by admin | Jan 16, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
Can you believe we’re already halfway through the first month of the year?! I’ve been caught up in the excitement of planning and writing intentions, getting clear on where I want to take Childcare Ninjas and my daycares. Have you created your vision for the year? I love the hope and joy that thinking big brings! However, I know from experience that it’s really easy to lose momentum and forget about the bigger picture.
There’s so much excitement in these first couple of months of the new year, then by March our energy and motivation starts to dwindle, right?! So I wonder if you’ve thought about how you’re going to stay motivated and on track to reach your 2021 vision? Read on for some handy tips for staying motivated!
Why do we lose motivation?
Losing focus isn’t a new thing. It doesn’t come because of a global pandemic. This is pretty common to how every year goes! January arrives and we’re all goal setting and resolution Queens, but come the end of February our gym bags are gathering dust, our intentions for our businesses have fallen by the wayside.
The daily drudgery of our childcare businesses, the endless juggling our families, and keeping on top of our homes leaves us drained of energy and we begin losing sight of our vision and, with that, knowing how to reach our goals disappears. The steps fade and we can’t see how to get there. Procrastination and distraction take hold.
The difference comes when we are able to keep up that initial excitement and motivation, staying focused throughout the year on that bigger vision.
Is 2021 any different?
I have been hearing lots of people talking about how pleased they are that 2021 is finally here because they were so sick of 2020. And then this year has arrived and it feels like this year may just be more of the same. But even if it is going to be similar, we got through last year – we can do it again! So don’t let that discourage you from aiming high and creating a vision for what you want this year.
We don’t know what 2021 holds for us, but we’ll know what our hopes are. It’s great if we know our expectations and aspirations so well that we can keep coming back to them as reminders.
How to stay motivated
I’m determined that we’re not going to fizzle out this year! So I’m going to share with you some ideas I have been using to keep myself motivated over the years. I have a toolkit that I dip into to help me keep working towards my goals. These are 8 things I utilize because I know if I don’t I’ll not stick to my vision!
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Have a mantra
- a word or phrase that helps you refocus and stay in your lane! My word this year is “focus” because I want to move my business forward, in my professional development and investing in my growth, and focusing on my relationships. It helps by reminding me to really ground myself so I can keep moving towards my vision. So see what feels right for you. Choose a word or a phrase that resonates with you and will help you stay focused!
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Set specific financial goals
- Get clear on what you want to bring in! Don’t be shy about how much you want to earn. It’s important that we talk about money and finances so it’s less taboo! What’s your money goal for the year? Break it down into stepping stones for the year.
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Create a vision board
- Put reminders on a vision board to keep your goals at the front of your mind! Put your financial targets on it, and words that align with your goals. I often put words on to remind me of things I sometimes neglect – this year I’ve got “tranquility” on mine! I need a visual memory jog to help me rest.
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Revisit the previous year
- Take some time to reflect on the silver linings from 2020. Yes, last year was A LOT! But the year was not a total write-off. There were things that went well. Even if it’s just your health and the fact that you made it to this year! Journal on this and go through the year noting down where the good stuff was!
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Lean on your business BFFs
- I highly recommend finding yourself an accountability partner. Someone who can keep you motivated – and you can encourage them too! This person is going to check in to make sure you’ve ticked off that to do list. It really does help to give you drive to get things done! You don’t want to show up to your accountability session with nothing to show. I’ve achieved so much more since having somebody to nudge me forward! They’re your new biz BFF and they really do help.
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Create a 90 day goal
- Planning is key to reaching your goals for the year. But when we plan for 365 days, we can feel a bit like “it’s so far off, and I don’t need to work on that yet!” So sometimes planning a bit shorter term feels more achievable and less daunting than planning for the whole year. If we plan for 90 days (three months!) it pushes us to go for our goals and make progress! It keeps the excitement there. Break the 90 day goal into achievable segments.
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Investing in yourself
- This one doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. Start with a book that’ll help you grow – a business finance book, something about marketing, or a mindset book. If you’ve got the budget to work with a coach or to sign up to a program or course, that’s awesome. Go for it! Spending money on your growth is never wasted money. You’ll be so surprised how fast things start moving once you start opening yourself up to investing in yourself. It is a game changer. You’ll notice everything starting to go right. Times and places and people falling into your lap.
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Keep a blessings book
- I have this little book on me at all times. In it I write down ways I want to bless people. The ways I have blessed people. When I’m having a tough time, or get side-tracked, I go back through it to remind myself how much I care. To look at the good things that have been happening to me and the people I love. It keeps me motivated to see the blessings my hard work can bring people.
So to summarize, I want you to know that you’re not alone if you’re struggling to get motivated. Or maybe you’re worried about losing momentum. It’s okay. Try to use some of the tools from my kit, and head into my Facebook group because you can find more ideas for keeping on track in there.
While you’re here, I’d love you to invite you to join me on Friday 22nd January (next week!) for my free Masterclass –Simple Childcare Ownership. I’ll be helping you get unstuck so you can grow a successful childcare business in 2021 – even if you don’t have a lot of money!
And before you go, let me introduce who we are! We’re an army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup! Interested in becoming a part of the community? Join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be! And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
by admin | Jan 8, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
In any year it’s easy to lose focus on our finance goals, but when there’s a global pandemic going on it’s even harder! However, I wanted to give you some encouragement and motivation to show you how to stay inspired and on track.
We often find it tricky to keep our eyes on the prize. We get distracted by the endless possibilities of what everyone else is doing and what all our friends have. It’s all too easy to get side-swiped by what you don’t have, or haven’t managed to do, and the reasons behind that – usually financial!
What I want to help you with is staying focused on your goals!
Money mindset and financial taboo
When it comes to money, there’s a lot of weird stuff that comes up for most of us. A lot of it stems from our childhoods and the way we were brought up. For me that was in the church. And boy oh boy do church and finance have some bizarre clashes in personality going on!
So many of us brought up to believe that it’s impolite or embarrassing to talk about money. Money also holds an emotional connection for many of us. It can bring on an anxious reaction or trigger other behaviors. In my Facebook group, one of the things the Ninjas shy away from is talking about finance.
So what exactly is going on here?
I’ve talked about the importance of having a positive money mindset before, but I haven’t really gone into my own personal journey. So I’m going to share my story with you because I believe you may have experienced similar growing up.
At one point in my life I believed that making money was evil. That’s what I’d grown up hearing in church. That “money was the root of all evil” and that people who made money were greedy and evil and nothing good ever came from money. That the love of money was a sin and it was the Devil’s work.
But as I got older I began to do my own research, really looking at the scriptures and the context of quotes like the one above – which is the infamous 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Drummed into many of us as kids, when we look at it as adults, we can’t forget to add the love of in front of money here.
I’ve had to relearn a lot of my mindset around money. Money builds churches, hospitals, and homeless shelters – communities! We should be pro making money, and what we should stand up to is using money in a way that harms people and the planet.
It’s time for us women in business to overcome the money taboo!
Money is a tool!
Money isn’t evil. It’s an object that we can use for good or evil. And it really can be a fantastic tool to help us make a difference. We can utilize it to make the world a better place. It can help people.
Money can help us reach our goals and without money it can be quite tricky to take care of the people we love. We owe it to ourselves as women to achieve financial success. We owe it to our children to see us earning money and not being ashamed of it.
Stay focused on YOUR finance goals
You might think your goals are yours…but what if you’ve been influenced by other people and they don’t align with your values? The way you can get laser-focused and ensure that your goals truly are YOURS is to look at your soul goals and see if they marry up with the money targets. Are they challenging enough or are you playing small to please others? Or have you set something that is only going to end in heart ache?
Take some time to journal on this one. Honor your truth. Listen to your gut. It never fails to tune into your intuition.
What will inspire you to stay focused on your finance goals?
We’re all different and have our own things that help us. For me, my faith is one of them, I utilize it every day of my life! Now that I’ve made peace with the age old conflict between church and money, I know I can use my faith to keep me on track.
Perhaps it’ll be your family that inspires you to stay in your lane and reach your goals. Is it to extend your home or find somewhere a little less snug? Or maybe it is an adventure that you want to go on, and you’re able to visualize yourself going on that trip – each time you lose a little momentum, practice picturing yourself doing that thing!
“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”
Ayn Rand
Not only do we need to have conversations around the green stuff, we need to be open about how finance looks and feels for us! We have got to persist in setting ourselves financial goals, and start asking for what we want and need. Because let’s not forget what money can do for us!
I hope you’re going to use this as an opportunity to start talking about money more, encouraging conversations about finances with your business friends, employees and your family. If you found this blog post helpful, send the link to a friend – sharing is caring! Or come and continue the money talk over on Facebook in our Ninja community!
If you enjoyed reading this and would like to get more involved, we’re an army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup! Interested in becoming more involved in the community and to grow your business? Join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be! Or if you prefer Instagram, come and say hi there!
by admin | Jan 1, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
If 2020 has taught us anything at all, then surely it’s that we need to be prepared for the unexpected and be as adaptable as we can be. So how can you use this knowledge to organize your finances to make you more secure?
So what I’m sharing with you today is things we can do to cover ourselves. Making sure we cover all the bases and essentials, plus investing in our childcare businesses and us. Because investing in ourselves is key to growth.
Does the word “finances” fill you with dread?
Since I’ve been running my own business, I’ve got a lot more comfortable talking about money. The ins and outs, the profit margins and invoices. I’ve written about it before over here, and in other places too!
It’s strange, because although we know how important money is, and how finances impact our lives daily, it seems that we don’t like to talk about it much. There’s definitely a touch of taboo when it comes to discussing the green stuff.
Recently, I posted about finances in my Facebook group and it turns out that not many Childcare Ninjas are feeling the topic! But what I want to change is how we view money. Because it is super clear that to become successful in your childcare business, you’ve got to get comfy with finances and the talk that comes with it.
Excuse-proofing your finances
Last year, it was very easy for many of us to make excuses around not investing in our childcare businesses, and putting off investing on ourselves. But now 2021 has arrived, and we should be able to start off on a good foot, covering ourselves so we have the finances we need to grow our businesses. This includes money for investing in ourselves and investing in our childcare businesses.
Now is not the time for excuses! So what can you do to change the way things have been going? Have you made a plan for alternative income streams? Have you got ideas for saving money?
Challenge yourself to up your finance game
Developing your childcare business this year means you’ve got to stop using the old excuse “I can’t afford it”. Take the opportunities that you’re given in 2021 to grow your business. Lean into the fear and get stuck in. Stop putting off investing. Take money as an excuse of the table. And to do that, you’ve got to set yourself up to be more secure. You need to get comfy looking at your finances. To know exactly what you need to have coming in, and some extra for investment.
I want to challenge you to sit down and create some plans on different ways you can make some extra income next year. Set a timer and write down all the possible ways you could make money. E-bay? Babysitting? Make a cup of coffee and really go for it with that list!
Think outside of the box!
What are you good at that could bring you in some side hustle money? Could you teach piano lessons or do dog walking? Could you offer odd job skills to neighbors? Perhaps you’re a dab-hand at baking and might offer your services to busy moms who haven’t got time to make that all-singing all-dancing birthday cake?
Don’t let worries about what other people might think get in the way of you trying ideas out. Marie Forleo waited tables and taught dance classes while she worked her way up to the top of her game! She talks about money myths many of us women fall into here. And doing something other than running your childcare business, so that you can have enough money to invest doesn’t make you a failure. Trust me!
Still stuck on how to excuse-proof your finances?
I have a great resource that can help you out. It offers a number of different ideas to help you get the cash you need to start your in home business, hire that coach, or purchase that course to help move you along on your journey to success.
I designed this for you because I want you to get the tools you need to get to the next level of your success quickly and I don’t want you to keep putting your success on hold because of limited funds. And I want to help you reach your success as quickly and as simply as possible because it’s about time that you started living life on your own terms! Are you with me!? Download you free ideas list here.
How do you feel about finances? Is it something you shy away from talking about? Or are you at ease in that kind of conversation?
Come and let us know over in the Childcare Ninja Facebook group! We’re an army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup! Interested in becoming a part of the community? Join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be! And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
