Ask for what you want
This week’s Victory Letter message has been coming to me from so many directions. Starting with the podcast I had the honor to record a few weeks back that I am sharing with you today. The podcast is with Erin Bagwell the creator behind the documentary Dream, Girl.
I will share more about that podcast here in a second, but first want to have you think about this burning question for this week. Are you fully asking for what you want on a regular basis especially around the money you need to run your business and your life? And I mean full out asking, not implying or hoping that it will happen - being bold enough to point blank ask for what you want.
The truth is most people are not – especially women. There are a variety of reasons for this with the biggest one being that we are not asking for our fair share. In fact, a Google search brought me these staggering statistics of overall earnings in the US as of 2018:
· 70,075,212 people earned under $25,000 – 42.85%
· 44,496,340 people earned between $20,000 and 50,000 – 27.21%
· 34,098,312 people earned between $50,000 and $100,000 – 20.85%
· 11,528,382 people earned between $100,000 and $200,000 -7.05%
· 3,322,360 people earned over $200,000 – 2.03%
I don’t share this to depress you – after all this is the Victory Letter – I share it to inspire you to start asking for what your talents warrant instead of someone else telling you your value. To look honestly at your current income and what you can do to make the needed changes to increase your revenue.
Sometimes we can be buried in debt because we aren’t earning enough and the financial hole can seem to just get bigger and bigger.
In my podcast interview Erin shares her great success in raising $100,000 to make the Dream, Girl film such a big success including a screening of the documentary at the White House during the Obama Administration and being a part of Oprah’s top 100 list.
Erin also then told me how after the film started to wane down she suddenly found herself $20,000 in new business debt. She shared 4 elements in how she quickly got herself on a new path.
Face it – Stop blaming anyone else and looking the debt straight on.
Get out a whiteboard and make a plan.
Start paying yourself first! (Interesting how as business owners we tend to pay ourselves last.)
Write out your Financial Manifesto including asking for what you want.
With these ideas from Erin (be sure and listen to much more in the podcast), and looking at your own annual income magic number, empower yourself to ask for what you want. While it may not happen instantaneously, consistency makes a great asking companion.
To Your Success and Victories,
- Cheri
Cheri Ruskus, Founder of Business Victories
cheri@businessvictories.com • 303-652-1718 • @victorygirl
New clients start here: businessvictories.com/clarity
Join the Victory Program
Gain confidence and clarity in your business
Need more help with your goals? It’s time to get the confidence and clarity you desire for your business. Hire me as your business coach and in return I’ll provide the strategy, support, and accountability to take your business to the next level in the year ahead. After joining this program you will get instant access to all of my online courses and will be able to schedule your first meeting as soon as next week!
How the program works: we meet twice every month via phone/skype to discuss your pain points along with custom solutions to resolve them. I’ll provide simple homework for you and your team to execute in order to achieve the complex results you desire. This is for committed entrepreneurs only and space is extremely limited. Let’s partner up!
Have a few questions first?
Schedule a 15-minute phone conversation
