Reflections and celebration of a milestone in business.

This is supposed to be a massage therapist “slow time of year.” And yet, I sit here in gratitude for Nourishing Practices’ most profitable month since opening in Mississippi two years ago.

What made this possible? A commitment to getting to the bottom of my own self-limiting beliefs, stories and patterns. Hiring professionals to provide accountability and a non-judgmental perspective. And most of all, getting comfortable looking at numbers from a place of neutrality.

Approaching numbers from a sense of neutrality allows you to look at where you are and where you want to go. It allows you to plan your actions and strategies to get you to that next goal. This applies to money as well as nutrition.  

This month’s results were a culmination of actions taken months before. In the past, I hired new business coaches hoping to find the magic key to financial and business growth. (Much like people hop from diet to diet.)  I knew I did not need a new business coach. I have a great one and as well as all the knowledge needed for a successful business. I needed someone to help me move through some money blocks. Mainly the one of not ever looking at my financial numbers. I had no problem looking at social media numbers, email opens and clicks…but the ones that counted, you know, the ones in the bank, I acted like I would die a horrible death if I looked at them.

(There is a significant amount of money trauma I am working to overcome. Having money in the past made the insecure men in my life even more insecure. Therefore, if business was good, the relationship was rocky. The “money story” that has governed my life is that if I am financially successful, I am unlovable. This is a story I am currently re-writing and learning to feel safe in with the help of a therapist and the continued love and support of my sweetheart.)

Last year through a business coaching group I am in, I met a bookkeeper based in Louisiana that worked with entrepreneurial creatives. She made the statement on one of the group coaching calls that she loved bookkeeping because the numbers were just a puzzle that had to be figured out. It was the first time I had heard someone talk about money in a non-judgmental or emotional way. She felt like someone I could safely be vulnerable to about my numbers. 

So, I hired her last year to help me gain clarity on what was happening in my business. The first quarter was catching up on all the back paperwork so we could have a big picture of what was going on. The next quarter was me stumbling awkwardly through learning a new budgeting software system. The next quarter was all about sitting down for 20-30 minutes every morning and looking at the data. I looked at how many clients were on the schedule, income that came in, expenses that went out and adjusted decisions and actions according to what was in front of me. I also checked in with other factors such as energy levels, amount of sleep, recovery exercises done, nutrition and hydration. Proactively keeping an eye on how my physical body was holding up allowed for seeing more clients consistently than working until I injured myself and had to take a week off to recover. I also set out to nurture relationships with other massage therapists willing to trade services so that I could add receiving massage therapy more often to the longevity strategy.   

The result: A profitable month that I can duplicate over and over from a place of mental, physical and financial health.   

What I would like you to take away from this is this, money and nutrition are two sides of the same coin. What applies to one, applies to the other. You don’t need a new diet like I did not need another business coach. You need consistency. You need to get comfortable not assigning emotions to numbers like calories, fat, carbohydrates or protein. It’s simply data telling you where you stand. It gives you power to make changes and build a different way of acting based on the information in front of you. Also, expect the first few months of data gathering to be messy. It eventually becomes easier.

You have a story about food. It may have been written for you by your loved ones and passed down for generations. You do have the option to re-write that narrative. Food journaling is a great place to start. If you need help looking at the numbers and data in front of you from a place of curiosity and neutrality, let me know. I would love to be that person for you.

Also, take time to build a multi-faceted team to help you when the going gets challenging. Find a nutritionist, a counselor, a supportive gym or group of friends. In time, you will be celebrating your wins too.

Recommended Resources:

If you are an entrepreneur needing a business coach, check out the Grow Your Local Business Facebook group by Leslie Presnall. She also has a podcast. 

If you are a creative and need a bookkeeper, find Fulton Bookkeeping on Instagram.

If you need help with looking at money differently, I recommend the Money Love podcast on whatever platform you use for podcasts or audiobooks.

If you want someone to help you view food with neutrality, get with me.

With all the love,

Heidi G