An Antidote for the Money Grumblies: The Kitchen Table Financial Summit

Every small business owner has the same worries: where’s the money coming from? Whether you are running a $1.5 million landscaping firm, a $300,000 consulting practice, or you are a self-employed service provider scraping by on less than $40K per year, you probably, at one time or another, have felt financial pinch.

It’s true. Most people dream that once the business brings in more revenue, the worry stops. But after working with clients at all different levels of income, I can tell you it doesn’t work like that. Almost everyone deals with horrible, sinking feelings in their stomach.

Instead of just outearning the money grumblies, which tend to grow as fast as you feed them, I recommend facing them.

Here’s a Question I Want You to Answer Honestly

How much time do you spend each week with your finances?

If you are like most small business owners, the answer is probably somewhere between zero and, “I had to spend 30 minutes paying the bills–thank God that’s over with.”

So let’s just say that you have someone you love very much, maybe you are married to him or her. And then let’s say you spent somewhere between zero and “I had to spend 30 minutes kissing up to her, so she wouldn’t feel neglected. Thank God, that’s over with.”

Are you seeing the same pattern I’m seeing?

Most schools don’t require any kind of financial fitness class, and so it’s no surprise that most people are uncomfortable (terrified, to be more honest) to spend more than the absolute minimum time required to keep from getting the electricity turned off and the car repossessed.

If you are serious about having a healthy relationship with your finances, I want to recommend that you start to spend some quality time with your numbers.

Whoa! Before you panic and <click away> from this article out of self-preservation, I’m not talking about becoming an accountant.

I know it can look intimidating, even for accountants. I had two certified accountants in a Heart of Money class, and getting this intimate with their own finances made them both extremely uncomfortable.

But it also brought up healing, comfort, and abundance breakthroughs for everyone, including them.

There is a full-blown, finance-clearing exercise in the Heart of Money class called “Being Polite with Money.” But I’m going to teach you the stripped-down version that my wife and I use every week: The Kitchen Table Financial Summit, a.k.a. “The Money Meeting.”

First Thing You Need to Do Is Schedule It

Schedule it at a time when you aren’t already exhausted. And, schedule twice as much time as you think you’ll need, at least until you get used to it.

Second Step–What do you have?

Go through your accounts (you do have a separate business and personal account, right?). Find out how much is in checking, and which checks or charges haven’t been processed yet. Make note of how much is in savings for each account. I also track my expected revenue–both certain revenue (from pre-existing contracts), and potential revenue (from upcoming classes, or potential clients that are close to a decision point.)

Third Step–What do you owe?

It’s a fairly good bet that most of your bills are the same amount each month, or close enough. If you have a cash flow problem, you track how much the bill is for, and when the due date is.

Fourth step–Face it all

If you have plenty of money to pay your bills, sit in your heart and feel what that feels like. It might feel great. And… you might be surprised. Many people unconsciously create leaks to overspend “extra” money until they come back down to zero. You might want to read the article I wrote on getting to “extra” in your profitability.

If you don’t have enough to pay your bills, face how that feels, too. Make space in your heart for any anger, despair, or helplessness that you feel.

My wife and I have at least one of these meetings every week, to spend quality, honest time with our finances. How else are you going to get a handle on it?

Read some practical points on how to hold a “Kitchen Table Finance Summit” below. I also include a special pdf example of what we write up for the meeting.

Keys to Holding a Kitchen Table Financial Summit

• The healing is in the combination of the numbers and the emotions. That’s why you want to give time to the meeting. It takes time to figure out what the numbers really are. It also takes time to be with your emotions. If you are scared, sad, angry, you need to give space to those emotions. Use your heart to make space for them. My free workbook has a great practice for accessing those emotions and moving through them.

• If possible, find a partner to do this with you. I can’t overestimate the value of nonjudgmental support. My wife helps me. You could easily do this with a business partner. Or find a friend or colleague you trust. and help support each other through these meetings. Each person can take responsibility for one aspect–either totaling the accounts, or tracking the bills.

• Don’t balk at the time commitment. It will take a fair amount of time in the beginning. But once you get in the groove, you will find your meetings flowing more smoothly. I mean, you want to have a better relationship with your finances, right? Spend the quality time with it, and you will have it, I promise.

Download this pdf for a fictitious example of the two sheets–accounts and bills–that we fill out for our money meetings. Click here.

Do you make time to be with your finances? What’s your experience, opinion, or question about how to handle the money grumblies? Let’s discuss in the comments…