Transcript

Rowena Preddy
Being that this is the brave issue, personally or professionally, what is the bravest thing you have ever done? And what did you learn from it?

Clare Wood
Oh, I think it was investing in my mastermind. I had an opportunity to join a mastermind. And at the time, it was so much money. I remember thinking, you know, the accountant in me saying it’s this percentage of your overall profit. Is this really how much you want to invest? And I went for it. Anyway, I just had such a big feeling in my gut that it was the right thing to do. And I’m so glad that I did. Because my business sales doubled last year. And I attributed a big chunk of that to taking a leap and making a big investment in my business. So yeah, that’s something pretty brave I that I did in my business.

Rowena Preddy
Funny, some people like connect some of their personal, bravest moments to becoming something that leads them to do something professionally and then professionally to personally and it means this is exactly what this issue is about. Brave means something different to every single person, it can be the smallest thing, the biggest thing. It can be overcoming a mindset hurdle, or it can be just living life, how they want to live,can be the bravest thing that they can do. Now, you’re all about money, and mindset, and money mindset. Where did that come from? Considering you’re originally come from quite a cut and dry career path as an accountant. So where did that mindset stuff become really important to you?

Clare Wood
Yeah, great question. So like you said, I did my studies in accounting. I’m a qualified accountant, I’m a CPA. And in accounting world, everything’s really black and white. And I did a course Actually, I invested in a money mindset boss. It’s called money Bootcamp, by Denise Duffield-Thomas. And I realized how many stories that I had around money, and how many limiting beliefs I had in terms of my pricing in terms of what I was able to attract into my life. And what I found increasingly as a coach was that more and more I was like, that’s a story. And I was supporting people more and more and more with breaking through their limiting money beliefs. And I’ve sort of done a lot more work in that space. Now I’ve done multiple courses, I’ve read many, many books. And this has kind of become something I’m being known for, I guess in helping people to break through their limiting beliefs around money, which of course, then helps them to make more money. So for me, the shift happened through investing in a program. And from there, I’ve just continued to educate myself continue to learn things, my own way. And that’s then what I teach other people because I want, especially women, I want business owners to be able to grow the business of their dreams. And so often we have these stories around money that just hold us back, and so I empower other people to create their best businesses that they can through making more money.

Rowena Preddy
And that’s a huge part I feel of like as women, and then as women in business, that there’s a lot of these limiting beliefs where until we dig into what those are, we believe them at this surface level, rather than than actually digging into where they come from. What would you say are some of the biggest fears that you see coming through from people?

Clare Wood
A huge one is pricing. This is where I do a lot of my work with clients of mine, for example, someone will say, well, no one will ever pay that. And then, you know, they might have an experience where someone says, You’re too expensive. And so they’re like, see, see, I knew that was too expensive, I need to put my prices down. Or perhaps they might have a limiting belief, like, I’m not paying someone to do that. I can design something myself, I can do a great job, I’ll just do it in Canva. And, you know, I don’t need a good website, I don’t need a coach, I can figure things out on my own. That’s just a big waste of money. And it was definitely in my early stages of business was so much of my limiting beliefs that held me back was that, you know, I made my website myself on on Wix is frickin horrendous, to be honest. You know, I wouldn’t spend money on anything. And I thought, well, I don’t need to and my accounting brain was like, keep your costs low. And what happened, a big shift for me was that I started to look at my peers around me, who were doing massive things and watching people having $100,000 launches and made half a million dollars. And I was like, What are they? Like? Why are they going so much better than me? And I’m like, What are they doing? And I was like, oh, they’re spending $5,000 on that course, oh, they’ve got this beautiful new website. Oh, they’re doing this or they’ve invested with this program. Oh, they’re doing and I just realized I can either stay stuck here. In my old stories around keeping my costs low and not spending a cent on anything, or I can go, Well, this seems to be working for other people, maybe I need to start investing in my business. Sorry, I’ve gone way off. But another big thing is, is that people don’t invest, I think that it’s a really, really big way that people hold themselves back in business, is by going, I’m just going to keep every cent I’ve got and not spend any of it, and think that they’re going to make more money without actually up leveling. That’s probably another big one. And another big one that people again come to me with is like team like hiring all of the different strategies around scaling. It’s really having that fear and saying, I think I want this, but it’s terrifying. And it’s really, really normal to feel like that. So that’s what I help people a lot with is going, what’s the fear? What’s your belief around it? And how can we rewrite that story,

Rowena Preddy
What you’ve touched on with investing is another thing that I really wanted to talk about, I find that people the biggest fear they have around investing is results in knowing that they’re making the right choice. I feel like that first investment step can always be the scariest in business. But often I find that when I feel like it’s almost addictive investing in your business, once you start to see those results. And you can attribute it to something that you’ve made a choice about, you kind of go well, I want more of that.

Clare Wood
Yeah, I can feel really good. And look, you know, there’s a couple of things that I want to say on this you know, it’s really interesting, I’m the opposite, especially when it comes to working with a coach or a mastermind or anything, I’m very, very intuitive lead. So if I get that feeling, I’m like, I have to work with that person, I just need to be in their energy. Which is obviously a bit counterintuitive for an accountant to say that, but that’s just how I decide, but I do spend a lot more time when it’s, you know, like a course or a program. I’m like, why am I doing this? Do I need this? What does the result look like? But you know, I think that too, if people are investing and thinking, I’m doing this, and I have to get a result, I don’t think that’s a great place to be investing from, I think that you should be investing because you’re open to the opportunity of expansion through something. But if you think that any coach, course, program, website, thing is going to be the one thing that saves your business, I mean, it might be, but I also don’t think it’s a healthy place to go in and think, you know, if I do this rebrand, I’m suddenly going to be a millionaire. Like, I think that you need to make investments in a measured way. And the way that I do this is combining together these two, you know, both the mindset side, but also the practical money side. So I’m investing really heavily into my business at the moment. And people ask me how I do that. And I say, well, I’ve got cash forecasts. So I look forward. And I say, Well, I know I’ve got these revenue streams coming in, I know that this or you know, I can reasonably estimate that this will attribute to this future income. And so I can confidently say, I know that I’ve got enough money to pay my bills, and make these investments. And I’m not going to be screwing myself. And that feels really good for me. But I do know that other people are more conservative or other people equally, are more aggressive. You know, they they’re happy to. I’ve spoken to many business owners that say I invested everything back into my business for years and years. And I said, Wow, like I had bills to pay, that wasn’t an option for me. But everyone’s got a different appetite for risk. Everyone’s got a different capacity. You know, people may need to be household expenses, they may not. So I really think that when you are investing, do it. Firstly, from any expansive, energetic state, rather than like, this has got to be the thing that saves me. And also doing it and saying, Can I afford this? Like, what does this look like? Yes, investing is always going to be uncomfortable. Like I don’t have hundreds of 1000s of dollars sitting in a bank account, but I’m always going, Okay, I know I’ve got these revenue streams coming in. And I can afford to invest this at this point in time. So that’s how I sort of make investment decisions.

Rowena Preddy
Money is such a huge part of why like, as much as we’re all passionate or should be passionate about what we do on a day to day, money’s always going to come into it, you know, there’s that first step out from under a corporate, you know, safety net, where you’re stepping out and you’re very aware of, you know, paying things like a mortgage or putting food on the table and those types of things. That unsecure space, you sort of think it’s the most uncomfortable you’re going to be but then it comes into growth. And growth can be just as scary and knowing what growth looks like for you. What sorts of spaces when people are assigned to look at that next leap. What kinds of things should they be checking up on when it comes to the money before they take that next leap?

Clare Wood
So I think the first thing is work out like if you’re going to lean into something like why are you doing it and you’ve kind of covered off on his already, but you know what, what are you wanting to achieve? Has this person or opportunity got a proven track record? I mean, you know, when you talk about doing your research, it’s like talk to people ask someone’s reputation, a lot of poor decisions I have made, I could have avoided by doing a little bit more research, literally by asking a few people around me and saying, Hey, have you heard of this person, what are their result Iike? I would not have made that decision. So, yes, follow the energy, also do do some research around it is something that I recommend, like I said, a way that I really get confident with my investment is by forecasting and looking forward and saying, What are my revenue streams? Can I afford this? And if I can’t, like I quite often, even just recently, I’m writing a book at the moment. And I had to make the tough decision to put back the publishing date of the book. Because when I looked at my cash flow, I’m like, I don’t think I can afford to do this at the rate that I want to, and that’s okay. And when I looked at everything that I had on my plate, I prioritized it. I said, Okay, cool. What’s really important for me, what could What can I move? What can I sacrifice right now. And for me, I just said, well, that’s gonna have to be the thing that we push back for now. So just make a tough call, just say, it’s not that it’s not happening, I might just do it in a bit of a later stage.

Rowena Preddy
And I think taking that step back once in a while, to get a little bit of distance, when you can get so close, sometimes reminding yourself of that big picture is so important to reconnect you with your why’d reconnect you with, you know, reality a little bit, because it’s really easy to get tunnel vision on what we all do.

Clare Wood
Oh, 100% Yeah. And that’s why I like I love having business buddies, I love having a coach or a mastermind. Like when you’ve got someone else to bounce things off, something in your head feels so clear. And someone from the outside guys, um, have you thought about. And I know as a coach I do that a lot with my clients is when they sort of bounce something off a second person I can go, oh, maybe there is a different way.

Rowena Preddy
It’s so invaluable. I’m, I’ve been in different coaching programs at different stages of business. And I mean, I’m still in that’s technically still in a startup phase where I’ve been in business for three years now. And so there’s been a lot of growth, a lot of question marks. But there’s some days where I get stuck in my own head, it can be something that stews in there for weeks or months, whereas often when I just put it out into the ether and bounce it off people that have an entirely different context, the ideas that come back, or like the the expansion that happens just by you know, the whole concept of a problem shared is a problem half. Well, if when you throw it into groups of 1000s, of like minded woman, that problem gets smaller and smaller, the more people that become invested as well. And it’s invaluable. invaluable.

Clare Wood
Yeah, I totally agree.

Rowena Preddy
Seeming that you come from a typically, again, quite corporate career path with the accountant side of thing, mindset to a lot of people might seem like a quite a big shift in some ways, because let’s be honest, like, there’s a lot of the whole concept of woo woo and that type of thing. But all you need to do is spend a short time on your socials, to see what a fierce advocate you are, for investing into the space and investing into a mindset spaces, a lot of inwards that come to mind, like meditation manifesting, you also are really big on journaling. How did your interest in these areas come about? And what are some of the daily practices that you do to embed this into your everyday life?

Clare Wood
Yeah, so a lot of these practices came from again, like watching and seeing what other people around me were doing, like people that were doing really cool and amazing things. A lot of them came from my coaches, from people that I was working with these things, these practices, to me are just tools. And it’s something that I remind people, like, you don’t have to meditate, if it’s not right for you. It’s really powerful. For me, it works for me, but I really think that you’ve got to find what works for you in your business. And even some of the big names like in, you know, In manifestation and things. They say, I don’t need to do that stuff anymore. I do different practices. And so it’s really just about saying, Well, what works for me, like how can I find tools that really help me to attract the results that I desire. And for me, like, I have found meditation, something that’s been a life changer for me in so many ways in terms of attracting the results that I desire in my business, but also in terms of like reducing anxiety and stress. It’s got so many benefits. And journaling has been a really powerful tool for me to start to just think my thoughts, I guess, in writing, does that make sense? Like, I write sometimes, and I’m like, I don’t even know who wrote that is It wasn’t something that was sitting in my conscious it was obviously sitting in my subconscious. So those are some tools that I use. But I really don’t believe that there needs to be a, you know, it has to be this way or the highway. I think that you need to play around with different practices and work out what works for you. But plenty of people have built million dollar businesses without journaling or doing a manifestation meditation every day. It’s just about going, what tools do I find really support me and yeah, incorporating them into your everyday life. There’s heaps of, you know, fantastic ways that you can bring spaciousness and abundance and gratefulness into your life. And I think it really is about finding practices that work for you. Yeah.

Rowena Preddy
Instagram glamorizes a business space, we often don’t talk about the hurdles that we’ve overcome. Because we’re so ready to put forward the shiny space. What would you say are some of the biggest mindset hurdles that you’ve overcome in your business?

Clare Wood
Oh, good one. Yeah. Look, I, you know, I do try and share a lot of the challenges that I’ve been through, because I want to normalize that. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. But in saying that as well. I share things from a perspective of trying to help others. And sometimes I find that some people get out there and they’re like, Oh, this sucks, let’s, you know, and I’m like, that’s not helpful to your audience, having a whinge about something feels good. But how is that actually helping them to navigate through something. So something that I do is when I’m having a challenging time, I keep it to myself, until I’ve got through it, figured out the lesson, navigated through it. And then when I share it with my audience, I try and do it in a way of this really sucked. But here’s what I got out of it. Or, this really sucked, here’s how you can make sure that you don’t do that. Probably the biggest challenges that I personally have been through have been inverted commas, failed launches, and feeling that I was going to attract a certain result at certain point in time. And then when I didn’t get it, just feeling like absolute shit about myself, I remember at one point in time, I just could not stop crying. Like I was bawling, bawling, bawling my eyes out about this launch. And it felt very real for me in the in the moment, I look back on it now. And I’m like, God, that was a bit dramatic. But at the time, that was my truth. You know, I had invested one particular launch and invested 1000s and 1000s of dollars into into copywriting, into Facebook ads. I was like, this is going to be my biggest ever launch. I was so excited about it. I had five people join my course. And I was heartbroken. Like, heartbroken. And I was I got to the point I was like, I’m sick of this, like, I’m sick of producing all of this amazing free content and then people won’t join. This program of mine is amazing. Like I was so freakin proud of it. When I look back on it. Now I’m like, I was so wrapped up in myself that I was totally forgetting about, firstly, about my audience. Secondly, about like, it’s just one friggin launch big deal. One launch didn’t go to plan, there is no one successful that doesn’t have failed launches or failed team meant they’ve hired the wrong person. Or, gosh, there’s everyone has failure all the time. And even like the big, big names in manifestation, like, you know, afterwards, they’ll be like, oh, I’ve actually tried eight times to hit a launch of this size. And this is the thing that I think that we forget is that we only do see one side of things sometimes. And I understand why people aren’t sharing the crappy stuff. Because, you know, a bit like what I’ve said, it’s not helpful to, you know, be saying to the audience, this sucks. This is a failure, it is helpful to your audience, when you then get through something, get through a mindset hurdle, and then come back and say, Hey, here’s what I’ve learned. So for me, my biggest failures, I’ve definitely been in this space of launching, you know, it’s, it’s something mindset work doesn’t go away. Like, you’re always going to have something in your life you’re like, I am so confident this is going to work or that this time, it’s right. And then, you know, I constantly get reminded. And now I’m actually going oh, this is a good little mindset reminder, Claire, you know, you thought that your mindset hassles were over and you’re just the queen of mindset now. And then something will pop up and I’m like, wow. So one at the moment, I’m looking to bring someone into my team. It’s so interesting, because I spend my days going, you know, this is the right person like, I like why aren’t you hiring? This is the one thing holding you back. Now I’ve hired the person for this role four or five times now unsuccessfully, and it’s a lot of money. And it’s so interesting, I’m like woah. Look at all these fears popping up. What if you hire the wrong person again, what if you’ve over invested? What if? What if? What if? And I’m like, wow, it’s been really cool observing my mindset around this, and observing Fear that in other people I can see so clearly, but observing it in myself has been really interesting to watch. And yeah, to be navigating through. So the mindset work doesn’t end. And every single person on the planet, every business owner struggles with it.

Rowena Preddy
Yep, hands up. Yep, me too, over here. Every single one of us and I find that with my own clients as well, you know, there’s a reason we all got into what we’re doing. But I feel like it as a business owner, you’ve never experienced personal growth like you do when you own your own business. Because if you’re not experiencing personal growth, something’s not going right.

Clare Wood
And it’s constant. Because the thing is, too, we’ve got people around us who it’s not they want us to fail, but people around us are going well, you’re an idiot, you shouldn’t have spent that much on something, you really are quite alone in a lot of these challenges and battles. And yeah, when you sort of get to the other side, people are like I always believed in you. Yeah. But no, it can be it can be really challenging. And, yeah, but the growth is worth it.

Rowena Preddy
Every single time I’ve gone into a coaching program. And there’s a mindset module, I got this, like, I’ve got this, down. All that work I did last time rolling into this, and it’s going to just fly by. And every single time it’s like, literally someone hits me over the head with a sledgehammer, like out of one of those old school cartoons. And there’s stars going everywhere, and the look of confusion on my face. But out the other side, those realizations that you have, they are lessons that will always pop back up. It’s like exercising a muscle, you get stronger at realizing what they are and what they’re trying to show you. my very last thing, I would like to ask you here is, what is your message for those who are experiencing money blocks and how they can move themselves past that?

Clare Wood
Yeah, great question. So I think the first thing to do is to educate yourself around what is money block even mean? Like what is money mindset? What is stuff for me, and then once you know, and you can do that many ways that come listen to my podcast, the Clare Wood podcast, you can read mindset books, you can do a course or programs. But as you start to identify, Oh, my gosh, I’ve got a story there. And that’s the first step is is literally just saying, Wow, that’s a limiting belief, or rather, that’s a money block, or Wow, I need to do some work on my money in that space. And then it’s starting to rewrite it. So what could this look like in a different situation? You know, what could it look like, if I price things differently, if I had a new team member, if I did a course if I did a program and really starting to rewrite that story and create a new one. So I used to have a story that from my accounting training that, you know, to run a successful business, you keep your costs low, and you grow in a small and considered way over many years. And that was my story. And I was sticking to it, I was living it, I was seeing the results that, you know, that aligned to my story. And then when I rewrote that story, I was like, wow, the more I invest the faster the growth, it’s really true. When you do these work that you do start to attract different outcomes. Wow, I’m getting more and more clients, I’m getting paid more and more. And so it’s reprogramming the story and then starting to look for evidence of the new story. So my story right now is like, the more I invest the more I get in return. So when I make a bad investment decision, I almost don’t see it anymore. I remember my husband asked me this on an episode of my podcast, he goes, What bad investment decisions have you made, I was like, none. And I’m like, Oh, my gosh, my brain doesn’t even see all the bad decisions I make anymore. It just focuses in on the good ones. And you know, like the car, like the more that you start to look for more evidence, I can invest confidently because for me, I’m like, there’s no such thing as a failure. Like, even if I if it’s wrong, I learned a lesson. And I move on recognizing the stories and then rewriting them. And I’m just continuing to do the work. You know, the work is never done. I’m still doing courses, I’m still reading books. I’m still up leveling, and if anything, the more that you grow, and the more that you hit that next level, the more just even more blocks come up, you know, at the moment, I’m struggling a lot with like worthiness and, you know, do I deserve all the success in my business? And what if it all goes away and all of those usual fears that come up at that sort of next level as well. So, yeah, it happens to everyone and just keep doing the work.