Let’s talk about money, friend!!
I think we all know it can’t buy happiness.
But I also think so many people try to convince themselves that money is bad or business people are bad if they have or want money…
There’s a lot of shame around wanting more for ourselves and our families when there are others in the world who have so much less.
So today I want to challenge you to ask yourself, what can money do for us as photographers other than buy us cool photography gear?
I was at a conference and a friend of mine had a shirt on and his shirt said, “Money can’t buy happiness. Broke can’t buy anything.” And I liked it.
Money is a thing and there’s so much stress in life caused by money (and mostly lack of money).
There are fights in your family, maybe in your relationship, when older relatives pass away and leave money to people.
I want you to think about what extra money could do for you, your family, your self-confidence, the amount of time you have in your life, and what you’re able to do with that time.
So I rounded up nine ways to use money from your photography business to help you, and the people around you, live your best lives!
1. Prioritizing Safety
Think about how many times in your life you do things that make you feel unsafe.
Is it the neighborhood you live in?
Or that you’re in a relationship because you can’t afford to get out of it?
Whatever that is, if we have extra money coming into our lives, we can prioritize safety.
If that means not taking the public transportation in your neighborhood that’s gone downhill, sending your kids to a different school district, or moving to a more expensive school district that has the schools that you want… safety is worth prioritizing and sometimes that costs us money!
2. Enjoying Time with Friends
Why do friends cost us money?
Because doing things with friends costs money!!
Imagine if you had a group of friends and you could fly away for the weekend.
Or go out and have nice dinners and 90-minute massages.
You can take your friends out for dinner and pick up the tab if you want!
Money can’t buy you friends or happiness, but it sure can put you in a situation to have some fun with your friends who support you.
3. Relatives, Grandparents, & Extended Family
Think about being able to be there for your family as they’re needing to move into a care facility.
Or being able to invest in extra occupational therapy to help them maneuver as they’re getting older.
Think about your younger family members, like those little cousins that you grew up with or your nieces and nephews, as they’re getting married!
A lot of people can’t afford to fly their whole family to a family wedding.
Having that little extra money so that you don’t have to suffer and miss out on fun things is important.
4. Opportunities for Growth & Personal Development
We’re all science projects.
And likely we all have issues from things that have happened in our past.
Even if it’s a simple conversation with kids that teased us when we were little, that shows up as trauma…
It doesn’t have to be violence that we went through for us to have some struggles, issues, and blocks in our life.
We all have things that we can work on so we can understand ourselves better.
Learning why we act and feel the way we do in certain situations is important.
Learning our own strengths and weaknesses and how to work with others is important.
5. Preventative Healthcare
I feel like we’ve been conditioned as a society to wait until we’re sick or hurt before we go to the doctor and we get medicine.
But as entrepreneurs, we are different.
For us to be high-performing machines, we have to look at our bodies and brains differently.
The fuel we put into our machine dictates the performance!
Just like a well-run race car or a horse at the Kentucky Derby… they’re not feeding them junk.
They’re paying very close attention to their gear, sleep, diet, exercise, and all of those things.
The money I make in my business affords me the opportunity to prioritize my healthcare.
6. Education
The answer to everything is education… like getting better skills to get the job you really want!
But education is expensive.
It doesn’t matter how you slice it, whether you go to trade school, formal college, or do something like our coaching program where we work with you hands-on to go build a photography business.
I think any education you invest in yourself is worth it.
I don’t care what it is.
You’re investing in your machine and you are more valuable because of it.
If it’s only for yourself and it gives you more self-confidence, that’s worth every penny that you invest.
7. Higher Level Needs
As you get through life and get your kids through school… What’s your next mission?
Do you want to start a charity?
Do you want to travel to distant countries and do some mission work?
Maybe you have some skills or a passion and you want to just donate your time to local charities… whatever makes you feel fulfilled.
You don’t have to be Bill Gates to make a difference in the world!!
Imagine if we all strived to do better work in the world, it could change the world!
8. Solving Problems
Think about how having a few extra thousand dollars a month coming into your life would solve problems in your life…
Maybe it’s a family fight over who chips in for a family funeral of a distant relative – your money could solve the problem.
Maybe one of your kids is grown and they’re struggling financially.
They need a car or something happened and they need help – your money could solve the problem.
Maybe you want to go see a sick grandparent who has nobody left in their life but you – your money could solve that problem.
9. An Easier Life
I had three kids under three.
We were running two businesses.
My husband had just started his, and then I started mine… and it was hard and stressful!!
We can’t minimize ALL of the problems in our life.
Money can’t do that.
But man, if you could pay for services to make your life a little easier when you come home… wouldn’t that be amazing?!
Maybe you could have your house cleaned.
Maybe you could remodel or add on an extra playroom for the kids.
Maybe you could have help in the kitchen.
Make some money in your photography business so that you show up in all of these challenging situations in your life as your best self!
I hope I’ve challenged you to rethink why money can actually contribute to happiness and why it’s a mistake not to consider money when you’re setting your goals.
You don’t have to have shame about money!!
Download the Episode Transcript Here
