I Didn't Make Money For The First 5 Years of My Business

I didn’t make money for the first 5 years of my coaching business.

And, I didn’t know why.

✅ I was networking and meeting people.

✅ Helping people regularly and they would get great results.

✅ Investing in business cards, a website, and learning new skills.

I’d often receive praise and testimonials, yet my bank account looked like I wasn’t serving anyone and I felt unaccomplished and tired inside.

So then I focused on achieving more.

✅ I went from being a maintenance man to a director of student success at a top 50 college within 3 years.

✅ I raised over $2,500 for clean drinking water in Africa.

✅ I was the first person in the world to do a Tedx talk through google glass.

Still, no money.

✅ I decided to visit Tony Robbins and go to life changing seminars.

✅ I became a master practitioner of NLP (same as Tony Robbins).

Still no money.

I thought maybe I wasn’t spiritual enough, so I visited a zen center for a year.

Still, no money.

I thought maybe I was playing it too safe and the universe wasn’t rewarding me for not taking enough risk. 

So I gave notice to my job and traveled the country for a year visiting over 20 states.

Then, I made some money. 💵

And, I discovered it had nothing to do with any of the above.

It was because I was too chicken to ask for the money I wanted because I believed I didn’t deserve it and wasn’t worthy of it.

Then, I would make money, but it would only be periodic. Feast and famine.

💵 First a few hundred dollars.

💸 Then a thousand.

💰 Then three thousand. 

I wasn’t consistent, and so I told myself it must be because I don’t feel deserving or feel unworthy. That I have money blocks.

So, then I went on a mission to heal and solve my unworthiness in hopes of creating the income I desired.

✅ Paid 8k on a credit card for business coaching.

✅ Paid for a therapist 1-2 times a week.

✅ Paid for coaching around money blocks.

✅ Paid to become a master practitioner of hypnosis.

✅ Paid for hypnosis.

✅ Paid for anti-procrastination coaching.

And then I got a $6k client. 💰💰

Except it had nothing to do with the above, it was because I was willing to have a conversation to serve others and ask for money despite the feelings.

So then I believed that if I didn’t have the uncomfortable feelings about business, I could be more consistent.

So, I went on a mission to eliminate the uncomfortable feelings.

✅ I paid for a relationship therapist.

✅ I paid another business coach.

✅ I paid for a copywriting coach.

✅ I paid for Tony Robbins again.

✅ I paid for the landmark forum.

✅ I took another landmark seminar.

✅ I paid for another landmark advanced event.

✅ I paid for causism sessions.

Only to discover that the uncomfortable feelings in life don’t disappear, but my relationship with them can change.

While all of the work and experiences had benefit, it led down a rabbit whole of - suicidal thoughts, fears of suicidal thoughts, questions of self worth, investigating and magnifying anxiety, unnecessary over thinking, and...

...hoping the answer to feeling accomplished in business and making the income I desired was solving my “problems” or...

...believing there was something inherently wrong with me or... 

...that if I heal past trauma and ask for forgiveness it will be the answer.

Among all the achievements and all of the progress and helping thousands of others, I had become convinced that all of these things would be the answer. They weren’t.

What was?

To stop coming up with stories, past traumas, philosophies, labels, and superstitions to avoid the uncomfortable feelings.

Simply put - take the action you know is necessary in your business.

The feelings will be there regardless, so you might as well have them going after what you want.