With the financial climate right now – where the cost of everything seems to be going up, and we’ve become more price aware than ever before – sometimes it can feel difficult or even awkward, when you need to make a big purchase in your life or in your business.
After all, with some people having very little to spend, is it fair? What about if you then start sharing your achievements or your latest bag, or car, or holiday?
Business owners find this too. Of course businesses have expenses, the things that you need to pay for every month so that your business can run.
But as a business owner, you’ve got total free rein about what you get to spend your money on. If you want to upgrade your office equipment and buy that new printer or laptop, you can. If you want to upgrade to the latest mobile phone, you can.
If you’ve decided that rather than sitting in a dodgy corporate training room in a hotel somewhere off the M25, you’d rather go to a luxury venue for a VIP day or even an overseas retreat… how do you justify that?
Do you NEED to justify that?
I’m a great believer that your spending should be a reflection of you and the things that are important to you. If you manage your money well – and you’ve got money set aside to pay for training and development, or you know it’s the next logical step for you in your business – is there any reason why you shouldn’t spend that money? There’s not.
But if you feel that you do need to justify your spending to yourself or to other people, here are a few things to consider!
First off, running a business can be hard. Really hard. And if you have a small team or are working as a solopreneur, you haven’t necessarily got any positive feedback coming your way, where people are telling you that you’re doing a great job (which you definitely are, even if it doesn’t always feel that way!).
Yes, winning awards and things is great. And getting comments and likes and shares on your social media content is great, and all reassures you that you’re on the right track.
But actually, sometimes you need to feel like you’ve up leveled into the wealthy person that you want to become.
Because when we start in business, working all the hours we can from our kitchen table or in coffee shops, we know it’s not going to be forever. Over time the business grows, the profitability increases and we get to reward ourselves and enjoy the fruits of all those hours of hard work.
Some of that means spending money on business things that are nice to have, rather than essentials. Of course, what this looks like for you will depend on your business and what matters most to you. You might choose to pay for a cleaner, rather than having to hoover in the office yourself.
You might choose a posh venue for a Christmas party this year, rather than scrimping or going without (by the way – did you know that a Christmas party with you and your team can be put through your business as a tax deductible expense? If you’re not sure what else you might be missing out on claiming in your business, just click here to see my Tax Eliminator Masterclass.)
Because none of us wants to pay a penny more tax than we legally or ethically need to!
But back to feeling good about spending…
The main reason to splash out is because you can. Because you’ve got the money and whatever you decide to spend it on makes sense to you. There really is no further explanation or justification needed, to yourself or anyone else!
And the other big reason – which I think is so often overlooked in business – is because you deserve it. We each take a risk when we start a business, on so many different levels. Sure, you might still have a long way to go to reach your big goals, but you deserve to reap the rewards of that taking that risk and the subsequent effort and energy you’ve invested in growing your business to where it is today.
Because what’s the point otherwise?
No matter what’s going on in the world outside, there is no reason why you can’t have the nice things in life, whatever that means to you. And if some of them could be paid for by your business, it frees up money in your personal life to spend on other things!
So all that said…
If working on your finances is on the agenda for 2024, you might want to consider my Wealth Retreat in Lanzarote in June: https://peacetogether.co.uk/retreat
We have 5 nights in a beautiful villa, just us there, with sunshine and a pool and a private chef.
It’s all about YOU… building your wealth strategy and learning all the stuff you know you need to get a handle on, but never have time to sort out in your day to day life.
Like creating a tax-free retirement income of £50-60k a year (or more). Eliminating personal tax bills forever, in as little as 6 years (often less). Building your assets and choosing the best tax wrapper. Putting things in trust for your kids. How you’re going to have the money to finance your dreams!
There’s loads of time built in to implement this stuff too, sitting by the pool with a cold drink in your hand.
You’ll not only leave with your personal wealth journey all mapped out and knowing your exact next steps – but you’ll have actually taken ACTION on it and got things set up, with all the support you could ever wish for.
Plus you’ll get to meet and spend time with other amazing women in business, who really ‘get’ it and have big goals and dreams like you!
Here’s the link again to get all the retreat details now.
Yes, you’ll be splashing out on a luxury trip and yes, it’s not something everyone gets to do… but isn’t that part of the reason you took the risk and chose to start your business in the first place, rather than settling for the security of a job? So you get to do amazing stuff like this?
I can’t wait to see you at the villa!
Until next time,
Claire