#47: SOME GAME CHANGING MONEY MINDSET SHIFTS

Fear can hold us back—not just in life, but in our business finances, too. In this episode, I share a personal story about overcoming fear after a mountain biking accident and how it relates to managing your chiropractic business finances. Many chiropractors avoid dealing with money due to fear, past experiences, or simply a lack of financial education. But just like getting back on the bike, committing to financial management is crucial for long-term success. Learn how to shift your mindset, take control of your money, and create a financial plan that works for you and your business.

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Transcript

Hello there, my chiropractic friend. I hope business and life are treating you well and you're enjoying your spring. And loving life. If you're like me and you live somewhere with four seasons you're probably just starting to actually be able to go outside enjoy it and have some fun.

Not sure what that looks like for you but for me, anytime spent in the woods hiking or mountain biking makes me happy…

I hope no matter what is going on in your life you get to just go outside and enjoy some wonderful spring weather. When it comes to mountain biking for me, I have to say that I am thankful. I am in a place now where I can just jump on my bike and not have lots of fear. I had a pretty decent mountain bike crash back in I think it was like thousand fifteen and I didn't get back into doing that for many years. I got on my bike, and I did some mild easy rides but I was really fearful after that crash And it kept me from just doing more fun and challenging rides in the woods with lots of rocks and log challenges.

I was just terrified that I would hit something and crash. And I let that fear build up so much in my head that it basically paralyzed me anytime my husband would mention going for a ride it took me probably five years to get back in the saddle and attempt to trail that had any kind of challenges. I remember the day that I got back out there I decided that no matter what thoughts popped in my head no matter what fears popped up that I was going to commit to pedaling. No matter what lay ahead I would commit to pedaling.

What struck me that day the most and what I continue to remember from that ride is just that slap in the face that realization that I had of what fear can do to us as humans and what we can miss out on when we let fear drive us. I missed out on five years of fun, amazing rides in the woods on my bike doing something I love because I let fear take control every time, I thought about jumping on my bike. And I'm telling you this story because it reminds me so much of how people operate when it comes to money. This could be compared to really anything in life that causes fear in us. But as humans, we naturally tend to avoid the things we fear. And we let fear take over instead of just recognizing that it's simply a cue in our bodies.

When it comes to business finances, I have seen so many chiropractic business owners avoid dealing with their finances like the plague. Because of fear that they have around money, and around finances in their business. I think in many cases this is just because you've had some type of negative experience in your life when it comes to money, or you've simply never been taught how to understand or manage your business finances so there's a fear that exists about screwing things up or maybe not being good at managing your money. 

And if you are a business owner who has fear and or avoidance when it comes to managing finances, today I want to challenge you to really consider why. Everyone has a certain pattern or behavior when it comes to money Usually there's a learned behavior or pattern from childhood, and of course for instance, maybe your family avoided talking about money at all so avoidant behavior was just ingrained in you. And that's pretty common for most people from age thirty and up It was just more of a generational thing that they didn't talk about money, and they treat it like some topic that was rude to bring up or off limits.

I think as time goes on, our money culture is changing and people are okay with talking more openly about money. I love seeing that because I truly believe we should talk more about money. I mean, obviously I have a financial podcast so it's probably not a news flash that I think more people should talk about money. I think a big reason why so many people struggle with it is because It was never talked about enough and a lot of people haven't been educated around finances.

If you're someone who doesn't like talking about money or you avoid dealing with your personal finances or your business finances, you need to start reshaping the way that you operate around money. And this will involve changing your mindset around money and reframing those limiting negative beliefs.

The way I like to think about money and encourage others to think about money is that it's simply a tool. It's a tool that you use to function in your life and in your business not good it's not bad. It simply allows you to buy things you need for you, your family your business, and it allows you to build and grow the life you want. Have the experiences you want It allows you to maintain the mental and physical wellness you want It allows you to build wealth so you have something to leave your family It's a very necessary tool in our lives and depending on how much of we have and how we put that to use in our lives It can really really shape the type of life we have.

We of course want more out of our business out of life than just money. Not just about the money and that's not why you started your business. But one thing that I do know about chiropractors is that you are the type of person who got into your practice because you genuinely want to improve the lives around you.

That’s something I greatly admire about you I think there are many people out there that get into health care fields and any field for that matter who do it just for the money. They see what that paycheck could look like. And the promise of that decent salary guides them to that career choice and keeps them in it.

But that that's not going to be sustainable. Eventually if the passion isn't there, the money seems less and less important over time and you're just dying to do something that feels meaningful to you. We of course don't want to work just for the sake of money. However, money is a pretty darn important part of the equation.

Unfortunately, I see way too many chiropractors avoiding or straight up ignoring the financial side of their business. This is so painful for me to watch because you work so hard day in and day out to bring wellness to the people around you strain your own body to do this you give up your time and your mental energy to do this, that's no small thing. As someone who practiced ultrasound for thirteen plus years and it wrecked my body, I feel you on this. It's really hard to have a field that is taking from you mentally and physically, it gives back in so many ways because I'm sure so rewarding but you're really sacrificing you're sacrificing a lot for this passion that you have. And when I see chiropractors working so hard and then having a financial mess, not having financial stability, it just makes me sad. I want that to change.

The thing is it doesn't have to be that way in general in the world we live in financial management has not been in mainstream education. And it's barely taught when and where it should be which is completely ridiculous to me. Most chiropractors I know have fallen victim to this as well as so many others in our society.

Even though so many chiropractors go into business for themselves there just isn't a whole lot of education when it comes to the basics of what it takes to manage your practice and manage your business finances.

So, the remedy for that is that you have to take matters into your own hands. You have to commit to pedaling, so to speak, when it comes to managing your business finances. Especially if you're someone who avoids managing finances.

Although you're in your chiropractic business because of a true and genuine passion and life purpose, you also need to rely on your business for more than just those rewards that you get for giving people health and wellness for. You need to rely on it as a provider. For your life for you and your family to get the things that you need and want and deserve. That means you have to commit to pedaling. You have to commit to understanding your finance and learn how to manage your finances in a way that serves you and that serves your family.

You work way too hard to let fear or avoidance or both stay in the driver's seat.

So, what's the solution? You have to be open to changing your mindset around money and you have to be open to educating yourself around money. And most importantly, you have to be open to taking imperfect action. I say this all the time and I truly believe it.

That day that I got back out on my mountain bike and decided commit to pedaling was the day my fears took a back seat Are they still there? Definitely. But I'm not letting fear control me anymore. I'm jumping on that bike and I'm moving my legs.

Money is just money. It's an inanimate object. When you manage it and direct it towards your goals and dreams, you're truly in control. You're the one who controls what that money does for you and your family and how it shapes your lives.

When it comes to managing money, I encourage you to shift your mindset from a reactive mindset to a proactive mindset.

You preach this all the time in your practice when it comes to health care so you are very familiar with this concept. This is just spinning it towards money instead of wellness. 

Chiropractic itself is one of the most proactive things that you can do for your physical and your mental health. I know you see the difference all the time between the proactive approach and the reactive approach with patients that come to see you. Those patients who aren't coming in from maintenance adjustments regularly versus the patients who are coming in when there's something wrong. You know the importance of a proactive mindset more than most people.

Here's my challenge for you. Start looking at managing your financial health this same way that you look at managing your physical health When it comes to finances, being reactive only usually means That your money just happens to you, and you react when something goes wrong, and you have to clean something up. You know maybe you only plug into your finances once you grow at tax time, and you need to sort out a bookkeeping mess every year. maybe you only know when there's cash flow issues because you're bank account gets low or there's insufficient funds and a transaction doesn't go through so you get that alert. You could be the type of person who has enough margin that you just say, hey I'm good I have enough you know things are just flowing, but you're still missing the opportunity to really direct your money towards your goals if you're not paying attention or being proactive active.

When it comes to proactive money management, you get to be in control and tell your hard-earned money where it's going. And this can be done with a money allocation plan. You can also call that a budget, but I like to call that a money allocation plan. It can also be done with tax planning, retirement planning and succession planning.

That's all part of a proactive money management plan. These are all opportunities for you to shape the life you want using the tool, you have to do that. When you shift your money mindset, you can shift your life in the direction you want it to go, there’s a good chance you already know what your negative thought patterns are around financial stuff.

You should try to start catching those thoughts. Just notice comes up for you mentally and physically when the topic of finances comes up. There are a few common beliefs and thoughts I I see people having all the time that hold them back from properly managing their money I'm going to give you some reframes these.

So, these are very specific things that you can write out on post it, or just remember to tell yourself every time this happens. One of the biggest limiting beliefs I hear is’ I'm not really a numbers person’. You can reframe this to, ‘even though I'm not confident with numbers now, capable and willing to learn and seek the help that I need’.

And another really common thing I hear people say is ‘I don't like dealing with finances. I have an accountant. I have a bookkeeper that does that’.

No.

Try reframing this. ‘I get to handle the money I've been blessed with’.

These might seem cheesy (and they are) but it helps the more you catch those thoughts and reframe them the less they have control over you. Many times, I hear Chiros saying I have a bookkeeper. I have a CPA that handles the finances. That's not my thing.

I have a response to that: Should they care more about your business than you do?

They can be great and help you tremendously and I think you should outsource those financial tasks. However, they aren't deeply connected to your why like you are. Them understanding your finances is not the same as you understanding your finances. It's your responsibility to make sure that that hard-earned money you make in your business shapes the life you want for you and your family.

No one else can do that for you and you shouldn't expect anybody else to take over that for you. You can have people supporting you and helping you along the way of course and you should. But it's your responsibility to direct your money towards the goals and the life that you want to have.

Today I want you to do yourself a favor and really think on this. Revisit your why in business and in life and if you haven't done that in a while, maybe even write it down or do some journaling. I keep trying to be a journaler but I'm not really. So, you know if you are a journaler or you’re open to it, it can really help to just start solidifying goals on paper. Decide what your why is regardless and use that as your motivation keep that in the back of your head. I get that you're not always going to feel like plugging into the financial stuff and outsourcing can be something that can remedy how often you have to do that.

But checking in every once in a while or not checking in at all, won't cut it and it won't get you to the life that you're trying to create. And you can't be surprised when you aren't reaching your goals, or you feel overwhelmed or you feel Really negative and confused when it comes to your finances you have to get into action.

If you're ready to take action and plug into education, dive into my podcasts. I have multiple podcasts that can help you. Read my blog on my web site and join my free Facebook group. I am here to help guide you when it comes to creating the life you want and finding peace and freedom with your finances.

I'm working on a course right now that will be coming out very soon. If you'd like to join the wait list um shoot me an email at support at financially adjusted dot com and just put the word wait list in the subject line even have to write anything else.? This course is going to cover foundational financial education that every chiropractic business owner should have it comes to managing your business finances. It's the course that you should have had in school before you opened up your practice.

It'll cover many financial business topics like how to create a money allocation plan, payroll basics…tax basics understanding financial reports, and all kinds of other stuff.…

There's going to be a lot of templates with tutorials so that you can implement all of this in your own business and this is the way that I set up my own business. This is the way that I manage my own business.

This is how you take control of your business finances you learn from scratch. What do you need to know about these financial concepts in a business and how do you implement them in your own business. And this will be a founding member's launch. So, if you want special pricing and you want bonuses that won't be available ever again make sure you tune in over the next couple of weeks be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Get on my email list if you're not already. You can do that by grabbing one of my free resources over on my website or you can join my free Facebook group and reach out to me.

I know the struggle is real when it comes to managing your business finances. But it's time to take action. It's time to get in the driver's seat of your life and your business.

When you take imperfect action, that brings clarity to your next step, and then the next step.

And plugging into education can be that first step for you.

You do not have to do it alone.

Even if you're not interested in the course right now, I have a lot of free resources to help you so definitely head over to my website – financiallyadjusted.com. Plug into my free resources, listen to podcasts episodes. 

I also have a YouTube channel with just a couple of things on there but one of them is a tutorial showing you how to create a budget in the every dollar app and how to set that up so that it lines up with your P and L. That can be really helpful to you and having that budget and that money allocation plan is huge in your business. That's what makes you a proactive business owner. 

Be sure to jump into my free Facebook group. It's Financial Alignment for Chiropractors. You can ask any of your financial questions there and get all kinds of great strategies and tips and all kinds of good information.

You don't have to do this alone my friend. Just remember that.

Until next time, have a wonderful day and I'll talk to you soon!