Three money blocks holding you back and how to overcome them

Could you be blocking money from flowing into your business? We all have beliefs (or stories) about money. Our money beliefs can come from our childhood or our experiences in our adulthood. They can be so powerful that you believe them to be a truth, writes money mentor and financial expert Clare Wood, author of Intentional Profit.

To grow your business, you need to identify the ways that you are unintentionally blocking profit so that you can work through the area (or areas!) that are holding you back:

1. Receiving block

This is when you have trouble receiving from others. This block is automatically saying “no thanks” when someone offers you something, whether it’s money, resources, a helping hand, or a discount. It can also manifest as you not following up to receive the money you’re owed.

How to tell if you have a receiving block:

Do you:

Undercharge, or not charge some people at all for your services?
Do extra pieces of work for free?
Struggle with boundaries, and overdeliver?

How to work through this block:

Practice saying “thank you, I appreciate it” rather than “no” when someone offers you some help.
When being asked to do extra work that’s outside scope of your agreement, reply “Sure, I’ll send through a quote for the additional services.”
Practice setting boundaries in small ways. For example, if you tell clients you are unavailable on weekends, set an out-of-office reply on your voicemail and emails.

Young plants growing out of stacks of coins

2. Holding block

This money block comes up when you are so used to not having money, that when you do have it, you spend it straight away.

Most people often have an amount of money that they feel ‘comfortable’ holding. For some people, they love to always have $50,000 in their business account ‘just in case’. Whereas others are used to having a maxed-out business credit card at all times.

Take a moment and reflect – what bank balance is the amount that you tend to gravitate back to?

How to tell if you have a holding block:

Do you:

Struggle to keep any money in your bank account?
Spend money as soon as it lands in your account?
Feel unworthy of having any sort of buffer?

How to work through this block:

Practice saving even small amounts of money that you never spend.
Take a little longer on your spending decisions rather than rushing in.
Affirm “I am worthy of having savings”.

3. Spending block

A block in spending is when you struggle to spend money on your business or your personal life. This shows up when feeling uncomfortable with outlaying money. In a business sense, this might look like a fear of investing in the business. For example, not hiring a new team member or joining a course that could help you with your business.

This block can be unhelpful when it holds you back from growth in your business or your personal life, where it limits your enjoyment when you have the money to spend.

How to tell if you have a spending block:

Do you:

Have a mentality of “I can do it myself”?
Refuse to invest in courses or resources that could help your business?
Scrimp and save, and only feel safe with a big cash buffer?

How to work through this block:

Identify key areas you could invest in your business to help it grow.
Practice investing small amounts regularly so that you can increase it over time.
Map out the potential return the investment may have so you feel less scared to spend.

There’s no right or wrong answer in terms of how much you should be receiving, spending or holding. The real question is: are you consciously aware of how you are behaving around money and why?

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