Photo Credit: Anton Petukhov

Our topic today is:

What do you do when you’ve suddenly hit an income plateau? You were doing so well and then it just …. flat lined.

Don’t worry, I’ve got at least 10 strategies for you today to get over those humps.

You know I always start off by saying what you’re experiencing is completely normal.

Everybody has humps in business.

A lot of us, especially women, we experience “lady humps”.

It’s so super normal.

Don’t worry about it. Grab your pen and paper and we’ll get straight into it.

1. Your income plateau represents your comfort zone.

That’s why it feels so uncomfortable.

• It doesn’t mean that you’re not meant to be successful in business.
• It doesn’t mean that that’s the most you’re ever going to be able to earn.

It really is just representative of where your comfort level is at the moment, how much you believe you can earn and where your mindset is with money right now.

It’s always very telling to see WHERE you’ve hit that income plateau.

Trust me, you will continue to hit other income plateaus as well. I know that this one feels really real, but it really isn’t.

2. Have a really honest look at your money blocks.

This is a great opportunity to re-visit your money beliefs.

• What are your thoughts and feelings about money right now?
• What are you telling yourself about money?

Maybe you’ve slipped into old bad money habits or maybe you’ve forgotten that you need to work on your money mindset all the time.

It is literally like taking a shower: after a couple of days, your money mindset starts to stink and you start to feel bad about money. That’s why you have to work on your money mindset on a regular basis.

By the way, I do too. Even though I teach women to improve money mindset, I’m constantly working on my blocks.

If I start to think…

“I know everything there is to know about money. I don’t need to worry about this.”

Well, guess what? My income will plateau as well.

3. Identify your fears about money.

Get quite specific.

• What are you actually afraid of if you earned more money?
• What would happen, good and bad?

If you’re willing to look at it, it might give you some valuable information to clear it.

4. Make friends with tax.

Now, some women hold themselves back at particular income points because they’re afraid of paying more tax.

Or maybe you’re worried about other financial implications as well:

• Maybe you’ll lose particular benefits if you earn more;
• Maybe you’ll have to start paying different types of tax;
• Maybe you’ll have to start charging different taxes to your clients when you earn more.

Have a look at your fears and see if there’s anything symbolic about this income level for you.

5. Upgrade your mastermind.

Yeah. This sounds like it’s a bit mean, but remember Jim Rohn said that your income is the average of the people that you spend the most time with.

Look around at your mastermind and be really honest.

• Has everyone else’s income plateaued as well?
• Have you plateaued to the point where everyone else’s income is or the average of everyone else’s income?

If you want to go beyond that income plateau, it might be time for you to move into a mastermind where people are earning more money because then it will inspire you to increase that for yourself as well.

6. Set a new goal.

Now, this is really funny. When women hit income goals, often they haven’t thought of the next one.

They’re like, “I don’t know why I’m not earning more.”

It’s like the universe is saying, “You haven’t told us what that next income goal is. What would you like to earn?”

You’re like, “I don’t know. Just more money.”

What does ‘more money’ look like to you?

Make sure that you’re very, very clear on what that next income goal is so then you can actually know when you’ve hit it and you’ve got something to reach for beyond that income plateau.

7. Maybe it’s time for a break.

So many of us just go next goal, next goal, next goal, and next goal without anything in between. No wonder our successes feel a little bit empty because we’re not acknowledging them.

We’re just like, “That’s not good enough. What’s the next one? That’s not good enough. What’s the next one?”

Sometimes you do need to take stock when you’ve hit an income plateau to go, “You know what? Look how far I’ve come. This is amazing.”

Take a little breather and then you can regroup for the next goal.

8. Have creativity breaks.

What is going to help you go to that next level? Fresh ideas. New products, services and offerings.

Creativity requires getting out of your current environment.

Go somewhere new, spend some time meditating, go to the beach or do something fun so you can take that creativity refresh.

It’s not going to be the same ideas as before that will get you to the next level.

It will take new ideas, new creativity and new brainpower.

Then…

9. Give yourself permission to earn more.

Actually give yourself permission.

It’s safe for me to make more money.

It’s safe for me to go to the next level.

It’s safe for me to out-earn other people.

Give yourself permission to break past this income plateau. I think that is probably more important than anything else: giving yourself permission to earn more.

It might sound really silly because you’re like, “Of course I want to earn more, Denise.” But you need to know that it’s okay for you at a cellular level.

It’s okay for you to make more money. Remind yourself constantly.

10. Get hustling.

What got you to where you are now? Keep the stuff that works and ditch the stuff that doesn’t. Get hustling to get to that next income level.

I know for myself, every time I’ve been at an income plateau, I’m like, “This one’s really real.”

Oh, my God. You start to make up stories about it. “No, this one is really actually real now. The other ones I could get through but this one’s real.”

They’re not.

It’s going to take some new strategies to get to the next level, but don’t forget that consistency is always a great strategy and it will be something that will continue on with your journey.

We’d love to hear from YOU…

Are you dealing with an income plateau? Which tips from this article could you try first to take your biz to the next level? Leave your answer in the comments below! 

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business owner, December 2015 Issue, entrepreneur, goals, income, income plateau, online business, sales, women in business