The views expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
Entrepreneurship is the best adventure of self-discovery you possibly can embark on. But even if you know so many things and are an expert in a given field, there are some insights about money that only someone who has been there can inform you, and key facets of economic growth are some of them.
When I began my financial education platform to show women entrepreneurs about money, there weren’t many entrepreneurs who looked like me, and that limited my ability to research and follow greater than they did on social media. As a financial skilled, I thought I could handle it because I “had everything” I needed to thrive financially without any obstacles along the way; after all, I went to varsity and had been involved in the financial world since highschool, but I couldn’t have been further from reality.
When you are a Black, Brown, or person of color entrepreneur, your financial journey is directly correlated to a number of aspects, like your identity, your beliefs about entrepreneurship and money, and the way you align all of those subconscious money habits, including your relationship with money. But that is something that no one talks about, and it costs us years of trial and error that hinders our ability to grow our business, our confidence, and build a strong foundation as an entrepreneur.
Here are the five most significant observations that I would really like to share with other entrepreneurs navigating the financial landscape as a black founder.
My attitude towards money influences my financial development
How we relate to money—the meanings, beliefs, interpretations, and actions that create what we call a relationship with money—are critical to your journey to financial growth as a Black woman entrepreneur. Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I didn’t fully understand how my beliefs, perspective, and financial identity would impact my business decisions that directly related to money, such as pricing, or people who not directly related to money, such as showing up to advertise my programs.
Take a moment to investigate: Are you one of those individuals who runs on autopilot, executing every strategy in the market, but have difficulty talking about money, determining the right solution to price, looking at your checking account, and budgeting your money? Then it’s time to take a look at your relationship with money.
Family views on money and entrepreneurship have to be filtered
Your relationship with money, the way you think about entrepreneurial opportunities, the way you manage money, and many of the other skills it is advisable to grow what you are promoting have been shaped since you were too young to recollect. From the way you view money to the way you face risk, failure, and other mental and emotional rollercoasters related to money, it is advisable to develop into your individual best advocate when it involves filtering out opinions or advice from your close social circle that don’t align with or support where you should go.
The best solution to filter these views is to evaluate, in line with your vision and financial goal, what advice, beliefs, behaviors, and opinions are value listening to (and most definitely to support you in achieving your goal). If they are not relevant, there shall be no room for you to contemplate them.
For example, what is the point of claiming, (*5*) I have not seen any use for this opinion in my profession. Instead, it is quite the opposite. It brings a lot of guilt and shame. Therefore, it is filtered from the first yr of business.
The key is to have a community that supports us
As an entrepreneur, you do what most individuals you know don’t do, and in order to grow financially, you have to start out having the right conversations with the right people.
The things that are on your mind and the insights you could need to seek out a higher, more economical system or to get out of the house are found in the community.
Surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors who understand your challenges and can offer guidance, but most significantly, as a Black entrepreneur, a community that understands your unique challenges of putting yourself together while also feeling the reality of paying your bills. Join networking groups, take heed to podcasts and join their communities, attend industry events, and participate in online forums that reflect who you should develop into financially and where you should take what you are promoting.
Financial planning is non-negotiable in the context of economic development
One thing I knew from school, and this path has only confirmed it, is that financial planning is non-negotiable from the get-go if you should grow. As you get more motivated and need to grow what you are promoting, a lot of that emotional side of cash gets unleashed. It could possibly be buying one other course, subscribing to a platform, buying one other piece of kit, or spending money on promoting when it wasn’t the right time; in all of those cases and more, your financial planning shall be your best ally. It’s essential to have a base of operations where you possibly can come and ground yourself when those impulses to make an additional purchase or an additional investment mean faster financial growth.
Don’t be too complicated. Just shift your focus from “I just need to make money” to assigning and tracking your numbers.
Your management goals are just as vital as your revenue goals
One of the habits I’m working hardest to vary in my community is changing our focus from an income-centric mindset to broadening the spectrum and pondering about the way you manage what you earn. As an entrepreneur, you get a lot of selling, information, and sometimes standards that emphasize income as a solution to measure growth; nonetheless, learning easy methods to manage that income that isn’t pocket change, a one-time lucky break, or “I’ll never have this amount of money again” becomes your financial key.
Balance your pursuit of revenue generation with a solid business management and sustainability plan.