Wealth Without Guilt: Rewriting Money Stories for Women Entrepreneurs

Imagine this scenario: You've just had an incredibly powerful session with a client. They're beaming, filled with newfound clarity and motivation. You feel like this is too good to be true because it felt so easy and natural!! As they thank you profusely, a little voice in your head whispers, "Should I really be charging for this? Isn't it wrong to profit from helping others?", “it was really so easy!”

Meanwhile, you catch yourself thinking, "People like us don't get rich," or "Money changes people - and not for the better." I’m sure you have your own version of this going!

If these thoughts resonate with you, you're grappling with two significant money mindset challenges: guilt around monetizing your gifts and limiting beliefs about wealth. These intertwined issues often hold back brilliant women entrepreneurs, especially in service-based businesses.

In this post, we're going to explore these deep-seated challenges. We'll look at how they manifest in your business, the impact they have on your success, and most importantly, how you can overcome them to create a thriving business without compromising your values.

Are you ready to release the guilt and rewrite your money story? Let's dive in and discover how you can embrace wealth while staying true to your mission of helping others.

Challenge 1: Guilt Around Monetizing Help and Support

What it looks like

• Feeling uncomfortable about charging for your services, especially after particularly impactful sessions

• Offering too many free services or heavily discounted rates

• Downplaying the value of your work when discussing fees

• Hesitating to raise your rates, even as your expertise grows

• Feeling like you should be able to help everyone, regardless of their ability to pay

• Apologizing when stating your prices or sending invoices

• Overdelivering consistently without appropriate compensation

How it impacts your business

This mindset can be a real growth-stunter. When we feel guilty about charging for our gifts, we limit not just our income, but our impact. It can lead to:

• Financial stress and instability in your business

• Burnout from overworking and undercharging

• Attracting clients who don't fully value your services

• Inability to invest in your own growth and development

• Reduced quality of service due to stretching yourself too thin

• Resentment that can seep into your client relationships

Mini case study

Meet Maya, a gifted shamanic healer who struggled with charging for her services. She often worked for free or at heavily discounted rates, believing it was more "spiritual" to give her gift freely. Despite working long hours, she was barely making ends meet and started to feel resentful.

After a mindset shift, Maya realized that by valuing her work appropriately, she could create a sustainable practice and help even more people. She raised her rates, created a scholarship fund for those in need, and found she had more energy and passion for her work than ever before.

The higher rates allowed Maya to work fewer hours, invest in advanced training, and even start a community outreach program. She discovered that clients who paid her full rate were more committed to the healing process, leading to better outcomes.

Practical tip to start overcoming it

Create a "Value Journal." Each day, write down:

1. One way your work positively impacted a client or the world

2. One way that earning money from your work allows you to continue making this impact

For example:

1. "Today, my coaching helped Sarah overcome her fear of public speaking. She's now ready to present her groundbreaking research at a conference."

2. "Because I charged appropriately for this session, I can afford that advanced training course that will help me serve my clients even better."

This practice helps reinforce the positive cycle of earning and impact. It reminds you that your financial success directly contributes to your ability to help others.

Charging for your services isn't about greed; it's about creating a sustainable exchange of value. As Charles Eisenstein, author of "Sacred Economics," eloquently puts it:

"In a gift economy, the more you give, the richer you are. But that doesn't mean you always give everything away for free. It is okay to receive. In fact, it is good to receive. To allow someone to give to you is to give a gift in return."

This perspective reminds us that by receiving payment for our services, we're actually allowing our clients to complete the circle of giving. When you price your services to reflect the value you provide, you're not just supporting yourself - you're ensuring that you can continue to show up fully and serve from a place of abundance, not depletion. You're also honoring the value of what you offer and allowing your clients to fully invest in their own transformation.

In our next section, we'll explore how limiting beliefs about wealth can compound this guilt and hold us back from our full potential. Let’s look at how to challenge these deep-seated beliefs and step into a new relationship with wealth.

Challenge 2: Limiting Beliefs About Wealth

What it looks like:

• Believing that wealth is inherently unethical or spiritually corrupting

• Thinking that you have to choose between making money and making a difference

• Feeling that you don't deserve financial abundance

• Believing that wealthy people are inherently greedy or unhappy

• Subconsciously sabotaging your success to stay in your financial "comfort zone"

• Associating wealth with negative personality traits or values

• Fearing that financial success will change you or alienate you from your community

How it impacts your business

These limiting beliefs can be like invisible chains holding back your business's growth. When we believe, deep down, that wealth is bad or that we don't deserve it, we create subconscious roadblocks to our own success. This can lead to:

• Self-sabotage of business growth opportunities

• Underpricing your services and undervaluing your work

• Hesitation to invest in your business or personal development

• Difficulty attracting high-paying clients or lucrative opportunities

• Stress and anxiety around money matters

• Inconsistent business practices that hinder long-term success

Mini case study:

Let’s talk about Jasmine, a talented relationships and conflict resolution therapist who grew up hearing "money is the root of all evil."

Jasmine's realization that money could be a force for good transformed both her business and her impact. Here's how:

1. Scholarship Program: With her increased income, Jasmine established a scholarship fund that provided therapy services to underprivileged individuals who couldn't otherwise afford help. This allowed her to extend her reach and support those in need without compromising her own financial stability.

2. Advanced Training: Her higher rates enabled Jasmine to invest in advanced therapeutic techniques and training. This enhanced her skills, allowing her to provide even better care to all her clients, regardless of whether they were paying full price or receiving scholarships.

3. Community Workshops: With more financial resources, Jasmine began offering free mental health workshops in her community. These sessions provided valuable tools and information to a broader audience, extending her impact beyond her one-on-one client work.

4. Hiring and Mentoring: As her practice grew, Jasmine was able to hire and mentor new therapists, creating jobs and passing on her ethical approach to business. This multiplied her impact, as these therapists could help even more people.

5. Work-Life Balance: With a healthier financial situation, Jasmine could work fewer hours while maintaining her income. This improved her own mental health and prevented burnout, allowing her to show up more fully for her clients.

6. Charitable Giving: Her increased profits allowed Jasmine to donate to causes she cared about, supporting other organizations making a difference in mental health advocacy and treatment.

7. Research Funding: Jasmine used some of her wealth to fund a small research project on accessible mental health interventions, contributing to the broader field of psychology.

Through these actions, Jasmine discovered that money wasn't the root of evil, but a tool that, when used consciously, could dramatically amplify her positive impact on the world. Her financial success allowed her to help more people, in more ways, than she ever could have by undercharging or working herself to exhaustion.

This example illustrates how embracing wealth can align with values of service and care, challenging the limiting belief that making money is at odds with making a difference.

Practical tip to start overcoming it

Try a belief excavation exercise like this one:

1. Write down all the messages about money and wealth you heard growing up.

2. Next to each, write a new, empowering belief that serves your goals and values.

For example: Old belief: "Rich people are greedy." New belief: "Financial abundance allows me to be even more generous and impactful."

1. For each new belief, write down three pieces of evidence that support it. These can be examples from your own life, people you admire, or general observations.

2. Read your new beliefs and supporting evidence daily for at least 21 days. This practice helps rewire your brain to embrace these new, empowering beliefs about wealth.

As the brilliant Marianne Williamson said, "There is no logical reason why we should be commanded to love our neighbor, but forbidden to love our neighbor's money." Money itself is neutral - it's how we use it that matters.

The connection between these challenges: Guilt around monetizing your services and limiting beliefs about wealth often go hand in hand. The guilt can stem from deeper beliefs about the nature of wealth and its compatibility with helping others. By addressing both, you create a powerful shift in your money mindset that can transform your business and your impact.

Powerful reframes for both challenges:

1. Instead of "It's selfish to charge for helping others," try "By creating a sustainable business, I can help more people in the long run."

2. Replace "Wealth corrupts" with "Wealth amplifies who I already am and allows me to express my values on a larger scale."

3. Shift from "I don't deserve to be wealthy" to "My financial success enables me to make a bigger positive impact in the world."

Embracing wealth doesn't mean compromising your values. In fact, the opposite is actually true! The more you live those values fully and embody them as part of your business, the more positive change in the world you can create!

In our next post, we'll explore how to overcome the fear of financial success and learn to invest confidently in your business growth. These final pieces of the money mindset puzzle will help you step fully into your potential as a woman entrepreneur.

Until then,

Maria x

PS. If you’re ready to rewrite your money story, I invite you to take our free Money Mindset Evolution Quiz to uncover any hidden limiting beliefs and gain personalized insights to help you embrace wealth without guilt.