Welcome to the third and final part of our conversation around income goals and creating our “business runway.” Finally we’re going to answer the question of what the heckkk a business runway is. To me, a it’s a savings account set aside specifically to create confidence and ease in one’s business. While the term may vary for different people, the purpose remains the same: to provide a safety net and financial stability. I kind of hate calling it a “safety net” because it doesn’t feel super abundant to me, but that’s why I call it a “business runway.”
In part one and two we talked about income goals, how you get there, and taking it one step at a time, so now wer’re gonna talk about what to do that juicy amount of money sitting in your bank account. Of course we’ll first set some aside for taxes, (bleh, but better to be prepared than not), set money aside to pay yourself and your team, and payout those monthly expenses. && you better be writing off a lot of those monthly subscriptions as business expenses.
Why a business runway? Because business has its inevitable ebbs and flows. It’s totally natural to have some months that just aren’t as high of income months as others. Let’s be real, you can’t always outdo yourself and if you do… is your nervous system ok?! Jokes, but if not, go back and listen to part two of this series.
Transparency time. I had one of my highest earning months in December of 2022 at just under $70,000 cash. Unreal, right?! Buuuut what I didn’t realize was coming next was a huge amount of subconscious pressure to meet that amount in months to come.
And when I followed my highest earning month with two of my lowest earning months in a while… ya girl was thrown for a loop.
I didn’t realize through reaching that insane income goal, celebrating so big, and basking in my accomplishments as a CEO that I would subconsciously determine that $70,000 months were now my minimum. “I did it once and now I’m gonna keep on doing it month after month.” Girl, please.
Hindsight is 20/20 because when I look back at where a lot of the revenue came from in December, it was from a lot of PIF 1:1 clients and long term contracts which was so exciting, but isn’t always the case. So holding myself to a standard of $70k+ per month wasn’t super realistic when most of the time clients choose some sort of payment plan. Which, let me be clear, is still amazing. The client needs to do what is best for them and that results in guaranteed recurring revenue for me, it’s a win-win either way. But, what I am saying is to create that standard for myself just wasn’t reasonable because paid in full clients don’t come around every single month so where was I going to create that influx of revenue from? The success I experienced in December wasn’t going to be the kind of success I experienced every month.
Turn the corner to January and February and you could’ve found me face down, flat on the concrete. I was struggling with imposter syndrome wondering if I was even good at being a business owner, severe doubt, lack of creativity, and more. During these months, I found myself laser-focused on the income goal I had to hit. Now, I’m selling from a place of force and desperation. Not good. Again, tune into part two of this series to understand that an aligned nervous system attracts more money.
So why is this background info important? Even though January and February were hard af mentally, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I was good. I kept telling myself it’s fine, I’m good, and we’re going to get through this. But it wasn’t just my feminine energy shining through giving me false hope. It was the undeniable truth of my business runway. I had this really juicy business account that I was able to pull from if shit hit the fan and it was totally necessary. Just knowing I had that safety net gave me the confidence to keep going and maintain stability within my business… even on a lower month.
The truth of the matter is, I am running a fuckin’ business over here. P.S. I’m a kickass CEO and so are you. I have a payroll, to myself and my team, I outsource special projects and mentorship, I have recurring monthly expenses, and I have regular business expenses. Like this fancy new mic I’m recording with and the new computer I’m typing on. In case anyone was surprised, running a business takes money. But in those lower earning months when money might be tighter than you’d like, it’s comforting to know that in order to pay for your business to continue and sustain itself, you have a business runway to pull from.
You can’t sell from a place of force or desperation. You can’t be limited with a scarcity mindset if one month happens to be lower than the previous months. You can’t sell your offers if you aren’t fully trusting in them and romanticizing every step of the journey. Part one and two of this series are what teaches you how to get to this point and be fully on fire for your business daily. This episode is what teaches you the necessary tools to find security and stability. Even if all you can afford is $50 a month, your business runway is going to add up over time. At the end of the day, when you sell your offers from a “fuck it, I’m good” mindset, feeling like you’ve got all the money and are super secure, the success you see from this will be sustainable. Clients and money are going to be wildly attracted to you because you are showing up as an aligned CEO.
Start setting aside money to create your business runway. Don’t let the lower income months fool you, you are the shit and you are a worthy CEO. If you’re seeking security and sustainability, you need THIS.
Rooting for you always,
Ash
