ONE of these areas that feels doable or important for you right now, learn what you need to know about it, and go implement it. Then pick another one and do that.
Becoming the breadwinner doesn’t have to be hard, especially when you combine it with those mindset shifts I covered in episode 49.
We can all do this. I get goosebumps just thinking about how amazing our world can be when more women and non-binary people, more people of colour, more young people, step up and claim their place as the breadwinner.
No more sitting back taking what life serves you, ain’t nobody got time for that!
I’d love to hear what resonates the most with you about this episode, send me a DM! I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on Facebook and Instagram. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and message me there, or email hello@deirdreamies.com – you’ll find all the links for those in the description and in the show notes!
And one last mention, if you’d like me to be YOUR business coach for the next 6 to 12 months as you take action to become the breadwinner, send me that DM about IGNITE!
Thats what I’ve got for you today! Take care, have fun being a responsible adult with money, and I’ll catch you in the next episode!
PS – I didn’t beat the clock timer I set to get the prep done for this episode, but I wasn’t far off and I got it done a lot faster than I would have otherwise. Yay for making a game out of time management!
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
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