The 3 things that helped me have the best month ever in my business in just 18 days

In June I had the best ever financial month in my business. I increased my income by over 40% on my previous best month. And I did this in just 18 days, as I was heading off on a 10-day silent meditation retreat in the third week of June.

I don’t share this to boast. To be honest, although my business had been ticking along okay, during 2015 my income was pretty stagnant.  I made almost exactly the same in 2015 as I did in 2014.

I could have called this consolidation, but it wasn’t a conscious choice to consolidate my business. I had planned to double my income last year and it didn’t happen.

And looking back I can see why.  Very clearly. I’ll share some of the reasons with you here in this blog post, because I don’t want you to spend time floundering around with a flat-lining income in your business. You have wonderful work to share with the world and I want to help you get paid well for doing that work.

So how have I turned things around in 2016 and started to break through to juicy new income levels?

Here’s what I’ve done differently this year (and in particular over the past three months):

(Please note: NONE of this is rocket science and you’ve probably heard a lot of it before. BUT if you’re not making the money you want in your business, then maybe you need to hear it again right now. And hopefully it will inspire you to start doing something differently. 

Most of us learn best through stories and that’s why I’ve chosen to share my personal experiences. If you’re not interested in reading about me and want to cut to the chase, click here to download your own super-simple, step-by-step 21-day action plan to have the best month ever in your business.)

1. I actually owned the fact that I want to make 6-figures in my business.

There’s a LOT of talk online about 5-figure months and 6 or 7-figure incomes. And in truth, I’ve been pretty ambivalent about the idea of making 6 figures in the past. I told myself that as long as I was replacing my old corporate income, that was enough for me.

And yes, $50-$60k is enough, BUT over the past few months I’ve acknowledged that I want to make MORE than enough in my business.  Because, quite frankly, why not?

I know that if I’m making six figures (or more), I’ll be both stretching myself AND helping more people at a deeper level.  It’s a win-win.

So, why would I hold myself back?  (Which I’ve certainly been doing up until now).

That’s why I’ve (finally!) acknowledged to myself and my coaches that, yes, I DO want to make six figures and I want to do it this year.

And as soon as I declared that clear, stretchy financial goal, something got freed up within me.  I felt more focused and inspired and within a couple of months, I’ve increased my monthly income by nearly 50%.  (And I’m on track to continue this).

Now you may be reading this and thinking, ‘Well Nicola I’m really not interested in making six figures’. Maybe you’d be happy with consistent 4-figure months, or making what feels like a good part-time income?

And if that’s the case, great! I’m not saying that everyone should want to make 6 or 7 figures.

But just check in with yourself to make sure any ambivalence to making a particular level of income isn’t down to an underlying belief that it’s wrong to want that much, or that money is bad in some way. Even though I’m a money coach and teach my clients to uncover and shift their unhelpful beliefs in my Money Mastery Summer School, I can see that my resistance to owning the fact that I wanted to make 6-figures was underpinned by a fear that people would criticise me if I was making that much.

The point here is that you need to be clear about your income goals AND you want to pick a figure that gets you excited and motivated to take inspired action.

In my experience many of us women in business resist setting clear financial goals and I get this completely. (Heck, even as a money coach, you can see that I’ve resisted setting them too in the past!) When we set clear goals, fear of failure can rear its ugly head. And when we set financial goals, then all of our ‘stuff’ about money – limiting beliefs, negative stories and emotion- can bubble to the surface.

So, we tell ourselves that ‘goals’ are just too masculine and we prefer to go with the flow. (And I’ve totally been there too).

But this can simply be a way of holding ourselves back and self-sabotage.  I love the idea of ‘going with the flow’ but if that means that you can’t pay the bills and you’re feeling super-stressed about money, then it’s time to set some clear goals and start taking action. (And if you prefer, you can replace the word goals with intentions or objectives. I don’t care.  I just urge you to get clear on what you really want, own it and start doing what you need to do to get there.)

2. I embraced consistency.

Can I tell you a secret? I’ve had a HUGE problem with the word ‘consistency’ in the past.

Seriously, whenever I heard a coach or mentor say that you needed to be consistent to be successful in business, I would choose to ignore it. I’d tell myself, ‘Yeah I get that, but I’m going to do things my way.’ 

But the thing is that I was too rigid in my thinking about what consistency actually meant. I thought that it had to mean scheduling a year’s blog posts in January or doing the same thing, day in day out. And to be frank that just gave me the heebie jeebies.

I started my own business to have freedom and flexibility. So the idea of being tied into a strict, ‘consistent’ structure did not appeal at all.

But earlier this year I recognised that if I wanted to create the business (and income) I really wanted – not a well-paid hobby – then I needed to step up.  And when I say ‘step-up’ I don’t mean working 24/7 and burning myself out.

What I mean is making a commitment to the following:

• Consistently serving my community – sharing my message and valuable content whenever I can freely and abundantly.

• Consistently being visible – stepping up my social media presence, being open, and making regular offers so that people can put their hands up to work with me when they’re ready.

• Doing consistent inner work – even though this is 80% of the work I do with my clients, I realised that I’d totally let the ball slip with my own inner work. And why on earth wouldn’t I make this mindset work a part of my daily practice if it meant that I could create the income and impact I wanted? So, I committed to consistently looking inwards and clearing my own blocks – through journalling, EFT and meditation.

Making friends with consistency has made the BIGGEST difference in my business.

If you’re not creating a consistent income right now, ask yourself ‘Where am I NOT being consistent in my business?’ and take an honest look at what you’re doing (and what you’re NOT doing).

I still only work 20-25 hours per week, but because I’m consistent both in the action I take and my inner work, I’m using these hours much more effectively.

Click here to download your free, step-by-step, 21-day action plan and see what you need to be doing every single day to break through to a new income level in your business.

3. I got support

For the first part of this year, I didn’t have a coach. I remember when a friend asked me whether I was working with a coach towards the end of last year and I said, ‘No, I don’t think I need anyone to help me with my business right now.’

Seriously?  I don’t know quite what I was thinking at the time.

Well, I do. I had worked with different coaches for the past two or three years and I guess I was suffering from coaching fatigue. So even though I’m a coach myself, I didn’t feel that I needed that support myself.

And maybe it was good to take a break from working with a coach? But as I started to get my fire back earlier this year, and I could feel that excitement bubbling up about how I could begin to serve my community in a big way, I realised that to do that, I needed support.

Because why on earth would I choose to do this alone?

I knew that I wanted to work with a coach who had trodden the path that I wanted to take – building a six-figure, service-based, heart-led business. And as soon as I made that decision, the perfect option appeared.

And it feels SO good to be supported. I’m now part of a wonderful group coaching programme and it’s no coincidence that starting this programme coincided with me with having the best month ever in my business (by over 40%).

Because I not only recognised that I need to be supported as a I expand my business, but I acknowledged that I DESERVE to be supported.

And so do you.

You don’t have to do it all on your own. You really don’t.

So whether you hire a coach, or find yourself a mastermind or business bestie, (or ALL of these), allow yourself to be supported.

Because you’re here to do great work. Your potential clients need you. And to do that great work, you will be called upon to grow and stretch. You WILL be challenged.

And from my experience, it pays to know you have someone in your corner.

So, that’s 3 key areas where I’ve done things differently over the past few months in order to break through to a new income level.  And as I’ve been writing, I know that there’s more to share on this. There are other factors and behind-the-scenes info that I know will help you. But I don’t want to overwhelm you with content right now, so as a simple next step click here to download your free and simple, step-by-step. 21-day action plan.